L&P rant/sulk/first time frustration

[nailednails]

Ok, so I'm not really feeling disheartened, not quite frustrated and not fully disappointed BUT I DO feel SOMETHING. Did my first ever set of l&p' s with the sculpting technique on a friend, I DID warn her that it was my first ever, although I had a play with the acrylics on my own hand, and not to expect much, They wouldn't be a high standard....and I KNOW I'm not going to be wonderful and create beautiful sets of nails so early in my training,and I KNOW I need to practice practice practice,and I KNOW I will eventually pick up the technique, and I KNOW I've a lot to learn......BUT I just struggled if I'm honest .....

Ok, so BAD points first.....:Scared:

• Smile line was awful....Ok not awful on EVERY nail-which I guess is worse because they were all different....
• The apex was so THICK, disgustingly so....
• Because the smile lines were out, when I went to shape (she chose oval) it made it seem really wonky (probably emphasized more because of the oval shape as a pose to a more square shape)
• I didn't think I did bad at blending zone 2&3 but when I came to buff zone 3 was really bumpy on all but 2 nails....to an extent that I didn't have the skill to smooth it completely (I felt I was too close to the skin to feel confident enough to carry on trying to fix it)
• The prep took FOREVER, although I had revised and revised the prep stages, I just didn't feel confident enough to not be referring to my note book every time....

Good points....:|

• I felt like I managed to get the white tips quite thin (when I tried on my own hand they were horribly thick!! So I did learn there! Even though I ruined this by adding too much with the sheer pink and creating far too much bulk)
• They WEREN'T fanned at the tips!
• I DIDN'T flood the cuticles
• I buffed them to a nice shine
  I think, despite the smile line making it look off, that I did manage to achieve the length and shape she wanted

They were (almost) everything I HATE in acrylic nails, they were bulky, messy, and completely and utterly lacked any form of elegance, if they were a person they would be described as "short stocky, and big boned" hardly the Gisele of nails, more like morbidly obese Tom cruise type ...

I suppose I'm just looking for reassurance really, a hand on the shoulder and a "it will come to you, just give it time" kind of line.....any tips or advice would be great....
I'll go through it with my tutor at college and see if she can give me some one on one and really watch where I'm going wrong.....

Well, that's me, bloody fed up with myself.....I think it's more frustrating that I could see where I went wrong, I just didn't have the skill/knowledge/technique to correct it, or make them the way I wanted them to be.....

 

[hazeleyes]

This post made me smile.....what a great and humorous critique and great that you have been able to break down exactly what you did wrong or what you didn't like so you can work on it and improve it the next time.... i felt exactly the same when idid my first pink and whites.... cant say i'm amazing at it now either but then my first set of acrylics were awful and i hated them and now i'm quite pleased with them so but let's have faith for the future- the first step is being able to clearly critique your own work!!!

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

Did you get any photos , if not get your friend to take some ,

First sets won't be perfect, but if you note each thing your not happy with then next time work on those things ,

So almond was hard shape for you look it up see if you can find photos you like of almond nails , or even videos of application that you can watch .

Theres nothing wrong with that You probably didn't do different shapes in your classes ,

 

[TheRealMrsGrey]

Absolutely agree with Hazeleyes!!

I was definitely not happy with my first set (13 years ago dare I say!) but have now refined my technique through (lots!) of practice!

Again, you have pointed out where you can make improvements and this is a great start to making those changes!

I'm sure you'll be turning out perfect pink & whites in no time!

xxx


Sent from my iPhone 5S using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[nailednails]

Well I have pulled myself out of my state of self pity, albeit only SLIGHTLY,by the comments so far...at least I can find some comfort in the fact that most people experience the same thing, handle STILL go on to be a successful and skilled technician!!

I RELUCTANTLY took some pictures, will try and upload them when I get home, but the funny thing is they didn't look as bad as they did in real life...but I hope that I at least make one of the bad points a good point next time....I just looked at them and saw the "Facebook £12 acrylic sets" flash before my eyes-enough to make me vomit, the short stubby dense nails-YUK!! (Ok, Maybe a BIT dramatic, but they were horrendous!!) My goal is to eventually achieve thin, shiny, elegant, long acrylic nails, no bump or ridge between the slight slither of natural nail and the l&p starting, beautifully regimented smile lines, nail length and shape even and symetrical, nails so beautiful and so perfect that I can't take my eyes of them......now, what once seemed within reach, suddenly feels like it jumped in with Lewis Hamilton, foot down, speeding into the middle distance, round the corner, into the future, will no note or map for me to follow.....bugger!!!

 

[TLC beauty]

Really glad you have posted this... as o can really relate! i have just started with my enhancements and although i thought I was getting somewhere a couple of weeks ago it then seems to have gone downhill with each set I do! I am hoping for a few more patient friends and family to allow me to practise! I am relatively lucky in that I do have a few victims to allow me to practise! I think we just need some supportive friends and lots of time! Good luck!

 

[nailednails]

It's so frustrating...I mean I did not, in any way, expect perfection, but I really hope that this means there's only room for improvement from here on out....had a crappy few days, so now I'm sulking, and 're reading through my notes, and watching My college online tutorials trying to pick out the small things I did wrong/completely missed out-pass the wine!!!!!

 

[Diversenails]

It's so frustrating...I mean I did not, in any way, expect perfection, but I really hope that this means there's only room for improvement from here on out....had a crappy few days, so now I'm sulking, and 're reading through my notes, and watching My college online tutorials trying to pick out the small things I did wrong/completely missed out-pass the wine!!!!!

And herein lies the answer!! Relax let your hands take over stop trying to follow the step by step guide and find "your" wAy. I struggled doing 3 bead tech from free edge down I prefer starting reverse making a nice neat frame round cuticle feathering up then applying maybe 1 or 2 beads to free edge. Find your flow and go with it. No 1 way is the right way (( hugs)) it gets simpler honest x

Sent from my LT30p using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[nailednails]

OMG!!!! After sleepless night thinking about all the improvements I could have done on my l&p, so much so that I had go get up, make fresh coffee, and read through all my notes so far....Well after the school run, I gave it another go, using 'totally clear' nsi for my tip sculpting (I wanted to try this embedded glitter thing I'd seen) anyway, I totally calmed down, kept wiping my brush (which I HADN'T done yesterday!!) Practiced my bead controls bit first, and I managed to get a pretty good half set of nails on myself.....THIN, long, elegant.....on 2 I can see a slight bumps in 'zone 3' (I will revise them later tonight !!) But they are 1MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN YESTERDAYS!!!!

Yesterday's were no where near the standard I wanted to be, so I really really tried to see where I went wrong, HOW I went wrong, and looked at ALL the ways I could Improve--and I HAVE!!!

 

[BarbaraC]

So nice to read all your posts - and you all say the same thing - practice!! I once sweated blood over this too but now, when I look back, I can see how I got better over time.... just keep on truckin' and you'll get there!!

 

[nailednails]

Oh and just to add I just could NOT get the method our tutor taught us, so tried the reverse method and it made a MASSIVE difference, so so much easier for me, it all just clicked! Did a full set yesterday and the difference again was unbelievable, only some SLIGHT mistakes, and nothing 'un-fixable' I feel like I've just 'got it' ow, I'm so so happy!!!!

 

[Mrs Bod]

Oh and just to add I just could NOT get the method our tutor taught us, so tried the reverse method and it made a MASSIVE difference, so so much easier for me, it all just clicked! Did a full set yesterday and the difference again was unbelievable, only some SLIGHT mistakes, and nothing 'un-fixable' I feel like I've just 'got it' ow, I'm so so happy!!!!

So pleased to hear this! It gives me hope

Can you explain how you did the reverse method? I'm beginning to think I might give it a try too...

 

[nailednails]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i338ejwrC2U&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Di338ejwrC2U

So basically instead of starting with the tip, apply a bead in 'zone 2' I just personally found it a lot more manageable and much easier to understand

 

[Mrs Bod]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i338ejwrC2U&desktop_uri=/watch?v=i338ejwrC2U

So basically instead of starting with the tip, apply a bead in 'zone 2' I just personally found it a lot more manageable and much easier to understand

That's super, thank you xx