Shifting Gears

I've got a regular nail polish for you today.  I really haven't had much time to do another soak off manicure.

This is 2 coats of LeChat Dare to Wear Hologram Diamond.  I actually bought this colour in soak off gel but it came with a free regular polish.  It's just a medium sized holo glitter but I like it.  This will look great over my soak off gels.

A couple of weeks ago I was bored and swatched my soak off collection...

I have 59 in total!  Can you believe I own that many pinks?  Actually the pinks all came with sets I bought and they are great for my sister and also for everyone else I will soon start polishing because...

I am officially taking a Nail Tech course in September!  I've been doing soak off manicures on the cheap for friends and family only for a little while but I've recently been interested in nail enhancements too and after trying an acrylic set on my Mom I figured that I really should learn proper technique and sanitation so that I don't harm anyone.  The plan is after I'm done the course to start up a little side business as a mobile tech during evenings and weekends.  Maybe I can actually make enough money to pay for my nail habit!  Although I'm a pretty avid bargain hunter, I can safely say that I've easily invested thousands into my nail habit...ugh.  At 59 soak offs that probably average $12 each and over 700 regular polishes that probably average $3 each...yeah do the math.  Not to mention all the accessories - stamping plates, swatch wheels, crystals, stickers etc.  Holy shit am I insane?

So I forgot to post last time that not only did I buy an acrylic starter kit but I also scored some specialty glitter and holographic acrylic powders on Kijiji.

This is both the acrylic kit and Kijiji haul together and I paid $70 for all of it!  I've been a crazy woman on youtube and all over the internet reading up on techniques and creative acrylic uses and can't wait to see what's in store for me at the Nail course!  I'm hoping once I start getting clients and doing nails a lot more I'll be able to post a variety of manicure designs and get back to also posting a lot more often.

Later
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Rainbows and bling

Well this is looking like this is turning out to be a one-post-a-week summer.  I simply just don't have the time to paint my nails as often lately.  Never have I loved soak-off gels more than I do right now :)

I did manage to do one regular mani last week over my gel.  I painted 1 coat of Layla Flash Black over 1 coat of basic black nail polish.

And this photo has a coat of Seche Vite on top.  Everyone says that top coats diminish the holo effect of a polish but I find what it actually does is 'cloud' it a bit.  The holo is still clearly there just not as bright.

My current gel mani is 2 coats of Ez Flow TruGel Frosted Amethyst which is a very sheer frosty lilac.  I tried 3 coats of it on my sister last weekend and it was still sheer so it probably would take at least 5 for opacity.  I topped it with 3 coats of Ez Flow TruGel Winners Circle which I used as an accent nail previously over Shellac Asphalt.  It's a clear base with probably 50% silver glitter, 25% pewter glitter and 25% pink glitter which makes it look mostly lilac.  The application here is not the best since I had my sister paint them but she did an alright job.

I noticed when we did my nails that I actually missed the base coat on one finger so I decided to leave it and we'll see what happens when you don't use base coat...

Later
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Gel marble and quickie swatch

From my recent haul this is China Glaze Smoke and Ashes:

The bottle flashes these awesome teal/purple/orange colours that just don't show up on the nail unfortunately, but I still like the colour.

I decided to add a little oomph to it:

With a coat of Nfu Oh 40.  I don't wear these as often anymore sadly since they tend to stick in the gel polish, but with a coat of regular polish under them it's not a problem.

So then I did a new soak off gel manicure.  I painted one coat of Ez Flow TruGel in Racy Red.  Then I painted a second coat of it but before I cured it I added a stripe of Shellac Asphalt right down the middle and then a stripe of Gelish Good Gossip (red sparkle) down one side.  I used a striping brush to try and create a marbled effect and dusted it with a tiny bit of charcoal glitter.  It seems to me that this gel mani didn't take as long as it normally does but that's probably because I'm anal and knew this would have a messy look to it so I didn't take as much care as I normally would.

I got quite a few compliments on this.  I really like the marbling effect but I'm not crazy about the colours I used.  I may try out this technique again someday.

Later
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Shellac Asphalt

So the black gel manicure got a nasty chip on day 12 :(

But the upside is I get to try out another new soak off colour!  I chose Shellac Asphalt and it took 2 coats.  I also added a layer of Gelish Structure underneath, which is just a clear gel that adds strength.  The accent nail is one coat of Ez Flow TruGel in Winners Circle over Asphalt. Winners Circle is a clear base with silver, pewter and pink glitter.

2 days later I decided to add a stamp since it's been awhile since I've worn any nail art.  I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pink Aluminum and plate BM224.

I think Shellac Asphalt will probably be the first gel polish I empty.  It's pretty awesome.

Later
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Some things to share

Another somewhat random post here...

My black soak off manicure reminded me a lot of space so I decided to take a crack at galaxy nails...sort of.  I didn't use a tutorial and just kind of dabbed bits of colour on.  I think it just looks messy.

This is my SOG collection.  Before I left for the US I had already decided that my SOG collection was starting to annoy me since I had no real organization to it so I bought this basket which fits all my SOGs perfectly and also, fits very nicely inside the container I bought to store my CND lamp.  What this tells me is that I have no more room for any more polishes though lol.

This photo is Sally Hansen Black Tie on the left and Borghese Stellar Notte on the right.  Colour is exact but I don't consider these to be 100% dupes since Stellar Notte is super sheer compared to Black Tie and took twice as many coats.

Later
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Random

I have an accumulation of small things that I haven't gotten around to posting, so here goes...

Before I hacked my nails down and after removal of my last soak off I painted 3 coats of Sinful Colors Cinderella.  Not a fan.

The Princess of Poo was the first to try one of my new soak off gels and she chose Ez Flow TruGel in Racy Red (3 coats) with a coat of Gelish Vegas Nights on top.  No her fingers aren't really dry and cracked.  That's what happens when you rub 99% alcohol all over your fingers (we forgot to clean it off before taking the pics lol).

This was part of my US haul that I forgot to post.  A nail brush for $1, an extra dappen pot from Sallys, Broadway Nail Wraps from the clearance section at Rite Aid (I must have hit at least 50 drug stores while I was there lol) and the silicone finger tips which were less than $5 at Walmart.  So why did I buy these?  To use instead of tinfoil for soaking off gels and glitters!  And they work great!  No more fussing with tinfoil and a whole lot less waste!  I can't take credit for the idea though since I got it from the fantastic girls at the Nail Care board in the Purse Forum.  These girls are a wealth of information and you should check them out if you haven't already!

Also a bonus photo because I thought it was hilarious:

My sister and I walked into a Walmart and we noticed something strange was going on.  We asked a clerk and she told us that they were relocating to a newer store so they were liquidating what was left.  Unfortunately we were about a week too late since this is how we found the makeup aisle lmao.  Never seen anything like it!

Later
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Soak off comps, swatches and pricing

So I've learned a helluva lot about soak offs since I bought my Shellac set in October.  And being a total cheap ass I find it completely frustrating with the limited availability and exorbitant pricing.  So I was thrilled to find that we had a second easy access option in Canada via Shoppers Drug Mart.

Quo by Orly introduced a new gel line a couple of weeks ago.  The colours sell for $10CAD for 4.4ml and the Top/Base coat is $15 for 15ml.  Not cheap at all.

On the left we have a full size Gelish at 15ml (normal average polish size).
Next up is the Gelish Mini at 9ml.
Quo by Orly is 4.4ml.
And lastly is Red Carpet Manicure at 9ml (Rumor has it that Gelish and RCM are manufactured by the same company).
Shellac (not pictured) is 7.3ml.
Ez Flow TruGel (not pictured is 14ml).

So if I compare these to the prices I paid (CAD and USD are almost at par right now anyways):
Gelish full size $12.95/15 = $.86/ml
Gelish Mini $18.95/9 = $2.11/ml
Quo by Orly $10/4.4 = $2.27/ml
RCM $9.99/9 = $1.11/ml
Shellac $14.85/7.3 = $2.03/ml
Ez Flow TruGel $8.95/14 = $.64

Clearly we're paying sometimes more than double here in Canada and that really sucks.  One thing that's very important to mention in the pricing comparison is that there is more value for your money when it comes to the original Shellac.

The two reds in the middle are Shellac Red Baroness on the left and Ez Flow TruGel in Racy Red on the right.  Red Baroness is only two super thin coats and Racy Red is 3 thicker coats.  So a little bit of Shellac goes a long way compared to other soak off gels.  CND claims that 1 bottle of Shellac will average 20 manicures.  I think you'd be hard pressed to get 20 manicures out of the 9ml Gelish Minis when you have to apply a minimum of 3 coats.  The problem with Shellac is that it's not really available in Canada without a license.

So just for fun I swatched a bunch of my new soak off gels on a wheel.  From L-R:
Ez Flow TruGel in Lil' Dress (3 coats) + Gelish Good Gossip (1 coats)
Quo by Orly in First Class (1 coat only) - yes it's really Orly Rage :)
Ez Flow TruGel in Racy Red (2 coats) + Gelish Good Gossip (1 coat)
Red Carpet Manicure in Toast of the Town (2 coats)
Gelish Amazon Flirt (3 coats)

And these are all 3 coats of Ez Flow TruGel in Lil' Dress with one coat of each of my Gelish Aurora EFxs, from L-R:
Gelish The Great Googly Moogly
Gelish Oocha Coocha Bing Bang Bam Alakazy Alakazam (f-you for these ridiculous names H&NH!)
Gelish Ali Baba's Sim Sala Bim
Gelish Close Your Fingers and Cross Your Eyes

So my own personal verdict on soak offs is this:

1. Base Coat - Shellac is for me, hands down, the only one that works as it should and has easy removal.

2. Colours - Go with the cheapest. My experience has been that the colour coats really don't make a difference in staying power.  Gelish has the biggest variety of colours and if you can get the full size bottle they are a much better deal. The number of coats you have to apply plays a rather large role in this decision as well since if you're using a UV lamp like I am, a 2 coat manicure can take an hour or more.  If you're using a colour like Ez Flow TruGel in Racy Red and you want a little sparkle to it, for example, your manicure can take an hour and a half+ when you consider: base coat, 3 coats of colour, 1 coat of sparkle, and top coat.  Curing times are 2 minutes each with a UV lamp.  The thicker consistency colours like most of Shellac's line take much less polish and have minimal pooling which makes for faster and easier cleanup.

3. Top Coat - I've only tried Shellac and Gelish for the top coat and I prefer Gelish mostly because of availability and price. Not even several coats of Seche Vite can replicate that amazing long-lasting shine.

4. If you live in Canada, order from the US.  Amazon has a great selection of several brands of soak offs at amazing prices.  Even with shipping prices it's still much cheaper than getting hosed up here!

Later
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New Gels

So I didn't get much of a chance to play with polish during my US holiday, but here is my Shellac layering combo at day 13:

The regrowth looks horrible but there's no chips and it's still super shiny.  This is why I love soak off gels so much.

When I got home I had to shorten my nails since the length was driving me crazy.  I had such a hard time deciding on which of my new gels I would use but I settled on Ez Flow TruGel in Lil' Dress - standard black.  The only downside to this was that it was a bit sheer and took 3 coats.

I decided to add a bit of sparkle with a single coat of Gelish Vegas Nights.  It's pretty much a dupe for China Glaze Fairy Dust - tiny holo glitter.  I'm so glad I bought a huge bottle of this.  My cuticles are in pretty rough shape after my vacation so I've got some work to do there.

I wanted to add a bit of a rant to this post since I've been complaining a lot about us Canadian girls getting hosed on pricing up here.  It's going from bad to worse.  The Canadian Dollar has been hovering around par with USD for a couple of years now.  I know this because I regularly shop in the US and in the last few years the lowest I've seen our $ is at around $.96 per US dollar.  Right now it's just about even.

So now you understand why, when I walked into Winners last week I almost flew into a rage when I saw new Color Club sets priced at $14.99!!!  Color Club sets are normally priced at $12.99 at Winners.  And all you US girls know that they are $7.99USD at your local Ross/Marshalls/whatever.  Marshalls also just recently opened a few stores here in Canada and I haven't been yet, but I will report back when I do and you can bet your ass they aren't $12.99 or less there either. 

And let's talk about Sally Beauty and their prices on Gelish.  Girls in the US are already complaining that the Mini's are extortion at $12.95USD.  So is $18.95CAD really a fair price here?  I say fuckin' bullshit to all of this!  As much as I'd love to spend my hard earned Canadian dollars IN Canada, retailers here are really making it impossible.

Later
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