Nail Tech?

I have always been interested in nail art, with my experience being limited only to applying the nail polish and letting it air-dry. I am the go-to girl in my family for anyone who would like to have their toenails painted. My mom was my first and only client for quite a long time. Painting her toenails was a way for me to express how much I really loved her with my nose deeply buried into the lovely scent of toenails she always cuts way too deeply for my liking. Fortunately, I am not grossed out by the sight or smell of toes.

On Sunday the 16th of March 2020 I was supposed to be studying for a test I was meant to write the following Monday, but I decided to start doing my nails instead. This blog will be taking you through the amateur process of which I painfully did my nails to almost perfection.

SUPPLIES

China Mall in Johannesburg

Acrylic nails

Acrylic liquid (brace your nasal passages for this extremely strong smelling liquid)

Acrylic powder (white)

Glue

Acrylic liquid dish

Top coat

Base coat (which I forgot to use this time)

Acrylic nail brushes

Cuticle oil

Two nail polishes I did not end up using because I liked the white of the acrylic powder.

Supplies I already had:

Nail filers (three)

Nail buffer (one)

UV light (a gracious gift I received on my 20th birthday)

Paper towels :/ :)

Yes, I know I glued that acrylic nail onto half of my nail :'(. But I was not really paying attention at this first step. I managed to get my left hand glued with ease using my right hand, but my right? A mess. Nonetheless, I trusted that my patient filing skills would cover up for these mistakes.

Unlike the first time I did my nails, this time I cut the acrylic nail carefully down to the length I wanted it to be. The set came shaped as stiletto nails, but I wanted a coffin shape, so I spent the next hour twisting and turning my hand to check if I had successfully achieved the correct shape, whilst inhaling the dust particles of the filed down acrylic. It looks weird in the above picture, I know, just wait for the final look :).

This is just a picture of all my filers (on top) and my buffer (below). The filer second from the top did all the work. It was new, so it was sharp enough to file faster, but also dangerous enough to bruise my cuticles and overfile the acrylic nail. That injection-like thingy in the background is my cuticle oil.

I actually did not take a picture of the beading process; that is taking a brush, dipping it into the acrylic liquid (which you pour into the acrylic liquid glass dish) and then into the powder and applying the mixture onto the nail like the amateur artist I am. I suck at it. It would have traumatized you. Let's just skip that and move along to the part after I had filed the nails down.

I was actually supposed to add a layer of color-transitioning nail polish to my white acrylics (white now due to the beading process), but I stopped at the white and fell in love. So, I took my UV light and placed my nails carefully under it, first with one layer of top coat, then another layer just to give that extra shine and glow.

And this, was the final result. After three hours of laboring with a perfectionist's eye, I could stare at my nails long enough and not want to rip them out. Depending on how long they remain stuck to my nails, I might start practicing this on my friends. Hopefully the next time I do them, I will have a better step-by -step pictorial (picture tutorial) on how I do my nails. Until then, xx.