Salon Manicure Choices – What’s the Difference? Some Final Thoughts

There are so many wonderful nail treatments available now in salons and for home use. In this series we’ve reviewed the professional manicure systems for use on natural nails, and with this post we conclude the series on selecting the best system for your needs, wrapping up with a comparison of some available systems.

When deciding which system is right for you or a client there a few lifestyle aspects to consider, such as how long you like wearing a nail color or design, your preferred nail length, product removal time, or how long the manicure needs to last.

The graphic above (© Smoke &Mirrors) details what you can expect from the systems we reviewed in the last four posts in terms of wear time.

So, if you love changing your nail color frequently, you’ll probably want to focus on products to the left side of the scale, like traditional or hybrid nail polishes.  On the other hand, if you’re super busy (who isn’t?!?!) and don’t have time for frequent color changes, you may want to try a gel polish or even dip powder nails.

The time you’ll spend removing the product also increases as you move right on the scale. Fittingly, the longer the wear time of the product generally, the longer a removal time it will require.  However, if long wear time is your priority, you’ll likely find the increased removal time to be worth it!

So, what are your thoughts on these systems? Do you alternate between systems depending on the season? Does your salon offer all these options? Have you had better results with any particular system? Leave a comment or question below!

Gelish Forever Fabulous swatches!!

Swatches for the full Gelish Holiday 2018 Marilyn Monroe Forever Fabulous collection, done in real-time, are now available to see on the Smoke & Mirrors YouTube channel. All twelve colors!
The colors include:

• Batting My Lashes – deep mahogany crème
• Wish Upon a Starlet – red shimmer
• I Prefer Millionaires – copper plum pearl
• Ice or No Dice – gold glitter
• A Kiss from Marilyn – bright red crème
• She’s a Natural – soft nude crème
• The Camera Loves Me – burgundy crème
• Blue-Eyed Beauty – baby blue crème
• Some Like It Red – bright red glitter
• Diamonds Are My BFF – fine silver glitter
• Hollywood’s Sweetheart – rosy pink crème
• Wrapped In Satin – snowy blue shimmer

Please check out the swatch video and leave me a comment!

Preview the new Gelish Winter/Holiday collection for 2018

It’s official – Gelish is trying to bankrupt me. Look at all these fabulous new colors that I must have! The winter 2018 collection was teased in the just-released October 2018 edition of Nails Magazine, and it’s called Forever Fabulous Marilyn Monroe™.

Image from October 2018 Nails Magazine

This upcoming collection has 12 colors that Gelish says “embody the spirit of all that is Marilyn Monroe. With classic shades reminiscent of her Old Hollywood beauty and exciting, vibrant tones that represent her iconic nature this color range is sure to leave a lasting impression just like Marilyn herself.”

The colors include:

• Batting My Lashes – deep mahogany crème
• Wish Upon a Starlet – red shimmer
• I Prefer Millionaires – copper plum pearl
• Ice or No Dice – gold glitter
• A Kiss from Marilyn – bright red crème
• She’s a Natural – soft nude crème
• The Camera Loves Me – burgundy crème
• Blue-Eyed Beauty – baby blue crème
• Some Like It Red – bright red glitter
• Diamonds Are My BFF – fine silver glitter
• Hollywood’s Sweetheart – rosy pink crème
• Wrapped In Satin – snowy blue shimmer

One thing I love about Gelish’s collections is how well-themed the polish colors in the collections are. The colors are carefully selected to complement each other, and this collection seems to be no exception.  While there are some beautiful winter reds here, we also have some neutrals and mauves for your most conservative clients.  Then there are some fun colors and bling polishes that we’ve come to know and love from Gelish.  Actually, those bright and unique polishes are the ones that usually get me the most attention! And who doesn’t love a good glitter polish to ring in the holiday season??

Think of the nail art we can create with these as our canvases!

Since this is the winter/holiday, I expect it won’t be on shelves until early November.  Looks like it should be available at your local CosmoProf or through authorized re-sellers online.

Which colors do you think you’ll be buying?