Christian Louboutin Stiletto Nails: My 1st Attempt at Sculpted Nails

Oh boy.  I've done it again, haven't I?  Started up blogging again only to be overwhelmed by life and neglect it for a few weeks.  I'll do a short update on that at the end of this post.  For now, I want to share with you an experiment I conducted a few weeks ago.

My friend Kristine really wanted Christian Louboutin stiletto nails, and asked me to create some for her.  I have never done sculptured nails before on an actual person (just the fake mannequin hands at school!), let alone stiletto nails, but I was willing to give it a go.  For those of you who don't know, sculptured nails are acrylic nails that are created as an extension of the nail plate without first gluing a fake nail tip on.  Stiletto nails were really hot last year, and they basically look like claws.

Kristine had chewed up her nails so that even though her nail bed was nice and long, I had no free edge (white part of the nail) to work with.  So I had no choice but to glue some nail tips onto all 10 of her fingers.  The reason I need some free edge to work with is because I had to place the sculpture forms right underneath (not pictured).

I then had to trim the nail tips down, tape on the forms, and get to work mixing the chemicals and shaping the nails.  Then file down the acrylic and paint each nail.  The entire process took four hours.

I wish I could say it was a success, but as you can see from the pictures, it most definitely was not.  I ruined three brushes doing these nails because the acrylic hardened on the bristles and when that happens they're beyond saving.  I also ran out of powder so my powder to liquid ratio was off and the nails towards the end became thin and rubbery.  You can't imagine how frustrated I was, and even while using odorless products, the fumes were really getting to me.

Kristine told me the nails started falling off in the shower, which is really odd because I used a primer, and I've had my own nails done using the same products.  Those nails lasted forever.  It made me so sad that all that time spent on the nails couldn't hold them up.  It also frustrated the crap out of me because the nails I did in class were always solid and well done.

You bet your pantyhose and licorice sticks--when I get my hands on more powder and brushes, I'll be looking for my next victim.


Anyway a few life updates.....

• I'm in Quebec right now visiting my boyfriend.  It's so freaking cold--even Mr. Sugarbumpkin insists that this is the coldest winter they've had for a long time.  Needless to say, I miss California weather.  And the food.
• Feeling a bit blue and depressed about my career choice in the beauty industry.  While it makes me happy, I feel anxious about being financially stable and all that fun stuff.
• I've decided to stop buying makeup unless I ABSOLUTELY need it for my clients or if I'm using gift cards.  Same goes with hairstyling products.  So that means no makeup on this trip even though I have access to Canadian exclusive goodies.  Sigh.
• Every time I visit my boyfriend, my skin freaks out and I get a rash all over my body.  My skin becomes insanely dry and this time my eyes have started burning.  Still no idea what I'm allergic to but it makes putting on makeup really unfun.

That's about it.  Mr. Sugarbumpkin has a loooooong day of work and classes tomorrow so I'll be camping out in his place hopefully putting together some more blogs.  While I have been unable to post regularly, I have been collecting material so don't give up on me yet!

End of blogging hiatus and updates (picture heavy!)

Hey babes~

I extended my hiatus a bit, because I've been more emotionally high than I had expected.  I had originally wanted to continue focusing on my blogging and tutorial making during my trip, but when you only see your significant other twice a year, it's usually difficult to focus on anything else.  That will be a story for another day.  I did go on many cosmetic "quests." I had been greatly anticipating this trip not only to see my beloved but also because there are tons of brands available in the Canada but not in the U.S. (or very difficult to access). These brands included Gosh, Quo, Lise Watier, Annabelle, and Inglot.  I did not purchase nearly as much as I wanted to due to mainly budget restraints, but I did plenty of goodies...for now.  I went to MANY different stores in search for the Lise Watier Diamond Palette which was part of their holiday collection, but it had apparently sold out within a week and impossible to find anywhere.  I looked at mainly the eyeshadows in their collection, and I really regret not taking a better look at their lipsticks which look absolutely beautiful.  I picked up a gloss from Quo, and was gifted a small eyeshadow palette from my boyfriend's younger sister.  I also picked up an interesting bronzer from Gosh, and some items from Marcelle.  My biggest splurge was at Inglot, which I will be doing a very extensive video and blog on.  I wanted to grab some things from Annabelle as well, particularly their eyeshadows, but they weren't nearly as pigmented as I had expected.  I wanted to pick up some eyeshadows from some of the other brands as well but they were colors I already owned.  I'll have pictures and swatches of everything coming up very soon.  For now, I have a few pictures from my trip to share =)

Sadly, I didn't get a chance to check out the shops that you do see, as they were taken way after the shops closed.  Most of the pictures you see are from Downtown Montreal, Quebec.

Back to the topic of makeup blogging: I know I had promised certain videos, but I severely lacked time and my initial models for the makeup tutorials decided otherwise.  I'll work on being more persuasive, but currently the makeup tutorials for middle aged women and teens are out, as well as the makeup look my boyfriend was supposed to do for me.

I am utterly exhausted, as I still have not completely recovered physically and emotionally from the trip.  I hope you are all doing great in light of the holiday season, and I'll talk to you all very soon.

Best,
Janny

P.S.  I am currently on a huge spending ban due to financial constraints.  Besides gift shopping for others and items that I will actually need, I am absolutely NOT ALLOWED to buy anything for myself (especially makeup!).  If you hear about me buying something or see me feature new purchases in a blog, make sure you flog me for it.