Gelish MINI: An Experience Take 2

I was slightly skeptical but also interested to receive a Gelish MINI set from Nail and Harmony. Gelish is the professional only brand, Gelish MINI is the consumer brand (also available at Sally's Beauty Supply).

Because I wasn't ready to gel myself (haha), I decided to force my co-worker to let me do her nails. She's a tomboy who tends to chew her nails, so I didn't know how much of a challenge this would be. She told me I could paint her middle fingers.

The application booklet that came with the kit was very straight forward (which is great) and I felt pretty confident that I could do this.

First I had to prepare her nail. I applied Gelish Cleanser (the blue larger blue bottle) to a lent free wipe and wiped the nail plate. Then I pushed back her cuticle with an orange stick. Then I used the cushion file to remove the shine on her nail and used the Gelish Cleanser again to remove any dust from the nail.

Next is the Gelish pH Bond (bottle with orange writing on the right) which dries instantly on the nail. Then a thin coat of Gelish Foundation Gel was added sealing the edge. Make sure you remove any excess gel BEFORE you cure under the curing light. If there is gel on the cuticle or surrounding skin, it can cause the Gelish to lift when the excess gel is removed from the skin.

I have the LED Pro: 45 curing light so I placed her nail under for 20 seconds (manually counted). Next I applied a thin layer of Gelish Soak Off Gel Polish in June/Bride to her nail (her choice) and sealed the edge. That was cured for 45 seconds (which the lamp is made for 45 seconds so when it turned off automatically). We ended up doing 2 layers of color because it's a pink glitter that doesn't have a heavy base color.

Finally I applied Gelish Top It Off Gel Sealer and sealed the edge and let it cure for 45 seconds. After this, the nail was tacky, so it was time to remove it using the Gelish Cleanser on a lint free wipe.

She was SHOCKED that she was done - that quick! She tried to put her hands up to let the nails dry and I grabbed her hands and twisted the nails to show her that no, it's really dry.  It's DONE. (I also added some cuticle oil afterwards and rubbed her nails to show her that yes, it was really dry!)

So you can see that I got gel in BOTH cuticles on the right side of the picture but overall I was pretty proud of myself for the first time.

Now, Gelish should last up to three weeks but by the 8th day, she had peeled it off her nails (ow). She said that it came off very easily, no problems with sheeting or crumbling like I had. Will I try it again on myself? YES.

The Gelish MINI Basix Kit runs about $50 USD, and the Gelism MINI Pro 45 LED Curing Light is $70. Gelish colors runs $11-$15 per bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Sation Candylandia

When was the last time you played Candy Land? For me? It's been well over a decade but I have a young child now, so who knows! Check out this limited edition collection by Sation.

Sation sweetens the new year with Candylandia

Miss Professional Nail (Miss) has announced the launch of “Candylandia,” their Limited V nail lacquer collection. The flavored, fantasy-themed line presents 12 candy-coated colors with a mouth-watering range of confectionary names.

Candylandia was inspired by the edible escapism of Hasbro’s Candy Land board game, a classic favorite spanning six decades. Miss loved the bright, playful visuals of the swirly rainbow board, which sparked the creation of its own irresistibly sweet polish palette. This whimsical collection offers winning colors that will stir up memories of childhood imagination and endless game-playing.

Embark on a magical, manicured journey filled with fun characters and luscious lacquers. Sweeten up your new year when Candylandia hits the shelves this January.

Polish players, take your places at the Sation starting line!
AbbacaDazzle: Ta-da! You’ll go bonkers for this yummy sunflower yellow
Cast a Spill on You: A bewitching cornflower blue with a pearl sheen will hypnotize you
Chocolate Chip Resistant: A creamy cookie dough with a sugary glaze
I’m so Ogre it: Reach for this sleek steely gray for those moody mani days
Lollipop! Goes the Princess: Pucker up for this pale, pretty periwinkle
Paint Some Sugar on Me: This sparkly blue-raspberry shade will give you a sugar rush
Peppermint Pedi: Your nails will be in mint condition with this refreshing vermilion
Plenty of Frogs: A toad-ally awesome grassy green with a kiss of shimmer
Queenie in a Bottle: Blink blink blink for this royally rich pink!
Super Nail-tural Powers: A potent indigo-grape will keep your players spellbound
Unicorns are Teal: No one can clip your wings when wearing this mystical turquoise
You’re My Lacquer Charm: Cross your fingers and flash this pop-rock pink for good luck!

All Miss products are free of DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde
Miss is an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) certified company

Eyes Bright Glamour Violet Colour Contact Lenses

Image Courtesy of Eyes Bright

I've worn glasses since I was 6 and contacts since I was 15. I did go through a phase where I wore green colored contacts but the rest of it has been boring clear contacts due to my acute astigmatism. Boo.

When Eyes Bright asked if I'd like to try on some fashion lenses, I knew I couldn't say no. They offer a little something for everyone - well, if you have perfect vision that is because these are non-prescription only.  Since I have dark eyes, I chose from the Lenses for Dark Eyes selection and ultimately received the Glamour Violet Colour Contact Lenses.

These contacts come in transit liquid and MUST be soaked and stored in a Cleaning Solution before first use.

This is first thing in the morning (yikes!) and you can tell that my left eye is not happy about contacts. The color is definitely vibrant, even with my dark brown eyes.

However, because of my really bad eyesight, I had to wear my glasses all day, which slightly detract from purple eyes. No one at work noticed I had purple contacts and neither did my husband until I showed him. His only comment was "That's weird."

The contacts did feel a bit itchy when I wore them and there were times where I felt like the colored part of the lens was slipping down and I was get a slightly blurred vision.

The Glamour Violet Contact Lenses cost £14.99/$23.83 USD, free shipping when you spend over £25.00 and the shipping was less than 2 weeks turn around. I definitely think this is a fun way to spend Halloween or maybe even the occasional night out but until I can get prescription quality, I won't be wearing them too often.  You can view these and the other lenses at Eyes Bright.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

CosmoProf and Schedulicity

I was watching Tabitha's Salon Takeover and sometimes I think it would be awesome to own a salon. I received the following press release about CosmoProf and its exclusive partnership with Schedulicity, the leader in online appointment scheduling for small businesses. Please enjoy the following.

CosmoProf, Division of Beauty Systems Group LLC, Taps Schedulicity as Preferred Scheduling Partner

Leading Online Appointment Scheduling Company Can Help CosmoProf Customers Build Successful Beauty Businesses

DENTON, TX & BOZEMAN, MT (December 13, 2012, 2012) – CosmoProf, a division of Beauty Systems Group, LLC and leading provider of professional-only salon products and support, today announced an exclusive partnership with Schedulicity, the leader in online appointment scheduling for small businesses. Through this new relationship, Schedulicity can help CosmoProf customers increase their revenue and experience profitability in the business of beauty by filling their online appointment books and significantly increasing appointment based sales.

“Schedulicity and CosmoProf share a common mission: to provide unparalleled value and resources that help beauty professionals become more successful,” said Jerry Nettuno, president and CEO of Schedulicity. “We are honored and delighted to partner with this well-established and renowned brand, and to help CosmoProf customers maximize their business potential through the power of technology.”

Schedulicity takes the effort out of time-consuming tasks by completely automating and streamlining the scheduling process for daily services. By offering online service scheduling through various digital channels (including Schedulicity.com), businesses are able to easily and effectively attract new clients, increase the frequency with which their current clients schedule appointments and concentrate on providing the best possible service during business hours.

In commenting on the announcement, John Golliher, president of Beauty Systems Group, stated: “After vetting all other scheduling solutions, Schedulicity was by far the best in breed when meeting the needs of CosmoProf customers. Schedulicity’s track record of helping stylists increase revenues cannot be ignored. This partnership brings Schedulicity’s considerable marketing prowess and broad range of online scheduling capabilities to CosmoProf’s customers.”

Nettuno concluded, “The joint venture will provide both Schedulicity and CosmoProf with great opportunities for growth and collaboration. Our goal is to unveil Schedulicity to CosmoProf customers as quickly as possible in order to provide an immediate, positive impact on the hair care industry.”

About CosmoProf

CosmoProf is the choice for over a million beauty professionals across North America. Based in Denton, Texas, CosmoProf, is a Division of Beauty Systems Group LLC, which is a subsidiary of Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. CosmoProf is a business support group that provides professional-only salon product distribution and salon support. With now over 1,000 stores in North America and over 1,000 sales consultants, the company offers the largest assortment of professional salon brands in the industry along with a wide range of professional services including education and trade shows.  To learn more, please visit http://www.cosmoprofbeauty.com or CosmoProf’s Facebook Page.

About Schedulicity

Schedulicity is the leading online appointment scheduling solution for small businesses. To date, 17+ million appointments have been booked through Schedulicity in more than 2,300 cities across the U.S. and Canada, facilitating more than $1.2 billion in appointment-based commerce. Schedulicity earned a prestigious DEMOgod Award at DEMO Fall 2011 for exceptional potential to thrive in the market, and was also honored by Tech Awards Circle 2011 for Best SMB Service, recognizing small to mid-sized companies that have created truly outstanding technology services. To sign up for the service or to find a service provider near you, please visit http://www.schedulicity.com or Schedulicity’s Facebook page.

Pixi Classy Cocoa

The finale from the Pixi fall 2012 line was Classy Cocoa which isn't as brown as I would think. Instead it's a dusty purple with brown tones - very pretty! I used a base of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and Cult Nails Wicked Fast as my top coat.

See what I mean? It's super pretty and I was shocked how awesome it was. Duochrome? Metallic? Shimmer? I don't know what to call you, pretty Pixi.

Seriously very pretty. It doesn't look opaque on my middle finger, but it is. I was also pretty proud of my cuticles this day. Pretty awesome fall colour. You may still be able to find it.

Pixi [Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | YouTube] can be purchased online from their website or use find a retailer using their Online Retailers search engine for $8.00 for a 7ml/0.25 fl oz bottle.  You can also purchase Pixi at Target!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.