Gel Talk

As a professional nail educator and enthusiast, I can say that I've worked with almost every type of gel there are in the nail industry. People have often asked me what are the difference and they just can't figure out all the craze about gel, soak off gels, hard gels, gel polishes etc etc...it's all getting a little confusing and finally, they figured out that as long as you stick their nails under the UV lamp, it's gel....(even some people get away with acrylic or polish and a gel top coat!) well, that's not "entirely" wrong either!

Traditional Gel
Also known as hard gel was introduced as the earliest form of light cured nail enhancement (artificial nail extensions) commonly available in clear, pink and white. It's UV-light cured and it is non-porous. The only way to remove is by filing off by a trained professional.
Traditional gel is still very important and useful if you want to wear nails long term as it is very strong, durable and doesn't yellow. You can wear the nails really long or short as this gel has a lot of strength. Infill is highly recommended. Traditional gel is still the way to go for designer nails, competition nails and it works wonders in the hand of a trained technician. Today it cures in both UV and LED lamps depending on brand.

Soak Off Gel
Also known as soft gel is more flexible and as it is porous, it can be broken down and removed by soaking off with acetone. Soaking off can take between 15-20 minutes depending on thickness and it is recommended for people who like to remove or change their nail enhancement often. Available in clear, pink, white and also assortment of colors in a pot that is applied with a brush, curing layer by layer. Colors can be custom mixed and they tend to be a tad thicker than regular polish and yet still look natural and shiny and stays on for 4-6 weeks. Soak off gels can be used for short extensions and not recommended for long extensions as they can be too flexible (again depending on the brand). Some brands recommend inserting silkwrap for strength. Infills are not highly recommended as soak off gels do tend to yellow over time because of its porous nature. Soak Off Gel or Soft Gels still requires the skill of the nail technician for a perfect and durable application, and they can give your nails a complete makeover, even for nail biters as it offers bonding, strength and shine. Cures in both UV and LED lamps depending on the brand(s).

New Generation Gel Polish
Also known as a hybrid brush on gel polish that applies like polish and wears like gel for up to 3 weeks and it comes in a polish bottle and can be cured in both UV and LED lamps. The 2 most important feature in this hybrid gel polish is that it incorporate different volatile solvents that allow them to soak off faster (up to 75% faster) than the current soak-off gels in potted jars, and the hybrids have other ingredients to lower the viscosity so that application is more similar to that of a polish that requires little to no prep. In other words, you can almost DIY at home. I don't know if this is good news for us nail professionals but it's definitely the biggest breakthrough since the advent of gel nails and it's taking the industry by storm. Every nail manufacturer in the nail industry is launching their own line of brush on gel polish and it will certainly be exciting to see how each formula stands out.
I found out from a reliable chemist that amongst 2 things that distinguishes the high quality gel polish from others is that :
1) The color stays true and does not separate or settle in the bottle and does not require shaking
2) It is Odour Free
I guess it would be accurate to say that when comparing prices between these hybrid polishes, these 2 features would be of key consideration with regard to quality.


New Generation Gel Paint
THIS is something really new and I'm loving it. It is the highest quality paint in the form of gel and can be cured both in UV or LED lamp. Think "The ONE" :)
I don't need to elaborate more, if you look at my earlier posts, you can see that a picture paints a thousand words !The ONE

Bringing A Touch of South-East Asia To Seoul

Feeling right at home with the "elite" group of rising stars in the Korean nail industry. These girls have been specially selected from a top nail school in Korea to train with international educators from USA, Japan, Korea and Singapore and grooming them to be the future champions and educators.

I was thrilled to spend time with these amazing talents and sharing among others, a touch of South East Asian flavour into their designs  

A Little Cuteness In Our Lives....

Japanese "Kawaii" culture is known to the world where the distinctively Japanese breed of adorable and cute attributes is injected into all aspects of the consumer culture, and this includes nail art too. While I am not a fan of cute nail art, I do have a soft spot for Hello Kitty accessories and I think every girl do have a favourite cute character which they grew up with.

In November 1, 1974 Sanrio company introduced the first picture of Hello Kitty with a red bow in her left ear and blue overalls. In her own make-believe world, Hello Kitty wasn't even Japanese. She lives in the suburbs outside London with her father, George White, mother, Mary White, and twin sister, Mimmy White.  Hello Kitty is a nickname for Kitty White and on her birth certificate states Kitty White.
Much issue has been made of Hello Kitty's mouth, or lack thereof. A handful of feminist scholars say her noncommunicative nature perpetuates the submissive female pre-teen type. While others attribute Hello Kitty's appeal to her blank stare -- onto which fans can project their own emotions.

According to Hello Kitty's official bio on Sanrio's website, "Kitty is a cheerful, warm-hearted little character baking cookies is her forte, but what she enjoys most is eating a slice of her Mama's apple pie!" We also learn that her favorite things include candy, stars, and goldfish, as well as the inevitable "small, cute things." Hello Kitty is in third grade. She weighs the same as three apples and stands five apples tall. Her blood type is A.

So anyway, Ros & I found this adorable Hello Kitty Cafe in Hongdae in Seoul, Korea recently and we checked it out !

The interior was pink and cosy

Lots of Hello Kitty deco everywhere

They even have an beeper to tell you that your order is ready for collection at the bar. The food and drinks were too cute to eat

The whole building was designed with total Kawaii-ness !

We had good fun exploring this place, a must visit for all Hello Kitty fans :)

NAILS April Cover : Behind The Scenes

Viv Simmonds and myself working on hand model Tracee King at NAILS

It was a spring "Bird" theme

Viv working on left hand focusing on the colors of earth and plants. She made a fairy and a humming bird that I absolutely love, it was adorable !

I was working on the colors of the skies. I made colorful birds and texture of feathers 

The end result was a complementary design of birds in the skies and on earth, assimilated into nature.

 We usually start with an idea, and talk about colors and concept, but we never know how the end result would be until we finish working on the nails.Viv and I really love working together this way and the end result almost always turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

Gina was also at Nails doing another cover which will be out sometime soon. The 3 of us had such a blast together and she was our tour guide in L.A :) :) (that's another story....)

Vu the professional photographer expertly captures the essence of our designer nails....(thank you Vu!)

The awesome NAILS team behind the scenes

The end result !

AWAY

Apologies for the lack of updates!

I will be away from 6-14 March!
U can still sms me for appointments! I will reply when I'm back!! :D

Note the Space, Book This Date: Fashion Face of the Caribbean 13.03.2011

One of Jamaica’s most celebrated historical landmarks, Devon House Heritage Site, which is the architectural brainchild of Jamaica’s first black millionaire, George Stiebel, would have obviously attracted the attention of Saint International as it is one of those places that is distinctly Jamaican that will make for the perfect venue with just the right setting to host a distinctly Jamaican fashion show. After all, that is what the visitors come to see - a Jamaican fashion show.

The East Verandah at Devon House overlooks the East Lawn where the event will be held

The lawns of this mansion that has history dating back to the 17th century has become home to some of SI's most prestigious events, Style Week Jamaica, Fashion Face of the Caribbean, among others. Our most recent event - Model Citizen - held for SI's historic feature in the prestigious V-Man Magazine as one of the 12 Best Men's Modelling Agencies in the WORLD (the first and only Caribbean agency ever so featured) was held in the Formal Garden. So the pair seems to work - the historic heritage site buzzing with the beats of a historic SI achievement. The mansion has a rich cultural history and SI, also creating history for itself, supports this site, helping to maintain its viability as the island’s premier historical mansion. Now we feel as historic as the house and lawns themselves!

Formal Gardens & the Mansion

Fashion Face of the Caribbean's 2011 staging returns to it's favourite Devon House spot, the East Lawn, on March 13 and as all SI events are, this one promises to be no less glamorous! Prepare to be wowed as the show unfolds...

Make it a date: Fashion Face of the Caribbean, March 13, 2011 @ Devon House East Lawn!!! For tickets, email saintmodelsjamaica@gmail.com.

Devon House's "Stiebel was among three wealthy Jamaicans who constructed elaborate homes during the late 19th century at the corner of Trafalgar Road and Hope Road, which fittingly became known as the Millionaires Corner...Stiebel’s legacy lives on with the beautifully maintained Devon House, which was declared a national monument in 1990 by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust." - Devon House website

On Becoming a Model...

Who wants to be a model?

The real answer is EVERYONE. True t'ing! Some folks might not want to admit it but deep down every single person wants be a model! Many people dream of becoming a model; few understand what it takes to get into the business. It takes more than beauty; it takes hard work believe it or not, a particular energy or a 'vibe', and a sense of self, confidence. If you have no clue about how to become a model but want to try, then you need to learn what steps to take.

Some of you may already know this, but I love directing people to Google. It is a fantastic tool that can be used to retrieve any sort of information you want from it! Youtube also helps too if you want to model...

To be a model, you only need to be beautiful, right? Wrong! Plenty of attractive men and women who want to be models are unsuccessful. Why? As I pointed out earlier, modeling is not only about beauty - do a pageant if that's all you have. It's about having the 'right look' and that depends on what type of model you are. Further on I'll point out some of the types of models. Our focus at SI, however, is (high) fashion models. It also has tonnes to do with that little thing we call personality.

Ornelia Edwards - Muse, NY; Saint Int'l, Jamaica

A lot of people want to be a model because of the glamor, appeal, lucrativeness and maybe even simply to get recognition in the modeling world. A word of caution to you: this industry is fierce! It's possibly the most competitive and gruelling business that exists and it will more likely break you than make you if you aren't strong enough.

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