Thursday, April 25, 2013

NOTD: Stay the Night (OPI Liquid Sands)

I was intrigued by the idea of textured nail polishes ever since they first came out, but I didn't want to pay full price for them hahaha!  So I was ecstatic to see some at the CosmoProf Hairshow.  Here, I'm wearing 'Stay the Night,' which is a lovely blackened red.


I applied two coats of 'Stay the Night' over Seche Vite's base coat.  I wish my nails were nicer so that I could do the polish justice but alas I had to cut them off for work.  

Speaking of work, I could only keep the polish off for two days before I had to take it off.  Don't try to take it off in a rush--liquid sands polishes are as difficult to remove as glitter polishes.  I definitely had to do some scrubbing with acetone to remove it completely.

What do you guys think?  I'm loving the textured polish trend.  Do you guys recommend any other brands to try?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

CosmoProf Spring Style Show 2013 Haul

Okay  y'all.  This was definitely one of the most exciting parts of the show--buying STUFF.  Maybe a little too much stuff.....

Below are pictures of everything with product names.  I originally had all the prices listed but I did get everything at wholesale prices, which is available to licensed professionals only.  I'll say a little more about where you can purchase these products at the end.

Here are all the bags...

Free products provided by It's a 10.  

Olivia Garden set of 4 round brushes. 

Ardell lashes and Duo glue. 

Beauty Blenders from Muse Beauty Pro.  

Obviously....I invested a lot in Aquage.

Best of Aquage Set
Silkening Shampoo & Conditioner
Finishing Spray
Beyond Shine
Uplifting Foam
Beyond Body Silk Infusion
Silkening Oil Treatment Sample
Teasing Brush
2 Hairstyling DVDs
MUSE Editorial Magazine

Best of Biomega Set
Firm and Fabulous Hairspray
Up All Night Volume Foam
Voluminizing Shampoo and Conditioner
Behave Smoothing Elixir
Styling brush
Haircutting DVD

Biomega Firm & Fabulous Hairspray
Medium and Large boar bristle round brushes


Seche Viche polishes

L-R: Aristocrat, Lumiere, Bella, Debutant, Contemporary, Enamored

Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner, & Dry Shampoo

OPI Expert Touch Polish Remover
L-R: Liquid Sands Get Your Number, LS Can't Let Go, LS Stay the Night,
A Rose at Dawn...Broke by Noon, Mod About You, Makes Men Blush

Venique polishes, Top Coat, and Base Coat

L-R: Diamond Kisses, Skating on Thin Ice, Down the Carpet, Bootie-Licious,
Naked Sandal, Safety Fuze

A plain black apron for the salon

And this is what everything looks like put together....
I hope you guys enjoyed this terrifyingly massive haul.  I guess this means that my beauty buying ban is over. Technically, I didn't break it.  I did allow myself  to buy products at this show when I first made the commitment.

Now let's talk about where you can access these products.  For hair products, you can find them at some beauty supply stores (local or chain) or at certain salons.  You will have to do some research to see which salons in your area stock these products, as different salons carry different brands.  

I know that some of these brands are available at places like CVS and Target, and even amazon.  HOWEVER--professional products such as Kenra, Paul Mitchell, Aquage, It's a 10, etc are only guaranteed when sold at a salon.  Professional products that you see at Target and drugstores are often the same price or more expensive than what you would pay at a salon anyway.  Have you ever seen the Chi products at Target?  Before I went to beauty school I've always wanted to try their stuff but it always looked old and tampered on the shelf so I avoided them.  As for Amazon, I love this site to death but not when it comes to beauty products.  Amazon, just like drugstores, are such huge companies that they don't regulate how long the products have been sitting on the shelf.  Salons more or less get their products all from the same wholesale stores, which are for professionals and only available to professionals.  Therefore, the turnover for the products is a lot faster than say Amazon.  

All right enough preaching.  I just wanted to get that out there since it seems not a whole lot of people know about it.  Do let me know your thoughts and such.  I'd love to hear from you!


Friday, April 19, 2013

CosmoProf 2013 Spring Style Show (Super picture heavy!)

Hello everybody!  Last weekend I attended a huge hair show hosted by CosmoProf, which is a wholesale supplier for licensed hairstylists, nail technicians, and estheticians.  Because of work and other little things, I was deeply disappointed that I couldn't stay as long as I wanted to.  I had been looking forward to this show all year, but I suppose at least I was able to go for a little bit.  I took 200+ pictures, managed to delete all the blurry/repetitive ones and get the number down to 85.  There should be less than 70 in this post but definitely a lot.....

Paul Mitchell stage on the main floor
Paul Mitchell color class


Aquage cutting class

Aquage booth with one of their tall, gorgeous models

Another Aquage model

Chaos on the main floor

Hair extensions

Aprons for hairstylists

Color Club polishes.  Check out those prices.

One of the few makeup booths at the show.


Muse Beauty

Beauty blenders, Beauty So Clean, Japonesque lip palettes, and more!

Morgan Taylor polishes


It's endless!

Babyliss irons

Rusk stage on the main floor

Men's hair products by Crew



Cinderella hair extensions

Chi stage on the main floor

Joico stage on the main floor

Joico color and cut models

More Joico models

OPI booth

OPI nail lacquers

Seche Vite polishes

Babyliss stage on the main floor

The true "Beautiful Nail Salon" (Angelah Johnson reference). They would only
do one gel nail for you.

Schwarzkopf color and cut models

Schwarzkopf color and cut models

Canada's #3 men's hairstylist cutting a mohawk style.

Turned out AMAZING
Overall, the show was a lot of fun.  According to more advanced professionals, the show has become a lot more commercialized and focused more on selling products than on education.  But to a recently licensed cosmetologist, there was a lot to learn and a lot to see.  Can't wait till next year!

What would you be most interested in seeing if you attended a hair show?