Old pics

I found some old photos I did for Professional Nails magazine in 2003! I did these before glitter tips really took off, I still love the red nails. I also remember being very poorly when I did these nails so the pics bring mixed emotions :)

Nail Prep

I've been asked to explain what I mean when I say 'prepping the nail' so here are the steps to get a perfectly prepared nail for any coating from polish to acrylic/gel/fibreglass.

1. Apply cuticle remover lotion to cuticles AND nail and allow to work for 2 minutes.

2. Using a nail dual tool such as the one pictured, gently push back your cuticle and scrape pterygium from the nail bed, pterygium is a thin membrane of skin that grows over your nail.

3. Wipe nails clean with isopropyl alcohol.

4. Using a 150 grit file or a white nail block remove the shine from your nails making sure there are no shiney bits left anywhere on the nail but especially at the cuticle, do this gently so as not to damage the nail.

5. Wipe again with isopropyl alcohol.

You should be left with a matte chalky finish to the nail and it is now ready for your chosen application.

Hope this helps!

JoJo

And......rest

From time to time I give my natural nails a break from extensions, when I do this I apply a gel polish to stop me from tinkering with them.

UV gel polish is a great way to keep your nails looking neat and uniform without the need for extensions or overlays. Depending on the porosity of your nails gel polish will last up to 4 weeks when you will have a noticeable gap at the cuticle edge, they cannot be infilled so need to be soaked off and reapplied.

Salons offer gel polish services widely now, sometimes calling it a '3 week manicure' or something similar. Most nail companies now offer a gel polish, the most common being Shellac (CND), Geleration (Jessica) and Gelez (Ezflow). Prices range between £20 to £35 depending on your area, I certainly wouldn't pay more than £35 which I think certain department store nail bars do.

I obviously do my own using Shellac which is a 3 step system.

After nail prep and dehydration apply a thin layer of base gel, cure for 3 minutes using a 36 watt lamp.

Apply first coat of Shellac polish making sure none has touched the skin and that there is a gap at the cuticle, cure for 3 minutes.

Apply a second coat of polish, cure for 3 minutes.

Apply finishing gel, cure for 3 minutes.

When applying gel make sure you 'cap' the free edge by running the brush lightly along it.

That's it, done! My Shellac lasts approx 4 weeks and is only taken off because of the growth gap at the cuticle, it never peels or chips.

And the winner is......

Congratulations to Bigfashionista who won the nail polish competition by default as she was the only person to enter. I shall be posting them to you this week. Enjoy and thank you for entering. JoJo x

Two words that make me happy....

'Purple' and 'glitter'. Those two little words make me smile, so imagine my joy when they get put together!!

And here we have..... you guessed it, Purple Glitter by ELF (www.eyeslipsface.co.uk). ELF had a 50% off event last week so I bought loads of stuff, this being the most eagerly awaited. And WHAT a polish! The normal price being just £1.50, so this being just 0.75p, and this polish performs like a pro, application was fantastic, smooth and even in two coats, it dried super fast and left a glossy finish, the picture is without any top coat!

I think ELF must have changed their formula as I purchased polishes in the past that I really wasn't happy with, but this blew my socks off, I was very happy indeed.

The colour doesn't translate well with my iPhone camera but is a rich dark purple with small glitter particles in blue and purple.

I love it! (can you tell?) and will be looking at more of the ELF polishes based on the performance of this one.

Marks out of 10?.... 10!!

Competition

If you would like to win all the polishes in the pic below that I have used to create the looks for my posts then 1. Follow my blog, and 2. Post a comment below stating you wish to enter the competition.

Most of these polishes have only been used once for the pictures on the blog so they are good as new.

Closing date will be this Sunday the 25th September 2011 when I will pick a winner at random. Good luck!

Old Glamour

I think one of my favourite nail looks is from the 50's when the shape was long, slim, oval and red, to me it screams elegance and sophistication and I don't think it has really ever gone out of fashion.

A lot of my older clients in the salon would ask for this look and I always loved the finished effect, it is just so classy.

Revlon have recently re released their 1952 'Fire & Ice' polish, with a new advert featuring Jessica Biel posing in exactly the same way as the 1952 advert, I must say I prefer the shape of nails in the older advert, they seem slimmer.

My take on this look can be seen below using Fire & Ice - All Fired Up. I feel I should be wearing a black satin evening gown, matching stilleto shoes and my hair pinned with diamanté a la Lucille Ball.

History lesson

Egyptians used nail color to signify social order, with shades of red at the top. Queen Nefertiti, the wife of the king Akhenaton, colored her fingernails and toenails ruby red; Cleopatra favored crimson. Women of lower rank who colored their nails were permitted only pale colors.

The Chinese used a colored lacquer, made from gum arabic, egg whites, gelatin and beeswax. They used mashed rose, orchid and impatiens petals combined with alum. This mixture applied to nails for a few hours, leaves a color ranging from pink to red. In the Chou Dynasty of 600 BC, Chinese royalty used gold and silver to enhance their nails. A 15th century Ming manuscript cites red and black as the colors chosen by royalty for centuries previous.

The Incas decorated their fingernails with pictures of eagles. It is unclear how the practice of coloring nails progressed following these beginnings. Portraits from the 17th and 18th centuries include shiny nails.

By the turn of the 19th century, nails were tinted with scented red oils, and polished or buffed with a chamois cloth, rather than simply painted. English and US 19th century cookbooks had directions for making nail paints. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, women pursued a polished, rather than painted, look by massaging tinted powders and creams into their nails, then buffing them shiny.[2] One such polishing product sold around this time was Graf's Hyglo nail polish paste. Some women during this period painted their nails with clear, glossy varnish applied with a camel-hair brush. When automobile paint was created around 1920, it inspired the introduction of colored nail enamels.

Graze for free

It's that time of the week again when my lovely Graze box turns up in the post, I've already polished off the flap jacks!

If you would like to try a free Graze box with no commitment then go to:

Www.Graze.com

Enter this code: ZDL8GPP

You will receive a completely free box and and if you decide to join up you get your second box half price. Also, if you do join up you can opt to leave at any time.

So go get some delish snackage!!

Myth Buster

Ok, we all like cuticle oil right? It comes in cute little bottles that we carry around in our bag/pocket/briefcase, it promises nails and cuticles to envy, we get out the little bottle and proceed with the ceremony of rubbing it into our cuticles, because they look better with a little oil, am I right?

Well, wellety wellety well, you may be surprised to learn that it is actually the rubbing in ceremony that improves your nails and cuticles, not the oil, no siree bob. The rubbing motion stimulates the cells around the cuticle thus promoting new growth and a healthy look.

However, there sure are some benefits of using oil on your nails, firstly, well, it feels nice doesn't it? It also makes you feel like you are actively looking after the nails, also, when applied directly to acrylic nails it can speed up the curing process, which can take up to 24 hours, it seals in the oxygen see ;)

It is, however, worth noting that oil will stay in your nail plate for a looooong time, and oil lifts nail polish like a good un!

If you are a prolific cuticle oil user and also like to wear polish I recommend investing in some IPA, that's isopropyl alcohol to you and me, you can buy very expensive products that, ahem, claim to skip the chip, but this is just IPA in a fancy bottle, and a HUGE bottle of IPA from the chemist will cost a fraction. What IPA does is to soak up any oil in the nail plate, thus promoting adhesion.

Something else I would say is that regardless of what claims are made on the bottle, most cuticle oils are nothing more than scented almond oil or grapeseed oil. So I buy Neils Yard Almond Oil and drop some lavender oil into it, lasts me the year.

I hope this has proved useful information.

Rock it baby!

Now THIS is what I call a nail polish, in fact....no....I can't say it....can I? Oh go on then, I think it's my favourite!! *does excited shudder*

A couple of years ago I entered the Illamasqua nail polish competition and this is the exact colour I put forward for consideration, what with them being an alternative cosmetics co I thought they'd jump at it, they didn't, I'm not bitter, honestly.

Way back in the day I was a goth, not one of the watered down type you see today, velour doesn't cut it, it has to be velvet and preferably Victorian velvet ( I had all my clothes made for me using Victorian dresses and coats). Anyway, ramble ramble ramble, I used to wear a polish by Miss Selfridge which was very similar to this, different colours were not so easy to find in the 80's as they are now, and I loved it, then they stopped making it and I kid you not I've never found a dupe for it....until now!

The polish is by Revlon and is very aptly called Rock. Application was so so but I couldn't care less because the colour is so lush.

If you know of any similar dark purple creme dupes let me know!

Marks out of 10?... erm, 9, would have been a 10 if the application had been better. It's a YES from me!!

I'm now going to sing Moonchild by Fields of the Nephilim.

For Katy...

I did these nails especially for @katepinksmith who Tweeted how much she loved Kelly Rowland's pastel glittery combo nails on X-Factor last week, so I thought I'd recreate just for you Katy!

They took ages as they have multiple layers of the polish in the pic...

Hope you like! I'm loving them, although Mr C did say last night, "You do know your nails are different colours right?" *rolls eyes upwards*

I used:

Collection 2000 - Button Moon
OPI - it doesn't have a name oddly, it was part of a mini set from QVC.
Bourjois - Technobar Blue Glitter
Saffron London - 44

Bling a ding ding

I loooooves a bit of glitter I do! Todays nails are a combo of a generic pearly gold, it quite literally has no name, and OPI Bronze Sequins.

I can't say much about the generic polish except that it cost £2.00 and applied really nicely, also dried quickly, bonus!

The OPI Bronze Sequins was really fun to use and I love the result, proper gold digger ghetto fabulous. As with all large glitter particle polishes the application technique needs to be the exact opposite of what you'd normally do. To get an even coverage you sort of 'blob' it on, the formula it is suspended in usually takes a long time to dry for this very purpose, it gives you time to move the glitter around a bit.

Anyway I'm loving this look, it's a perfect Autumn combo and as a red head suits me down to the ground.

Marks out of 10?....7

Sex on the beach....more like a snog on the sofa

This China Glaze polish, named Sex on The Beach was one of those that looked so inviting and vibrant in the bottle but did not deliver on the nails. I usually stay clear of mid pinks as they can look all too easily mumsy, and this isn't an exception, I think boring is the word here.

As with all China Glaze polishes, it applied like a dream and gives a glossy finish. It's just a rubbish colour! It'll be on Twitter soon for sale if you want it! That's all I have to say on this one!

Marks out of 10?.... 4.

Way back when the Earth was flat..

I thought I'd write a bit of history of how I ended up with a nail salon, and how I now don't work as a nail tech.

About 10 years ago I took voluntary redundancy from a PA job and with the money decided to set up my own business doing something I've always loved, nails! Problem was, I wasn't professionally trained and had only taught myself. BIG problem.

Now, to cut a long and boring story short this all happened at the same time I was told I needed life saving surgery, magic timing eh? So, I had my most inconvenient operation, some fairly nasty treatment and was not able to work for the best part of the year, so I decided to do some training, another problem being I was completely immobile. Fortunately there is a home course you can do from Essential Nails, it's pricey but great if you can't get out and about. I did the course, passed the exam and got a lovely certificate. After setting up the salon (see pic) I went on to train further with Sabrina Malik from Channel 4's The Salon, who I would later briefly work with for Ezflow Nail Systems. I also trained with Creative Nail Design and turned down a job working at their offices in Leeds. So, for anyone thinking that nails are easy, think again! Nail clients are among the fussiest in the world and demand perfection that costs virtually nothing but lasts for weeks. Later I went on to do some photographic work, whilst recovering from my second operation, which is why I ended up selling the salon, I was simply too ill to carry on.

Anyhoo, (are you still reading? I'd have gone two paragraphs ago!) I now have a non professional interest in nails and very occasionally do someone's nails, if they ask very nicely and promise not to call me when they break a nail whilst drunk on a Friday night.

That's it, I promise not to ramble on in every post, just wanted to give you some background as to why I know what I'm talking about......sometimes :)

Graze on me

I received my second Graze Nibble box today, I can't tell you how much I love these boxes! If you would like to try a FREE box on me then go to www.graze.com and enter code ZDL8GPP. You will also get a second box at half price if you wish.

Enjoy!

I've found my mojo!

I bought this pale green creme Collection 2000 polish purely because of it's name, Mint Mojo! I think this colour sits in the 'surgical green' camp but I quite like it.

Application was so so, needed three coats for my liking, and we know what three coats is..... a no no for JoJo.

I don't think it will be a firm favourite but it's fun for today.

Have a great day!
JoJo

Kermie

I was recently inspired by a pic that @itsVickyVox sent me of her fabulous green nails, the polish was Wet n Wild - Sage in The City, which I couldn't find anywhere in the UK!

I saw this polish and, whilst it's not quite the same, it's as near as I can find.

I'm not one for green polishes if I'm honest, however, there is something appealing about this one, it has a lovely gold shimmer through it and I think worn with a black dress would look stunning.

The polish I bought was in Maybelline's MNY fashion polish collection, they don't appear to have names, but it's the Kermit green one!

Application was a dream and all in all I'm happy, for the next 24 hours anyway!

What do you think about green polish? Fashion or Grotbags?

In pursuit of the perfect pink

I got very excited this week when I spotted this pink polish, and here is why...

I have searched, in vain, for the perfect pink nail polish for what seems like, and probably is, years. For some reason I always find them too red, too blue, too Barbie, I'm never satisfied. So, back to this polish, I looked, as I do every week, and there it was, staring at me, a thing of beauty. I quickly snatched it up and put it in my basket, making sure there was nobody else about to steal away my star find ( there were about 10 bottles on the shelf, go figure). The polish is Rimmel - Hot Shot.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when, in the excitement of applying, I discovered two things about it I really don't like *rolls eyes*.

Firstly the application is diabolical, and whilst it was a fairly inexpensive buy, that's no excuse for a patchy finish, I had to apply three coats which is a big no no for JoJo.

Secondly, the colour is, well, not right, it lives in the 'too blue' camp.

So, my quest continues. I secretly think I don't really want to find the perfect pink as my quest has become somewhat of a hobby.

So....my pursuit continues. Can you recommend your perfect pink? You never know, one day I might like one!

Feeling Blue

I think it is important that I point out straight off the mark that I rarely purchase expensive nail polishes, largely because after trying a gazillion brands in my salon I rarely found they faired any better than less expensive brands, it's all down to the application my loves!

However, from time to time I see a polish in the press and think, "Hmmm, I've nothing else like that," and this post is dedicated to such a polish. The polish in question is Chanel's Blue Satin from the 2008 collection, a luxurious deep blue with just the perfect amount of shimmer. This polish applies beautifully with two coats and it is also the colour I have received the most compliments on, good enough for anyone, right??

Of course, being a dark colour it requires a steady application technique, unless you like spending hours cleaning up later, I know I don't. If there's a trick to be had it's up my sleeve, so to speak, so if anyone is interested in a dark colour application tutorial then let me know.

Whilst Blue Satin was from the 2008 collection you can still purchase it online if you look hard enough, for a bumped up price naturally, afterall, it's Chanel darling!

Here we go!

By popular demand, and because my mornings are now free, I have set up this blog to offer advice and hints, as well as reviews, about all things nails.  So, to get started let me know what you would like to see here and I will get on it post haste!

The blog will get more aesthetically pleasing as I go along, I'm just in a rush now!!