Pink Gellac The V.i.p. Collection Swatches and Review

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Hello Loves!  I have the most recent Pink Gellac Collection to show you today.  The V.i.p. Collection consists of 5 gorgeous pink shades, ranging from a classic cream to a funky glittery finish.  Before we get to the swatches, Pink Gellac did something awesome with this collection.  They changed the brushes!  Yep, the old, stiff brushes have been replaced with a softer, fuller brush with a rounded tip.  And let me tell you, it is fantastic!  I've actually asked Andrea to look into getting replacement brushes for the rest of my Pink Gellac collection.  I love the new brush that much!

Excuse the photo quality - I have my Pink Gellac collection at the salon and forgot to take a bottle home that has the original brush, so this is a cell phone shot taken in my nail room at the Salon.  But here's the old brush (left) and the new brush (right). 

Let's get to the swatches, shall we?

First up is my personal favorite of the collection, Lovely Pink.  Lovely pink is a soft, pastel pink with purple undertones and a subtle shimmer.  I found it to be opaque in 2-3 coats.  Why do I say 2-3 instead of just 2 or just 3?  Well...it was opaque in 2 coats on my natural nails, but I needed 3 over the clear gel extension I'm sporting on my middle finger.  ;)

The next color in the collection is what I consider to be a classic pink cream.  Dynamic Pink is a medium to dark pink with a touch of brightness and reddish tones.  In direct light, she is a gorgeous, fun color.  In indirect lighting, she's more of an office appropriate pink.  Application was smooth and she offers full coverage in two coats.

Next up is another classic pink.  Flamingo Pink is a soft, peachy pink with a frosty finish.  To be completely honest, this is my least favorite of the collection.  It is a beautiful color, but I just can't love it.  It reminds me of the polish my Mama wore a lot when I was a kid.  But if you love frosty finishes and peachy toned pinks, this is your kind of color.  I found it to need three coats for full coverage.

Ready to see the less classic and funkier shades in the collection? Partylicious Pink actually surprised me.  In the bottle, she looks much more red toned with a super strong shimmer.  But I found when applying her, she took on a brighter appearance with purplely undertones.  The shimmer is a little off here since my camera decided to be a pain.  It's actually more of a golden toned shimmer.  Application was a breeze with the new brush, but I did end up using three coats for full coverage.

 

Finally, Sparkling Pink is a red toned pink jelly base that is loaded with metallic pink glitter.  I found this one a little tricky to apply since the glitter is on the larger side and wanted to pull down the nail.  But after three coats, the glitter coverage evened out a bit.  In the end, I really like the effect.

So there you have it - The V.i.p. Collection from Pink Gellac.  If any of these pinks tickle your fancy, you can purchase them in the U.S. from the Chickettes Boutique here or on Amazon by clicking through any of the linked names within the post.  For those in the UK, Pink Gellac now has a distributor for you too!  You can purchase them from Pink Gellac UK here.  For those outside of the Chickettes and Pink Gellac UK shipping areas, you can order direct through Pink Gellac in the Netherlands here.

~Michelle

*The Pink Gellac Gel Polishes featured in this post were provided by the Chickettes Boutique for my honest review.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases through those links generate commissions that help fund this site.  All other links are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.  

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Pink Gellac Glamourize Collection

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Hello Loves!  I'm back with a fun review.  I have the Pink Gellac Glamourize Collection to show you today.  This Holiday inspired collection consists of 5 glittery shades that are perfect for Christmas and New Years!  Ready to see them?

I would love to say that I'm going to show you my favorite of the collection first, but I honestly can't pick a favorite.  I love all of these polishes so much that I just can't decide.  They are all so unique or perfect in their own ways.  So let's just pick one and go from there.

Ultimate Red is a classic glittery red on steroids.  My camera couldn't capture all of the glittery goodness in this one.  The base is a true red with slightly orange undertones.  The shot without the bottle captures it best.  I did find this one offers perfect coverage in two coats, but the glitter can leave the free edge feeling a little rough.  So you might need to smooth it a tad before applying your top coat.  I also included close up shots of all of these.  You can see the rough edge best in the macro shot below.

Mysterious Black is one that I really didn't expect to like but ended up loving once I put it on my nails.  This soft black gelly base is full of dark silver shimmer and small and large black hex glitters.  I did feel that it needs 3 coats for opacity and even glitter distribution, but the end result is well worth the extra layer!

Let's jump to the golds.  Diva Gold is an interesting and unique shade in my opinion.  This clear base is loaded with golden shimmer and gold glitter.  Again, I needed three coats for even glitter distribution and opacity, but the result is a festive gold that is unique to my collection.  I love that the shimmer builds to a full coverage finish.

Stardust Gold is very similar to Diva Gold in that it consists of a clear base that is loaded with golden shimmer.  The difference is Stardust Gold has small blue glitters and larger blue holographic hex glitters.  Definitely a unique polish!  Again, I swatched three coats for full coverage and even glitter distribution.  Such a fun polish!

Finally, let's jump back to black with Glitterize Black.  This black jelly base is loaded with metallic glitters.  Red, Green, Gold, Silver and Blue make this color a party on your nails.  I swatched three coats in the photos below, but I honestly could have gotten away with two.

Since I'm easing myself into Christmas, I decided Glitterize Black is the perfect base for my first Christmasy mani of the season.  I went with a simple candle and holly accent nail.  I really need to work on my freehand holly, but it will do for a week.  ;)

What do you think of the Pink Gellac Glamourize Collection?  I'm very happy to see unique glitter combinations and I can't wait to offer them to my clients.  I predict many accent nails using some of these glittery beauties.  If you want to add any of these polish (or all of them) to your collection, you can purchase them through the Chickettes Boutique here.

That's all for now.  I'll try to be back soon with a salon update.  Thanks for sticking with me while I'm launching my business and putting more of my focus there.

~Michelle

*The Pink Gellac Glamourize Collection featured in this post was provided by Chickettes for my honest review.  All links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.

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My Week in Review - Artistic Expressions

Hello Loves!  So, I finished out my first week doing nails at Artistic Expressions Hair Salon in Braselton, GA on Saturday.  Wow...what a week!  I want to start by telling you a little about how I ended up in this salon.  Then I'll show you some of my work for the week.  :)

I was originally talking to a salon in Athens, GA but it didn't really work out.  It is a fabulous hair salon, but something just didn't feel right - like it wasn't meant to be.  So I posted on my personal facebook page that I was looking for a salon to call home and started a bath.

A few minutes after I posted, a friend from high school tagged a salon owner in the post.  Less than 30 minutes later, I was cutting my bubble bath short to call Tracy about joining Artistic Expressions Hair Salon as their new nail tech.  She told me she had been looking for a tech for a long time and felt like she needed to contact me immediately.  It was 9:30 in the evening when we connected by phone.  A few days later, I visited the salon and it just felt right.  I don't know how to describe it.  It was like an instant connection.  Instead of an interview, it felt more like old friends catching up and designing a nail room together.  Simply amazing.

As you know, it took a few weeks for me to get my inventory in order so I could get started. Of course, Tracy had a few things to order as well.  I spent a few days the week before last setting up my room and I officially started this past Tuesday.  I took a video of my room, but it was a little premature.  Tracy added some art on the wall the next day.  So I'll take a new one.  Plus, I was moving a little too fast so if you watch the one I took last week you might get drunk.  lol

So, how did my first week go?  Well...I would LOVE to tell you that I was swamped with back to back clients all week long, but that would be a lie.  Starting out is always a little slow.  People don't know I'm in town yet.  But I did do some really fun sets.  Want to see them?

Let's start with my very first client.  The salon is family owned and these hands belong to "Mama".  She never had a gel polish manicure before, so it was really fun.  She chose a simple french.  I used Cuccio Verona Lace on the tips.  Honestly, I'm not 100% happy with how these turned out.  I need a new cleanup brush.  But she loves them and that's what really matters.

My next client is one of assistants in the salon.  She wanted dark grey with some simple nail art, so we chose Pink Gellac Smoked Grey from the Majestic Collection and these cute little ghosts from one of my Dashica plates (I think...I know I said I would tell you which products I used, but I completely forgot to write it down and my plates are at the salon).  The color is off in this picture.  I quickly learned that I need to do something different with my photo situation.  :/

This next set is gel extensions using tips and Cuccio T3 sculpting gel.  This was my first attempt with this gel and I absolutely LOVE it.  I have the controlled formula and it was so easy to work with.  We then added Madam Glam What Color Is The Dress.  This is one of the thermal gel polishes and everyone seems excited by them. 

This next set was my first non-salon client (as in had never been to the salon before).  She found me through facebook and I was super excited to do her nails for her.  She told me that she has had a very hard time finding salons that do art in the area.  You have no idea how happy that made me.  She chose Madam Glam Sweet Lavanda and we added a few simple purple flowers on an accent nail with Wildflowers Nail Art Paints.  I couldn't have asked for a sweeter first non-salon client.  Thank you, Sabrina, for the pleasure of doing your nails!  I can't wait to see what we can come up with next time.  (Excuse the lighting.  I tried using the flash on this photo.  I'll get this lighting thing figured out, I promise!)

This set is one of my favorites from the week.  Tracy asked for some fun Halloween nails.  We started with Madam Glam Purple Sky for her main color.  Of course, the photo doesn't do it justice, so check out my swatch here to see the true beauty of this polish.  We then added some ArtsyFartsy Crafts glitter over a Madam Glam Perfect Black base on her middle fingers.  I can't remember the name of the glitter mix and its at the shop.  I know...blogger fail.  The ring finger nails have a base of Madam Glam Blood Orange with three of the Magpie Neon Pigments swirled over them.  You can't see it in the pictures, but the pumpkin faces really glow.  I then stamped with Konad Black and the jack-o-lantern faces from Bundle Monster BM-H06.

In keeping with the fun manicures, I also did a full set for McKenna.  She is an assistant at the salon and these are her birthday nails.  I extended her natural nail with tips and Cuccio T3.  Then I added Madam Glam Perfect Black and randomly scrubbed the Bundle Monster Star Dust pigments into the tacky layer.  Finally, I stamped with Konad Black and the scales image from LilyAnna 09.  A few crystals and shells completed the look.  Yep, this is a variation of my Mermaid Nails from a few weeks ago.  (Now if I can just get to her wear gloves when she works with hair dye so her cuticles aren't stained, we'll be in business lol)

The final mani I want to show you is a polish change and nail art I did for Nikki.  Nikki was my second non-salon client.  I met her at the gas station where I stop to get my coffee in the mornings.  lol  She has also been looking for someone to do nail art, so I stayed late on Saturday to do her nails after she got off work.  I did not do her extensions - those are acrylic from another salon.  I just changed her polish.  Since she has really fun blue highlights in her hair, we decided to go with KBShimmer What Are You Wading For? stamped in Konad Black with two different images from the Pueen Encore Collection.  I absolutely LOVE how these turned out.  I have to admit, I don't usually stamp over polish so this one made me really nervous.  I used one of my firmer stampers, which made it difficult with her long nails.  Next time I'll use one of my squishy stampers.  Thankfully I only smeared one thumb a tiny bit when I applied the top coat.  Whoo Hoo.  lol  I can't wait to see what design we do on her nails next.  She loves the bling as much as I do!

I did a few other manicures and one pedicure last week as well, but I forgot to take pictures of them.

All in all, I would call it a great week.  I can't wait to see what next week has in store for me!  And I'm super excited that people are excited for nail art.  Y'all don't even know how much that makes me want to squeal.  I mean, sure, plain colors are great...but you know I love the art.  :)

That's all for today.  I promise I'll do better with product names and pictures next week.  Oh, I added a services tab to my menu at the top of the page if you're curious which services I offer.  For anyone local, please come see me!  I would LOVE to do your nails.  :)

~Michelle

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Pink Gellac Majestic Collection

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Hello Loves!  So, today is the day.  My first official day as a member of the Artistic Expressions Hair Salon team.  My room is set up and I'm ready to produce some gorgeous nails for clients!  This also means that I'm finally able to get back to blogging more frequently.  I confess, I've had these Pink Gellac swatches done for a while but just couldn't find time to edit them until now.  I apologize for that!  So let's take a look, shall we?

These five gorgeous fall shades make up the Pink Gellac Majestic Collection.  As an added bonus, all five of them offer 2 coat coverage!  Ready to see them up close?

The first color I have to show you is called Golden Rose.  Honestly, this one is my least favorite simply because it doesn't work well with my skin tone.  The color itself is gorgeous, though!  As you can see on my index nail in the first picture and on all nails in the second picture, it does have a bit of shift to it so that the gold shows more in indirect lighting.  This is two coats over my natural nails.  I do adore the metallic finish.

The next color is called Bordeaux.  This is a deep wine shade that appears to have plum tones against my skin tone.  She is quite beautiful and application was a dream.

Marvelous Blue is my absolute favorite of the collection, though I admit it was hard to choose.  This glowy, dark blue shimmer offers perfect coverage and really pops.  Then again, you know how much I love my blues!

Powerful Plum is a slightly magenta toned purple shimmer.  I love that she isn't quite pink but isn't quite purple either.  I had a hard time deciding where to put her on my swatch ring!  Again, perfect two coat coverage.

Finally, Smoked Grey is a deep, blue toned grey cream.  Application was dreamy with this one as well, and I found myself not wanting to take it off.  Matter of fact, I didn't!  I used it as the base for the nail art I shared a week or so ago.  :)

So there you have them - the five perfect fall shades from the Pink Gellac Majestic Collection.  These polishes and other Pink Gellac shades are available in the US via the Chickettes Boutique or on Amazon here.  They are also available internationally through the Pink Gellac website here.

~Michelle

*The Pink Gellac Gel Polishes featured in this post were provided by Chickettes for my honest review.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that help fund this site.  All other links are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.

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