Nail Art and Competitions

Okay, so I am on a serious revival-of-my-skill, journey, as a nail tech...or should I say, nail artist, that's what I want to be referred to as. I'm gona step it up a few notches!

Lately all I can do is sit on the computer and watch YouTube videos of "how-to" tutorials on various nail art methods...there are tons!!!! Where do I begin?

First, I need to update my supply of nail art products.  This means more acrylic, more gel...all colors, all glitters.  This means new brushes.  This means a variety of acrylic paint and brushes for that too...and a bunch of other stuff I want to make this a more successful journey, if you will...this means I need more $$$, lol.

I'm going to have to take it one step at a time though...buy a little bit of this now and little bit of that later.

There's so many nail art options out there.  One, that I always thought would be an impossibility to me was hand-painted art. This, I'm learning, is actually something I CAN do and do it very well...of course with a lot of practice and teaching videos, this will be accompished.

My mind is racing!!! I have so many ideas and I can't wait to show them to you and showcase my art.

Another thing I am going to pursue is nail competitions.  These are vital in the success of any nail artists' career.

I've been doing nails since '93 and I have only competed once.  I think it may have been circa 1996???  I actually did well, placing fourth out of 26 competitors...not bad for my first time.  My new goal is to win the Nailpro Cup within the next seven years!  That is like the Superbowl for the nail industry.  With that honor comes an invitation only, admission to the international nail competitions in Dusseldorf, Germany.  Only ONE competitor from each country competes for the title...pretty cool, huh?

So I have ignited a new flame and I am super excited to learn new techniques and practice, practice, practice...

...Wish me blessings!

Below are photos of other nail artists' work...this is what I aspire to become...

Black, Gray and White Nails

So I've recently been using black acrylic on some of my clients and I'm really lovin it.  Not too long ago, black nail polish was my fav color to wear..it reminded me of a shiny, black car (my fav also...ooh and black tints are now legal in Illinois in the front windows...just sayin)...My fav: black cars, black tints, black rims, black nails...I see a pattern here, hmm.

Now so far I've done all black nails on a client and most recently I did a "tuxedo" nail which consisted of a white tip and black base...this is all done with colored acrylic, not polish...therefore there is NO wear or tear.  Of course the finishing touch is the gel top coat that gives it it's ever-so-brilliant, never dull, cannot be penetrated, long-lasting shine!

I've been admiring these talons but did not want to duplicate on myself, I needed something original.  For those of you that don't know me well, I only do my nails...I am WAAAY TOO PARTICULAR for anybody else to do my nails...a fellow nail tech, whom I've asked to do my nails on occasion, WILL NOT cuz she knows my standards and frankly, gets nervous by my critiquing.

OK so, I'm still tryin to think of some cool creation with my black acrylic...IDEA: I narrowed it down to a black "french", ya know, instead of a white tip, it's black!  OK, so what about the base?  White...a reverse of my "tuxedo" nail?  NO! Not feelin the white.  I got it...grey!  Yes, that's what I want, black tip with grey base.

I don't have a grey acrylic powder but customizing colors is a fav of mine too and I have all the components I need: black and white make grey, right?  Perfect, let's get mixing!

I also have a clear glitter acrylic, so I decided to mix that in as well...So now I have a solid black tip with a sparkly, metal-grey base...LOVE IT!

I also love to stripe so after my finished product I messed around with some different striping designs.  This is easy to do when your nail and it's entire color, consists of only acrylic because the acrylic is set, no drying time. So if you're playing with painted designs and don't like it, simply wipe off with acetone and start over, never compromising the nail!

I ended up with a simple, diagonal line that goes from the outer corner to the inner corner of the nail... Viola, my design is complete...oh wait, not just yet...gotta seal it with my... handy-dandy notebook!  J/K, that was the Blue's Clues fan comin out in me (got kids)?  OK, I mean my handy-dandy UV gel topcoat/sealer, I mentioned earlier...this seals everything, even the acrylic!  Tid-bit: acrylic is a porous product, meaning it can be penetrated BUT gel is not therefore, slap that gel topcoat on and what you get is a super-shiny nail that will look as good as the first day you got 'em done, all the way up til your next fill, your nails are completely sealed, no worries...shine-on, baby!