Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Nail Polish! - Part 2

Welcome to the second half of my summer nail polish surprise!  In my prior post I mentioned that I happened upon a shop called Life on a Sandbar in Nags Head, North Carolina while on a family vacation.   Once there, I saw a sign for a Del Sol Nail Polish.  I was familiar with Del Sol color changing T-shirts, since I purchased one once at a shop in Virginia Beach several years ago.  I didn't realize that  Del Sol offered nail polishes now, so I had to check them out. 

For those who missed my last blog and to those who are unaware, Del Sol makes t-shirts and now nail polishes that change color in the sunlight.  The colors in the products use a technology that was developed by NASA called SpectraChrome.  To explain it simply, SpectraChrome acts like a flower in sunlight, opening when it hits the suns rays to reveal the inner color.  With the nail polishes, it seems that you can have almost any color on the outside and then when the sun hits the SpectraChrome molecule, it opens to reveal it's inner color.  Nina, the manager at  Life on a Sandbar was extremely helpful in finding four polishes for me that had some extreme color changes in the nail polishes.  The second two I want to show you today are Electrik and Glitz & Glam.

I really liked Electrik, and so did some of my clients, because of it's frosted teal blue.  Again, the frosted color went on pretty smoothly, as frosts go, and the color was a gorgeous shade of teal blue.  

While you can't see it so well from these photos, Electrik goes from a teal blue to a Mint Green in full sun.  Check out the next photo to really see the difference.

Again, since I am such a "green girl" I just loved this one.

The next color I want to share with you is a glitter polish called "Glitz & Glam".  It is such a pretty medium iced blue that turns glittery purple in the sunlight.

Even better is a pic of Glitz & Glam in full sunlight!

I have some "die-hard" purple fans amongst my clientele (they know who they are) and I thought they were going to fall off their chair when they saw this color in the sunlight!

I would like to thank the folks at  Life on a Sandbar for introducing me to these fun nail polishes!  And if you wanted to see more of these colors, this is not my last blog on Del Sol color changing nail polish collections.  There are more on their way, complements of the Del Sol shop in beautiful Sedona, AZ.  

If you missed the first blog, check out "Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Nail Polish! - Part 1"  

Don't forget to enter our Del Sol Nail Polish Contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stay tuned for more Del Sol Nail Polish colors to come!

Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Polish! - Part 1

Summertime is for fun, sandals, beaches, sand and FUN polish colors!  Sure, you can wear a french but that's boring compared to what I found when I was on vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I happened upon a shop called Life on a Sandbar in Nags Head near a fun kite store.  I saw a sign for a Del Sol Nail Polish.  I had been in a Del Sol shop in Virginia Beach, and purchased a T-shirt several years ago, so I was aware of the color changing properties of the Del Sol products.  I didn't realize that they offered nail polishes now, so I had to check these nail polishes.  For those who were unaware, Del Sol makes t-shirts and now nail polishes that change color in the sunlight.  I had purchased a cute black and white t-shirt that, in the sun, changed to beautiful pinks, blues, greens and violets.


The store's manager, Nina, was extremely helpful.  She started showing me the different polishes and found out that I was interested in colors with a more extreme color change.  She shared with me several different colors that were popular and had a great color change.  Nina introduced me to two glitter polishes and two frosted nail polishes.  I will be sharing them with you here in  two part series. (I will apologize now for the quality of some of the photos as some are a bit blurry.)


The first color I'll share is Spike.  Spike is a very pretty frosted mint green.

I loved the consistency of this frosted formula. I know frosts are sometimes hard to apply for most people.  They tend to look streaky, but this formula didn't seem to have that much of an issue to make it look smooth. Since I am a "green" girl, I fell in love with this shade without sunlight, but in the sunlight it turned a light lilac.

The second color I will share with you today has been, so far, my client's favorite!  It's called Ruby Slipper.

Sometimes I wish I was a professional photographer, but alas, my skills are more in manicuring than in photography. I wish my photographic skills were better, but you have to admit, the color change effects with the Del Sol Nail Polishes are stunning.  As I said, this is my client's favorite for now.

I will share with you the next two colors in Part 2 of "Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Polish!" next week!
Enjoy the colors and remember, shop local where you can.  If you find yourself on the Outerbanks of North Carolina, specifically Nags Head, check out the shop Life on a Sandbar.  Nina is really helpful and they offer a Buy 3. Get one Free deal on their Del Sol Polishes. 

You can also find a local Del Sol store by going to http://www.delsol.com/stores.html.  Or you can purchase online at http://www.delsol.com/womens/nail-polish.html.

Bella10 is giving away a free bottle of Del Sol Ruby Slipper and CutiOil,1/2 oz and the 2 oz Refill Size.  To enter click on the link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out "Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Polish!" Part 2.

Maintaining Your Favorite Nail Polish - Nail Polish Series - Part 3

We all have that favorite bottle of nail polish... You know the one.  In Part 1, you learned how to revive and thin out your old polish. You could try to do that again but you've already thinned it two or three times.  If you thin it one more time, it'll start chipping sooner.  In Part 2, you found out how to keep your nail polish from getting thick too soon, just by keeping the neck and cap clean.  So now what?   It's such a waste when only get a half of the color out of the bottle before you have to throw it away.  There is an answer.

If you have a specific nail polish color that you really like, you should buy two bottles of the polish color.  

Use one of them to polish your nails.  
Use the second bottle to refill and refresh the first bottle!  
Simple!  

Clean the neck and the cap of the bottle you use to polish with.

Use your "refill" bottle to fill up your "polishing" bottle.

Fill a small amount of your "polishing" bottle 
with some fresh base coat of the same brand. 
Remember to keep the necks of all the bottles free of any spilled polish.
Cap your bottles then shake the "polishing" bottle 
to mix the fresh polish in with the older polish.  
If you plan to use it right away, you should let all the bubbles inside settle first.

You now have a fresh bottle to polish with and you can store 

your "refill" bottle somewhere away from direct sunlight and heat 

so you can use it again when you need it.

This way, you get one and a half bottles of the polish color out of the two bottles instead of only getting half of the color out of each bottle.

Keep all your polishes fresh this way.

I even keep a large bottle of base coat to refill the bottle I use regularly.

Using this technique, you won't degrade the integrity of the nail polish and it will be less likely to chip later as it wears on the nail.

I hope you've enjoyed the Nail Polish Series.  Send me a message if there is a topic about Natural Nails, Nail Care or Nail Polish that you would like some insight into.  I'm happy to share my knowledge and experience!

Caring for Your Nail Polish – Nail Polish Series – Part 2

     We all have that favorite bottle of nail polish in our private collections that we absolutely love but it’s beyond saving.  We can’t open the bottle, and if we can, it’s a goopy mess and our heart breaks when we hear it go “thud” in the garbage can.  How could we have let our favorite color get so bad.

     The key is to not let nail polish build up around the neck of the bottle or up into the cap.  When the polish builds up on the neck and cap of the bottle, it allows air into the bottle which then thickens the nail polish.  In Part 1, we learned how to revive that old bottle of nail polish that was hard to open and was practically too thick to use.  Now we are going to see how easy it is to prevent that from happening too fast.  And you don’t need to keep your nail polish in the refrigerator (see “Keeping Your Polish Fresh”)

     It’s all in how you wipe the excess nail polish from the brush before applying it to your nail.

This is not the proper way to wipe off excess nail polish.  

     This will definitely allow the nail polish to build up around the neck of the bottle very fast.  If you insist on doing it this way, be prepared to wipe off the neck of the bottle every time you polish, before you tighten the lid, to prevent it from getting into the cap.

An easy way to minimize polish on the neck of the bottle 

is to wipe off the nail polish this way.   

     You may need to clean this up every few times you use the polish because it you may still get a little polish on the neck of the bottle.  The nice part is that it won’t be as often and all your excess polish goes back inside the bottle instead of on the neck and inside the cap.

Watch for Part 3 in the Nail Polish Series “Maintaining Your Favorite Nail Polish”

Reviving Old Nail Polish - Nail Polish Series Part 1

Working as a nail technician, you learn quickly that you need to maintain your nail polish collection for optimum use and to save $Money$!  Today I'm going to show you how to reclaim an old, and probably favorite, bottle of nail polish.  We all have something like this lying around.  When you shake it, you can barely hear the metal blending beads.  And trying to open it is nearly impossible.  I'm not saying every bottle of nail polish can be saved, especially if it is too far gone.  Once some of them have been saved, they still may not last as long as you want and eventually you will have to purchase a new bottle.  We’ll cover “Getting the Most Out of Your Nail Polish” in    Part 3. Today, we'll be saving OPI's Ruble For Your Thoughts It's pretty thick and I can barely hear the blending beads.  For this task, we’ll need Polish Remover, an Eye Dropper,  Polish Thinner and a Base Coat Nail Polish.       If you cannot open the bottle, one of the best methods I've found is to put polish remover inside the lid of the polish bottle.  Turn the bottle up-side-down and slowly drip polish remover down the side of the bottle, so that it runs down the side and fills the cap with remover.  Let it sit this way for about 10-15 minutes.  I found that this works better than hot water poured on the cap.  But keep that method in mind if this doesn't work easily.  Let’s just hope we don’t need a pair of pliers to grab a hold of the lid.  Do not use the pliers on the glass part of the bottle! After you get the bottle open, you'll notice that if you  try to apply the nail polish, it goes on "goop-ey". Look at all the nail polish on the neck of the bottle and inside the cap.   This is what was gluing your bottle shut.   We'll need to clean this up first. Remove the brush stem from the cap with a lint free paper towel  soaked with polish remover.   This will aid you with cleaning it easily.    Then fill the cap with polish remover and let it soak and soften.  Clean the neck of the bottle.

 After 10-15 minutes, clean out the inside of the cap 
by stuffing the paper towel down inside and twisting the cap 
like you are tightening the cap onto the paper towel.  
You may need to re-soak to get all the nail polish 
out from the inside of the cap.

Now it’s time to thin the polish and make it work-able.  

Here, you will need a nail polish (or nail lacquer) thinner 

and a base coat nail polish.  

It is always optimal, but not always necessary, to use matching brands, 

such as OPI for the thinner.  I do not have an OPI base coat, 

I only have a Jessica base coat for this demonstration. 

Add enough polish thinner so that the blending beads move freely. 

*Note* Do not use polish remover as your thinner.  
It breaks down the polish but in a manner that 
the nail polish qualities become compromised. 
 In other words, your favorite nail polish will probably 
chip faster than it ever did before.

Now add a little of your base coat nail polish to increase adhesion 
to the nail and minimize the risk of chipping polish.

Replace the brush stem and the cap and tighten the cap on to the bottle.   

Shake the bottle vigorously to blend everything together

You will find that the polish will apply smoother 

with less streaking and last you a little bit longer overall.  

I hope you learned something from this tutorial.  
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Nail Polish Series where 
I will show you how to easily prevent the build up of nail polish that 
threatens to thicken your polish once more called “Caring for Your Nail Polish”

       Working as a nail technician, you learn quickly that you need to maintain your nail polish collection for optimum use and to save $Money$!  Today I'm going to show you how to reclaim an old, and probably favorite, bottle of nail polish.  We all have something like this lying around.  When you shake it, you can barely hear the metal blending beads.  And trying to open it is nearly impossible.  I'm not saying every bottle of nail polish can be saved, especially if it is too far gone.  Once some of them have been saved, they still may not last as long as you want and eventually you will have to purchase a new bottle.  We’ll cover “Getting the Most Out of Your Nail Polish” in    Part 3.

Today, we'll be saving OPI's Ruble For Your Thoughts

It's pretty thick and I can barely hear the blending beads.

 For this task, we’ll need Polish Remover, an Eye Dropper, 

Polish Thinner and a Base Coat Nail Polish. 

     If you cannot open the bottle, one of the best methods I've found is to put polish remover inside the lid of the polish bottle.  Turn the bottle up-side-down and slowly drip polish remover down the side of the bottle, so that it runs down the side and fills the cap with remover.  Let it sit this way for about 10-15 minutes.  I found that this works better than hot water poured on the cap.  But keep that method in mind if this doesn't work easily.  Let’s just hope we don’t need a pair of pliers to grab a hold of the lid.  Do not use the pliers on the glass part of the bottle!

After you get the bottle open, you'll notice that if you 

try to apply the nail polish, it goes on "goop-ey".

Look at all the nail polish on the neck of the bottle and inside the cap.  

This is what was gluing your bottle shut.  

We'll need to clean this up first.

Remove the brush stem from the cap with a lint free paper towel 

soaked with polish remover.  

This will aid you with cleaning it easily.   

Then fill the cap with polish remover and let it soak and soften.

 Clean the neck of the bottle. 

Laser Treatment for Toenail Fungus

If you have a toenail fungus, you know it is difficult to get rid of. Most over the counter remedies have only a 1-2% cure rate while products like Lamisil have approximately a 90% cure rate but most people are worried about the potential for harmful side effects and they don't want to try to process this through their liver. 

There is another option... Laser treatments! Clinical sutdies have shown that around 90% of the patients that were treated this way developed normal nail growth after only one lazer treatment! And there are no harmful side effects. This is GREAT news!

The Nuvolase PinPointe FootLaser is, so far, the only laser that has gained FDA approval for the treatment of toenail fungus. The treatment is usually 40 minutes long and the cost can be anywhere between $200-500 dollars per treatment.  And yes, that can mean per toenail.  Most patients will only need one treatment but there are cases where more than one treatment are necessary.  The bad news is that any type of toenail fungus treatment is considered "Cosmetic" by most medical insurances so it is typically not covered.  I personally think that the laser treatment of toenail fungus is the best option by far!

If you are interested in having your toenail fungus laser-ed, check with your 
local doctor to find a Laser Technician specializing in this type of procedure.  Or go to http://www.nuvolase.com/patients/find-a-provider.

Chipped Polish

Why do most women, even after a great manicure in their favorite nail salon, have problems with their polish chipping.

There are several reasons that polish chips or peels.

Let's take a look at application first.

Peeling is usually because there is too much oil on the natural nail between the nail itself and the base coat of polish. It is very important to clean the natural nail of any and all oils, creams and lotions, paying special attention to the tip and cuticle area. This is a very important step if you want your polish to stay. Polish itself, should also be kept out of the cuticle area. Applying a base coat (because it is more flexible and adheres better to the natural nail), two coats of the color polish and then a good topcoat (which adds shine and protects the color from wear) is important. When applying the base coat and the top coat, it is always a good idea to apply the polish around the tip of the nail where you file the nail.

The polish itself. . .
 

It is always a good idea to use fresh polish and not polish that is too old or thinned out improperly. This type of polish will usually breakdown quicker than a fresher polish. To keep your polish fresher, longer, keep the neck of the bottle and the inside cap free of polish as this allows air into the bottle and thus thickens it more quickly.

Water

Stay out of water for long periods of time 24 hours after having your nails done. The reason is that your nails are made of the same types of cells as your skin, they have just dried out and flattened out as they grow out from your cuticle area. Also, your skin swells as it absorbs the water that you are in. It doesn't take too long for this to happen. So if your skin swells when it is in water, so do your nails. If your polish has not fully set (which it takes a full 24 hours to completely set) and you are in water long enough for your nails to start swelling, your polish is going to swell with it. When your nails contract again, your polish won't. You have increased your risk of your polish chipping just by taking a quick swim in the pool, or soak in a hot tub.

Maintenance

 

Yes, I said maintenance. We can't apply polish to our nails and expect it to just magically stay there without any wear and tear. If your polish can chip by having your nails swell while the polish is drying, imagine that your polish has completely dried. Polish is plastic and while it is slightly flexible, it is not invunerable. Your nails, through wear, are continually expanding and contracting when it is in water. Eventually, the polish will disengage from the nail where it keeps expanding and contracting. Like water under a shingle. So all you have to touch is a towel and the polish chips off where it loosened. The trick is to keep applying polish down the nail and around the tip of the nail (where you would file) starting the day after your manicure.It really isn't difficult to maintain your polish if you follow the above procedures. 

For more info on natural nail care and to get the latest book

"The Secret to Beautiful Natural Nails"

Visit the following websites
http://www.bella10.com/
or
http://www.secrettobeautifulnaturalnails.com/