Here are some in general things I get asked about on a daily basis, whether it be through social media, in person by strangers, or in some cases by friends and family who just don't understand the polish addiction! As for the brief touch on hand care, that is by no means what you should be doing, and by no means something you have to do. It is simply what works best for me, and I thought I would share! :) I may be going to school to become a nail technician, but I am by no means one yet!
How long have you been into nail polish?
I always liked doing my nails, and when I was younger getting my nails done. When I was about 18, around 2004, my best friend and I started giving ourselves weekly mani, pedis at home, and we got pretty good at it too. Somewhere throughout that we stopped doing it, and I neglected my nails, then a little over a year ago, back in early 2013 I saw an image on a friends facebook feed of some Konad stamped nails. I fell in love instantly, and had to know how to be able to do that. A quick Google search turned up insane amounts of information, and the rest is history! Although, when I first started with the konad stamper set I bought off Amazon, I couldn't stamp a thing for weeks! :P
Why did you start a blog?
I love nail art, and I feel like in terms of nail art I am still fairly new at it, and learning every day. I wanted a place I could document my success and failures. I also wanted a place to find fellow polish addicts like myself, since all my friends and family were getting horribly sick of me texting them bad phone pictures every other day of my nails, and trying to make them talk about polish was just bad, oh so bad. They pretty much all think I am nuts! :P A blog seemed like the perfect outlet for me, to do all of the things I wanted to do.
Are those your real nails?
Yes, yes in fact they are. I haven't worn fake nails since I was about 15.
How many polishes do you actually own?
Oh..I have never actually counted, to be honest I am a bit afraid too. I had a fairly large collection before I seriously started collecting, I would say about 30 or so back then. Now, if I had to venture a guess, I would say somewhere around 300-350.
How do you keep your hands and nails looking so healthy?
I naturally have pretty weak and peely nails, so I am almost never without Nail Envy as my base. Once in a while I use a peel-able base, or switch it up if someone gives me something else, but as a general rule, that is my HG base coat. I also moisturize at least 15 times a day. I never put my hands in water, without it being followed by hand cream. I also exfoliate my hands weekly with a hand exfoliater, I don't have a specific brand of either, it is pretty much what is on hand. Currently, my hand cream of choice is KBShimmer Pink Sugar Lotion, although, sometimes I will grab The Body Shop Body Butter if it is closer to me. The exfoliater I am using at the moment is one from The Body Shop. I am pretty flexible about which exfoiliater I use, and switch it up daily. Last but not least is cuticle creme/oil. I use both. One is a cuticle creme by OPI, and the other is Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil. I use these religiously, and this combination seems to be working very well for me, since my nails don't peel anymore, and they are much stronger then they were before. The best advice I can offer is, that every person is different, and that each person will have a combination of things that work, or don't work for them. The only part of this that is universal, is daily use, you have to take good care of your hands. You have to not neglect them if you want them to look their best.
Do you ever nip your cuticles!?
No, not unless it is required for school :P I don't have super unruly cuticles by nature, even when I knew nothing about hand care and nail care they were in pretty good condition, so now with regular maintenance, there is no need. I would suggest NOT nipping them, since each time they are nipped they grow back thicker then before, but if you must do it, make sure you know how too, or have a licensed professional do it for you. Badly nipped cuticles are not only a breeding ground for infection, they can cause permanent damage to your nail plate if done incorrectly.
How do you end up with such clean lines around your nails? Are you a superhero who paints without mistakes!?
Ha! Not even close, I make mistakes all the time, and although my polishing skills are much neater then when I started I still clean up with a Kolinsky french tip brush in size 12, and pure Acetone that I purchase at Sally Beauty.
What topcoat do you use?
I mostly use Glisten and Glow HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat, since it works amazingly well for me, but I do also use KBShimmer Clearly on Top, and once in a while Seche Vite. Top coats are a thing of chemistry, keep that in mind when trying to find your perfect top coat.
Actually your nails are like hair. They aren't living once they leave the cuticle, so there is no need for them to breathe, giving your nails oxygen is about as good as giving it too a rock. It doesn't need it.
Don't you ever worry, that with owning that much polish, it will start to go bad?
Nope, polish doesn't go bad! It can be hard as a rock, at the bottom of the bottle, literally a small rock, and you can still salvage it! For more information on how to fix dried up polish you should look here ! Just don't ever put remover in it!! The chemicals in remover, actually break down the polish over time, so you are sending your polish to an early grave by adding remover. Polish thinner and polish remover are NOT the same thing!
Where do you find all this stuff for nail art!?
I get some things from places like Sally Beauty, Walmart, Shoppers Drug Mart, and salons that are local to me, but a lot my polishes, and nail art supplies are found online, since deals tend to be better. To see an extensive list of places I tend to frequent in my online shopping look here
What camera do you use? How do you get such clear images?
I use a Canon T3i with an 18-55mm lens. I want a macro lens badly, but sadly it just isn't in the budget at the moment. I also use a tripod to get a steady and clear image.
Any other photo tricks you have that would help me with my images?
I use a homemade light box and two daylight bulbs for all my images. I live in Canada, so I can't depend on natural light for about 6 months of the year. Not to mention sometimes my schedule is a bit crazy so quite often I am taking my photos after dark.
What program do you use for editing your photo's, and do you edit them much?
I use Adobe Photoshop CS5 to crop and watermark all of my images. I try to not edit my images to much, sometimes there is a colour balance issue, or a puppy hair that I didn't notice while taking pictures that I need to fix, but as a general rule no I don't edit much. I want everything to look as is with my images. I want the colours and such to be accurate, so I try to avoid it as much as possible.
Alright, I think that this is a pretty good start! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask below or send me an email, I will do my best to answer them, and get them posted up here for reference! If I think of anything else I will add it to the list!
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