My first proper critique

[kirsty]

Ok geeks, I know the picture isn't the greatest for a critique but it's the best I've got at the moment.

These were done using white tips with glitter l&p over the tips and clear on zones 2 and 3.

All comments welcome, even the harsh ones as I really want to improve.

Thanks!

 

[endless]

Wow,
very nice!!,
love them infact, im really picky,and i would be very happy with them : )

 

[jeanettes]

I would deffo be happy with those x

 

[Puffle]

I'm jealous - they're great! Can I ask how you did the glitter, was it mixed in your powder?
x

 

[Saneth]

Really love them . I would be very happy with them.

 

[kirsty]

Thanks for your lovely comments! Yes the glitter is mixed with clear powder.

 

[geeg]

These look pretty much like a good, standard salon nail Kirsty, but if you really mean it that you want to improve so that they have the X Factor then I think you could just by doing a few simple things.

The proportion is not right in my opinion and they could look much slimmer and sleeker.

White tips exaggerate the look and length of any zone one so that what might be an acceptable proportion of white to pink if you had used a soft natural- creamy-white powder, now looks too long and out of proportion to the pink ... it also does not look a pretty white but rather harsh and tippex-like to my eye in the photo.

I would get to know and use opaque camouflage powders so that you can elongate the look of the nail bed and therefore have a much shorter white tip and slim down the product on the side thirds of the nail with nice round curvy motions with the file and these nails would look a different class and truly make your work stand out from the 'normal' bog standard type of nails coming out of salons (which although not bad or horrid, could have the X factor).

We all know the nails that have the X Factor when we see them ... they stand out a mile from the rest ... the trick is knowing what you can to do to change the look of your nails so that they become X Factor nails.

 

[kirsty]

Thanks Geeg, I want to produce X factor nails every time!

I see what you mean about the white tips and the 'out of proportion look'. Not so sure I understand exactly what you meant when you said 'slim down the product on the side thirds of the nail with nice round curvy motions with the file'?

I will be delving into the world of opaque powders and custom blending asap, but have just invested every penny from the christmas rush into Shellac ready for the new year.

 

[geeg]

Picture the nail from a birds eye view. Now divide into thirds vertically ... One third down the left hand side, a third in the centre and one third down the right hand side.

It is the third down each side that needs to be de-bulked and slimmed down by filing from the sides towards the centre third in a curving motion so that you keep the nail curvy and pretty. Add to that shortening the length and you will be well on the way to transforming the look of these nails.

 

[kirsty]

Thanks for the advice Geeg, that's just what I was looking for!

 

[katiebbaby]

Hi kirsty these look lovely, all I can say is my pet hate is white tips :cry: sorry but these look nice. Why not try using white powder and these nailks would seriously be in diffrent league xxx

 

[kirsty]

I'm still trying to perfect my smile lines with white powder, trouble is all my clients seem to want white tips so not getting enough practice

 

[Susie H]

I'm still trying to perfect my smile lines with white powder, trouble is all my clients seem to want white tips so not getting enough practice

Hi Kirsty, I'm not going to comment on the nails themselves, because Gigi has:hug:
I just wanted to say, don't appologise for using white tips, they earn you money and that's what it's all about. Using the tips, for now will allow you to work on your filing all the time and that's important, if you start to worry about everything at the same time you will find your work will fall apart. What I would do is get into the habit of using clear over your white tip, and pink on the zones 2 and 3. That way, just as you had to with the glitter, you are always working on your smiles and you'll find using pink instead of clear will set your nails apart.
On your own hands start using white acrylic over your white tip, it might sound like overkill but it will get you over the whole 'oh my god I'm using white, I'm going to mess it up' thing:lol:
And there is nothing wrong with starting a client with a white tip and moving on to white acrylic on the rebalance, once you are happy with your smiles. It's a good way to convert clients too because tbh, most of them don't care how you make their nails look a certain way, they just know how they want the finished nail to look.

 

[kirsty]

Thanks Susie, that's excellent advice! I'll definitely start using clear on z1 and pink on z2 and z3. What a fantastic way to practice smile lines without feeling out of my depth and worrying about messing up!

The only trouble I'm having since changing to CND, is bubbles (mostly with clear powder) I'm burping my brush before each and every bead (which is slowing me down) but there are still bubbles! Any advice?

 

[chocolatepickle]

I get bubbles in my clear sometimes too, have you only just started getting them with CND or did you get them with other clear powders too?

I did a search on here and bubbles can be caused for a few reasons i think, mix ratio being incorrect, not letting the bead settle before you press it, over-working the bead and patting the product.
I think my problem is sometimes mix ratio with clear but most often not letting the bead settle first.

 

[kirsty]

No, I wasn't getting bubbles with my old system. How long do I need to let the bead settle for? I'm waiting 2-3 seconds at the moment.