The products I am using

People have been asking me what products I am using. (Why do you write me on e-mail and facebook and not here?)

I am using Masterworks Innovation clear gel and primer. Creative Brisas white builder gel and top-gloss. (Sometimes I use Brisa top-gloss and sometimes Masterworks, I haven't decided which I like the best yet...) I know, I know, everybody tell not to mix products, but this works very well for me and my clients! I used to use Brisa solely before I found Masterworks. In my opinion Masterworks adhere much better, but unfortunately they don't have a white gel to use the traditional way, only the reverse. So far I have not found a white gel which I like better than the Brisa. As long as it works perfectly well for me, I mix the two of them.

My salon

For a strange reason I have never showed pictures from my salon. It is very small. Four years ago I had a HUGE salon, 220 square meters, in the middle of the city center and people working for me. So yes, I have tried it, but prefer to have a small salon and being the only one.

Will I ever get better?

These days I am lazy... I know I should practice for Nailympics, in September, but I can't get myself to do it. I don't feel inspired and I am afraid I will never get any better, no matter how much I practice. I am seriously thinking of not entering.... On the other hand... I may enter and see what's happening. After all, it can't get any worse than in Orlando! :-/

You can follow me on twitter

#MicaCosmetics

London Fashion Week (LFW) here I come!

I am so excited I can hardly breath!

I am going to work backstage with Marian Newman's team! I usually say that I am not lucky, it's hard work which has made me where I am today, but right now I feel LUCKY!

LFW is the same week as Nailymics, but I will manage to do my only competition Monday morning. Luckily that competition starts at 7.30 or 8, so I will finish early. Competition, LFW AND 6 days in London, ca I ask for more? I booked my airfare yesterday and will brows for hotel later.

This year has been amazing...... :-D

Competition-nails, not what we usually do.

As I promised, in a previous post, I will comment some of Marians articles. There were an article about Nailympics here. I really liked the article, and I agree with mostly everything.

One of the comment I hear, very often, is: "Competitions are not about the real world, it is not what we usually do at the salon!. I am not a competitor, I do REAL work!" Sometimes I feel like some people like to think that competitors can ONLY do competition-nails. (This is not Marians view, but in general). Strange, as most of the competitors I know are salon-owners and/or very success-full nailtechs!

I do NOT make very long, un-natural nails at the salon. BUT I do make all my cuticle-areas flush, I have to be a steady polisher, I have to make all 10 nails the same lenght and form, I need filing-control and I need product-control. I am very sure that my salon work has improved after I started competing.

Marian said she wanted to see more salon-nails in competitions. I fully agree with that. What I have seen, at many competitions, is that they have increased in nail-art, but still only have one competition-nails and one salon-nails. At some competitions I feel the whole competition is mostly about nail-art! I wished they could introduce more categories in salon nails. What about:

Do your own nail, one hand.
Do a nail-biter - a kind of make-over.
Do natural nail overlay
Do a reballance
Maybe they could divide the salon nails into a square and an oval category?

I don't know how this could have been done practically, but I am sure it would be "do-able".

Another point is that competitions are very different from country to country and from continent to continent. In UK they have begun with salon-nails competitions. I really like that those competitions are *real* salon-nails. In the US they already have salon-style category, but those are very similar to the European competition-standard. The US competition-standard is waaaaayyy too long, in my opinion....

I wished there were an international standard for competitions and I wished there were an international judging certification with universal rules. This industry is very small so it shouldn't be that difficult to do this? Or???

Some interesting articles!

This morning I read some interesting articles here. Marian Newman is one of the leaders in our industry, at least in Europe, and her book "The complete nailtechnician" was the first nailbook I read when I was a newbie. I remember I bought it the first time I was in London. I read it from page to page while the rest of my family were sleeping! Memories aside... :)

Later today I will write my view and some comments of the articles.