You know the saying, "The cobbler's children have no shoes"? The meaning is, of course, being so busy taking care of others that we don't take care of ourselves (or, in some cases, our children). For me, this was not only true recently at home (although more so right after my husband's & my motorcycle accident) taking care of him & our daughter; putting some of my own needs on the back burner, but also at work. My clients were taken care of, at a bit of my own personal expense. Around October, I decided enough was enough, and I started making time to take care of myself. I once again made monthly facial appointments, made sure to stick to my Sun/Mon days off, and added monthly hair appts as well as massages. I was working close to, sometimes exceeding, 40hrs every week, and knew I would crash if I kept going. I also took a weekend off to attend my sister's wedding (boy, do some clients get PISSED when their beauty professionals do that). Then began the holiday season... ACK!
Right before the accident, I had taken off my nails; thinking that I could just do gel polish for a while... I knew the holiday season was coming, and that I would be busy, and gel polish alone takes a lot shorter of a time to do every 2-3 weeks than my usual gel w/gel polish (& sometimes art). After my sister's wedding, I gave up on that idea... I'm just not meant to have short nails with no enhancement! So, I brought my stuff home on a Saturday, and Sunday, I put them back on. The experiment that time was two-fold: almond-shape (since I had already tried almondettos and kept breaking them) and using CND's "Brisa Lite Sculpting" gel. I got the shaping down fine, but still kept breaking them near the free edge. So, in December, I'd had enough, and I called Tanya (my CND EA, nail sister, and friend). She tells me (after I sent a couple of pics) that Sculpting isn't strong enough for the length I had them... and, you can't apply traditional Brisa over the Sculpting. ACK, again!
On New Year's Day, I completely removed all my nails, cleaned up my cuticles, etc, and applied new tips & gel. I decided at this point to try something else -- almond on my left hand, short & square on my right. Since I am right-handed, I figured it would be easier to do artwork, stamping, etc on my longer, prettier, left hand, plus have the "in" shape/length... and my right hand could be kept short & not nearly as "fun", because that would be my *working* hand. Just to make it more fun for ME, I decided that they don't even have to match. So, every rebalance has gotten something different on each hand. My husband joked that, due to my OCD, I probably wouldn't leave them like this very long... but PHHHHLTHH at him; it's February, and I still like them this way!
FOUR product updates -- (1) I am no longer taking regular L&P (Liquid & Powder; that's "acrylic enhancements" for the uninformed) clients. I will continue to use it for repairs if necessary, but I don't like it; it smells and I have a tiny room with only one window that opens. If you require regular L&P appts, I have a few professional recommendations for you. (2) In March, I will be taking a class for a new(er to the market) gel polish line called "Artistic Colour Gloss", from the same makers of Gelish. If I like it, I will start carrying some colors in this line. (3) I have eliminated the few IBD Just Gel shades I had; I don't like them, they are too lightly-pigmented for me and don't hold glitter/foil/pigments like others. (4) I now have nail stamps & a few stamping polishes... I'm still in "playing with them" mode, trying to get them right (it's not as easy as it looks), but it's coming along nicely.
Ok, one more update before I sign off: Business is still busy. Usually, I, like many beauty professionals, find a slow-down between January & March. My regulars, though, have already scheduled through early JUNE (& I only booked out 'til then because we haven't decided on our summer family plans, yet), and I am close to 90% booked. I literally have 4 or less open spots each week between now & then. I have also taken on a couple of days at Tanya's salon, to cover for her while she's on vacation. If you have something coming up within the next four months, I suggest you call me *now*. Otherwise, you may be (as my father says) S.O.L.
