Nail piercing DIY

Nailpiercings have been in and out of trend, but sometimes I do like to wear them.
I will show you how to pierce your nail and how to make your own dangle.

Some FAQ's about nailpiercings:

Q: Will it get infected?
A: No! Not at all. The piercing doesn't go through any skin or flesh, it goes through the free edge of the nail. And which we all know, nails are made up out of keratin and dead cells.

Q: Does it hurt?
A: Only if you are squeamish about needles. No just kidding, it does not hurt at all. Does it hurt when you cut your nails with a trimmer?

Q: What happens to the hole when I take the piercing out
A: It will grow out as your nail grows, or if you want to get rid of the hole immediately, you just simply shorten your nail.

Q: Will this weaken the structure of my nails?
A: If placed in the right spot, it wouldn't.

Q: What if I get it caught on something?
A: Most likely the O-ring will open up and it will fall out. Worst case scenario... You'll end up with a severed finger and need to go to the E.R. (again, just a joke)

Anyway, let's get on with the step by step

The things you will need:
- 1 headpin

- beads / swarovski crystals / ...

- round nose pliers

- cutting pliers

- piercing tool

Take the headpin and put the bead on it. Let it slide all the way to the end.
With your round nose pliers make a bend 2-3 mm above the bead.

 Again, with round nose pliers, twist the wire around to create a loop.

 Then twist the wire around the base of the loop to close it off

With cutting pliers, cut off the excess wire. But don't throw it away, just yet.

With the piece you just cut off, you are going to make an O-ring. Place the wire on the round nose pliers and twist the wire completely around.

Cut off the overlapping piece of wire.

Open up the O-ring and put the dangle on.

Now it's time to pierce the nail. Grab your nail piercing tool. You can buy one in a nail supply store, or make one yourself out of a plastic handle and a small drill bit. 

Grab your finger and hold it into a death grip to make it doesn't want to bail out. Flip your finger upside down so that the nail faces the table. Place the drill on the underneath in one corner, far enough from the side and far enough from the edge. If you place the hole in the wrong place, you have a chance that the corner will crack off. Start turning the drill clockwise and put a little bit of pressure on it till you go all the way through. Twist anti clockwise to remove the drill from the hole.

When you have your hole drilled and your dangle ready, we will put them together.

Put the O-ring through the hole and grab each end with pliers and close it.

You can create all sorts of dangles, it doesn't have to be a crystal.

If you liked this DIY, don't forget to share it and I will see you next time!

My horror stories

In the nail industry, you encounter many different personalities. But don't let that hold back from doing what you love to do, and that is doing beautiful nails.

I do have my fair share of hate/love stories.
Wether it is friends from friends, family or people that heard that I did nails and wanted to check me out, here are some that are the worst.

This is not to make fun of people or not to be rude, but I thought it would be fun to talk about the way people treated me or what happened in those 8 years doing nails so that maybe you could avoid it or if it happens, know that you're not alone in this world.



Person A.
I don't mind people coming 5 minutes late. There is always a traffic jam somewhere or something unforeseen. But I've had a girl coming 2 hours late. I've known her for a while and she had her nails done by me a couple times before. She texted me: I won't be long. One hour later she texted me again: I'm on my way. I was thinking: what is she driving? A unicycle?
After 2 hours she finally arrived with a huge, shiny Mercedes Benz, so that cleared the unicycle mystery. She apologized for being late. She whooped out her Blackberry and started texting, so while she was doing that I started on her nails. When she finally managed to stop texting she looked up to me and said: My friend does nails too but she doesn't ask as much as you do. (Why come to me then?) And also, didn't you raise your price? So I said: No I didn't, it always was the same price. (Please note that I don't ask a lot and I still don't ask a lot, for the region we are in. Giving the quality of my work, I think I ask way too little). The phone kept going on and off, so that drove me a little crazy. Anyways, 2 and a half hours later I was finally done, took the money and exchanged goodbyes.

A couple weeks later she texted me to have her nails touched up, so we set up a day and time. Keeping in mind she was late last time, I said to my husband: If she isn't here on time, I'll wait one hour and if she still isn't here, we go out and that will teach her a lesson.
So as before, she wasn't here on time, so I gave her a call. She didn't pick up her phone so I left her a message asking if she could call me back and asking if she had forgotten our appointment. Half an hour later I tried calling her again. Same thing, no answer. So after one and a half hour, she still wasn't here so I took my bag and we left. Not even 5 minutes later she phone me back, saying she was sorry but she slept in late, asking if she could still come. So I told her we went out because we had to be somewhere and since she was one and a half hour late (the time I spend on nails) I don't have the time to do her nails anymore. (This was a big lie, but that ought-a teach her a lesson) She then said: Oh please, I'll be right there, I really need my nails to be done because I need to go somewhere. Sorry, no can do.

A long time had passed, I'm guessing she either had no nails anymore or she went elsewhere. She texted me if I could do her nails. At that time I was fed up with her so I said: No I'm sorry I quit doing nails on other people.
Another time had passed and all of the sudden she rang my doorbel. She had the audacity to ask me if she could buy my nail stuff, and I quote "for very cheap", because she was starting nail school.
So I said to her: No, I'm not selling my nail stuff because I still do my own nails.
She then asked if I could give her all of my nail picture that I had done so she could use them in school. (and probably pass it off as her own work!) Do I have a sign on my forehead that says "stupid"? I said no.
She left and I only saw her once after that. I was driving and she was on the side of the road. She noticed my car and she started waving and making gestures, wanting me to pull over. I then acted like I didn't see all of her gestures and looked surprised, waved back with a big smile on my face and cruised on ahead like a woman that had just captured the crown of Queen Elizabeth, never seeing or hearing from her again.

Person B
Person B is a woman that Person A had introduced me to Person B for doing her nails. They work in the same company. But this had happened before all the trouble person A caused.
So Person B, a somewhat cocky woman, driving a nice flashy Vespa, talking all about her husband being in the airforce, making big money, going on holidays, buying a new surround sound system, having airconditioning installed into their home, having a gardner trimming their neatly placed bushes and what not... She had been having her nails done by me for a good couple of months when all of a sudden she showed up to her appointment with nails that looked like crap. She said her neighbour's daughter was going to nail school and needed a model to work on. You know, me being gullible, I believed her because I had once been a model before. So I tidied up her nails and made them look all brand new and beautiful.
A couple weeks after Person A came for her nails and she was talking about person B's nails.
She said: Did you see Person B's nails? She had found a nail tech on the internet that did nails at people's home for cheap.

I'm thinking... If you brag to me about all the money you have and all those good things you buy, why the hell would you be so greedy on your nails and then lie to me about it?
Long story short, after a while I didn't hear from her again, but I didn't care.



Person C
This woman has been a friend of mine for a long time and if you read this, I am sorry but this had hurt my feelings.
She is a lovely person, bubbly, funny and a nice woman to just hang around with.
Since I graduated nail school she had been on and off getting her nails done by me whenever she felt like or whenever she needed to go some place special. But then she started having eczema problems and it started effecting her nails. I am no doctor but this was not a fungus and it started on the palms of her hands. So it was wise to stop doing nails till at least she had been to the doctor and had cured it.
So after a long time she got engaged and was going to be wed. On her wedding day, she looked amazing. A real beautiful bride. Since I couldn't get a day off of work I missed the ceremony but was still invited to the party. I asked if I could see her wedding ring and it was then, that I saw she had her nails done. A simple french gel nail. Done by someone else.
I do not care who people go to to get their nails done, even if they came to me and then go some place else. But knowing that your friend who you went to highschool with and share so many memories with, went some place else to get their nails done, really for me was a bit heartbreaking.

Person D
This person was a seemingly nice girl, decent and had the same weird taste in humor as I did. She was coming for about 7 months, every 3 weeks for her nails. One time she said: omg, I forgot to go to the ATM to get some money, is it ok that I'll drop by later and pay you then? Knowing her for some time, I thought it was no big deal and said it was ok. As she said, she dropped by and gave me the money.  Couple appointment had passed and I finished doing nails. She wanted something pretty and shiny and I put a lot of effort, glitter and bling into it, so it obviously was a little bit more pricy than a normal french set. She took her wallet, opened it and said: Oh I am so sorry, but my boyfriend must have taken some money out, can I come back tomorrow and pay you? (since it was late at night)
So I said, sure. Because it had happened before and I thought she was trustworthy.
So the next day, she didn't come but she sent me a text saying that something had come up and that she'll drop by the day after.  Days had passed and I kind of forgot about it (because I tend to forget things). Till one day I looked back on some pictures and I saw her set, so I decided to text her, asking when she is going bring over the money (I think it was 30euro) She responded that she forgot about it and she was sorry and she was "totally" going to drop by later and hand it over.
She never came. So I decided to call her, she never picked up or never responded. Since I had her on facebook, thought I'd have a look. Law and behold, she just posted pictures of her going gliding on a hypersonic glider. (you know those aircrafts which they pull up into the air with another aircraft and then they glide)
I am not a bitchy person, but at that instant I thought it was time to put on my naughty shoes. So I put to her (and tagged her name so everybody could see): "Dear Person D, I see you went gliding, but yet you don't find it necessary to come clear your debts you have with me. I think it is really low that you would show your true colors for (I think it was) 30 euro. Could you please man up and pay me. Thank you" As of that day, I was removed and blocked on facebook, but I felt good!


Person E
Another person wanted me to fix ONE nail on a set that was done by some one else. So she turned up and brought in her kid with her. I love kids, don't get me wrong, but when you show up, please please please clean up your kid. This baby who had just started walking had nasty boogers all over his nose, dripping down into his mouth, most of them were dried up and all crusty.
So anyway, me thinking: One nail, easy peasy and she will be out the door soon. Guess again? She just stayed in my chair, sitting with her legs curled up, like as if she was at home, talking to me, while her kid went walking about, all through my house, without her even paying attention to him. My kids didn't even want to come near him so they took off to their bedrooms to go play. Also note that I have a little cute furry dog, who is very sweet, who I already put into her cage for my dogs own safety (boogers, pinching fingers and what not).
When she was finalllllyyy ready to go home she had to go look for her kid, who by that time was already in my bathroom and had knocked over the cat's waterbowl, tossed around clean litter from the litterbox and emptied out the trash can next to the toilet.
And you know, us women, we menstruate. It's nature doing it's job. And that day, out of all the days, I was menstruating, carefully and as hygienic as possible disposing of my tampons/pads into that particular trash can. Could you imagine? Used tampons and pads between cat litter and toilet paper, all soaked with water. I felt so embarrassed and she never even apologized...




But for all the other lovely ladies, you were/are a real pleasure to do nails on!

Hope you liked my horror stories and if you have some of your own, please do share.

How to acrylic nails - 3D bow and red sparkles

3D bows never seem to bore me. They are pretty, sexy, classy and cute at the same time. It can go with almost any design. And the fun part is: They are easy to make when knowing how to work with acrylic. Sure it takes some practice but once you understand how it works, you will be able to create one perfect bow after the other. Handcrafted designs are much desired amongst nail lovers.

After removing the old design and doing prep and prime, I applied the red glitter mix the the free edge and spread it all the way across. To create a fade, I drag my brush upward trough the glitter towards the cuticle. Depending on how far you want your fade to be, you need more or less glitter.

Right before applying the clear acrylic to encapsulate the glitter and forming the nail, I applied a last coat of primer. While the primer is still wet, I applied a big ball of clear acrylic near the cuticle and held her hand in an angle so that it will run downward rather than up. This way prevents lifting problems.
Pat the acrylic all the way across from one side to the other and brush down. Because the ball is large, it should cover the whole area. If you feel like you need more acrylic in some places, you can always add more. The less you use, the less you have to file away. Don't forget to smooth out the acrylic to make filing much easier and faster.

When everything is dry, I filed and shaped the nail to the desire thickness and shape. (You know when the acrylic has hardened when you tap on it with the end of your brush and you hear a "tick tick tick" sound. If you hear a more of a muffled sound like "tok tok", you should wait a little longer)

At this point, I let her wash her hands with warm water and soap to get rid of any dust and residue chemicals.

Now for the fun part! For me personally, it is easier to create the opposite side of the bow first. For example: I am right handed, so I create the left part first. The reason being is: it's much more easy to get an almost exact copy of the left side.
So to create the left hand, I let her flip her hand so that her fingernails are pointing up. Doing this, the left side of the nail will temporary be on the right, making it easier to sculpt with my right hand. (It makes perfect sense in my head, so I hope you understand)

I picked up a small ball of white acrylic with a size 4 oval acrylic brush. On a paper towel, I drained the back of the brush to get rid of any excess monomer. I placed the ball on the right side of the flipped nail and wiped my brush to get rid of the left over monomer. I started pushing the ball in the middle towards the right, creating a flower petal. Depending on how big you want your bow to flair out, you press more and more upwards and downwards. To create the bow shape, I pushed in the right side to the left side. While the acrylic is setting, I keep on pressing lightly to ensure the shape of the bow will stay that way. When that bit is done, I flipped her hand back to normal so the bow on the right will now be on the left. And now you do the same on the right side to create the other part.

To get the center of the bow, also pick up a small ball of acrylic and drain the excess monomer. Place the ball in the middle and let it sit for a couple seconds. With tweezers, I put a Swarovksi crystal right in the middle and pushed it in. Not too hard, but deep enough so it will stay put. If the middle for some reason is not round anymore you can go around it with your brush.

When it has fully hardened, I applied a coat of glaze 'n go on the entire nail. Do NOT put any gel sealer on top of the crystal, or else it will not be sparkly anymore. I let this cure for 3 minutes.

Done!

How to acrylic nails - Eyeball

Eye-catching nails? Yes we can. Pun intended.

After prep and prime, apply a nail form underneath the natural nail. Apply a medium side acrylic ball on the free edge, let it flow and pat it in place. With that ball you create the needed length.

Apply a second ball at the stress area and fade it upwards. This will prevent overfilling the nailbed when removing the design later on.

When it has completely dried, remove the form and shape the sidewalls and free edge. Also file the nail smooth for further application of the glitter. 

Apply a glitter color of your choice to the free edge and fade it up. I chose a nice bright pink.

Depending on which eye color you are going for, apply a ball of glitter acrylic somewhere in the middle of the nail where you want the iris to go. I keep the top somewhat straighter.

Using white acrylic, create the whites of the eye around the iris, giving them the shape that you want. I went for somewhat a rounder eye, but you can also go for almond shaped. I did not apply white acrylic above the iris.

Filing around the white acrylic will allow you to correct the eye shape to your likings and give it a more crisp look.

Apply a large size clear acrylic ball near the cuticle and pat it into place and stroking the acrylic down towards the middle. Apply a second ball at the free edge and stroke it up to blend in with the rest.

When everything is dry, it's time to file the sidewalls, free edge and the surface of the nail. After filing, buff the nail so that it would be easier to draw onto it. Remove all the dust with a wipe and some rubbing alcohol or in my case, IBD prep. If you have any dust left on the surface of the nail, the gel topcoat is more likely to bubble up.

With a calligraphy pen and black drawing ink, start drawing the pupil. Then outline the eye. When drawing the outline of the iris, I made the inside uneven with little lines to create the limbal ring.

Also don't forget to draw on some eyelashes.

To give a little spark to the eyes, apply two small dots. I used a silver pen to draw Christmas cards with.

When all the ink is dry, coat the entire nail with a gel sealer, I am using NSI Glaze 'n go. Let this cure for 3 minutes in a uv lamp. 

Hope you like it!

Acrylic nails - Goddess nails

god·dess  (gds)

n.

1. A female being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people.

2. often Goddess A female being believed to be the source of life and being and worshiped as the principal deity in various religions. Used with the.

3. An image of a female supernatural being; an idol.

4. Something, such as fame or wealth, that is worshiped or idealized.

5. A woman of great beauty or grace.

Sometimes, wearing beautiful nails makes us feel like a goddess. So why not goddess inspired nails.

The symbol of a goddess usually is a full moon with two crescent moons on each side. But I thought it would be fun to do it with a star, resembling a pentacle.

Ever since I was a little girl I was fascinated by mythical beings. A goddess being one of them is the inspiration for this nail design.

Enjoy!

Pink glitter nails with 3D flowers

I personally don't pay attention to what season it is when it comes to nails. Some people want red gold or silver for the Christmas times, bright for summer, brown for fall and soft pastel for spring. I go with whatever I feel like having on my nails. I could even go with red and gold during summer.

Now for this particular design I just used some soft pink gliter, clear acrylic powder and a pearly white powder. Let's get started.

After a complete prep and prime I created a fade with a pink glitter mix.
I encapsulated the glitter with clear powder.
Once everything was dry, I filed and buffed the nail to the desired shape.
Using a pearly white powder I created small flower petals. (I think the pearly white powder is from vivalanails)
I applied glaze 'n go on the entire nail, including the flowers. Before curing it, I placed a little metal ball in the center of each flower.  I let it cure for 3 minutes.

Gel nails - Late night thunderstorm

Now that the summer has made room for fall, we get less to none thunderstorms. That's one thing I love about the summer, the late night thunderstorms. I never feared thunderstorms and find the thunder and light play soothing. One day, thinking about new nail designs, my thoughts wandered off back to summer. I tried to transfer my thoughts to this nail design. The camera did not really pick the beautiful light play, but I hope you like it anyways.

After prep and prime, apply a thin layer of IBD builder gel clear. Without curing it, apply black glitter near the cuticle and let it fade down. Apply a dark purple glitter from the free edge up into the black. Go back and forth with the two colors to create a nice blend. Let it cure for 2 minutes.

Apply another layer of clear gel and put small pieces of yellow mylar flakes on the nail in a lightning bolt pattern. Let it cure for 2 minutes to secure the mylar in place.

Apply the last layer of clear gel and build the structure and overall shape with strings. Let it cure for 3 minutes.

Remove the tacky layer. Because the mylar may have left the nail with some bumps, you will file it smooth with a nail file. With the nail being somewhat rough, the black ink will show up much better and stay in place. Outline the yellow lightning bolt and let that dry completely.

Using a gel sealer, apply a thin layer on the entire nail and let it cure for 3 minutes. This doesn't have a tacky layer so you will be able to instantly rock these nails.