Hair, Nails and the Universe

I’ve been a makeup and nail addict for way longer than I want to admit to, but it’s been like 40 years. I started with polish and while I was in high school I joined the vo-tech program to go to cosmetology school where I got my hours for hair, nails, facials, theatrical and glamour makeup and classroom science.

People kind of scoff at anyone in the cosmetology business like they couldn’t make it in college. Hate to break it to you beauty school snobs but if it weren’t for that woman or man standing behind you with scissors and a blow dryer, you’d look like crap. And you never know what else that person may have done before beauty school, either. I went to college as well and majored in Computer Sciences with a minor in Ancient Religions.

Everyone has his or her place in the Universe, a life to live and a job to do. Even though I’ve worked in my college chosen professions before, I always came back to salon work because that’s what pleased me the most. Cutting hair makes me happy. Doing a set of Acrylic nails makes me happy. As it happens not only can I do hair, nails and makeup, I can also build a computer from parts or write code for software. I can do Graphic Design and I can talk circles around anyone when it comes to discussing 20,000 year old religions and the downfalls of religion today.

But back to my favorite topic. Nails. I recently discovered a not so new product that’s been selling in Europe for years and has finally made it over here. This inexpensive little tool will allow just about anyone to do a set of acrylics on themselves without any prior knowledge of what it entails.

This can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and it’s called “ASP Acrylics Made Simple Form-a-Nail”, $6.99. Big name for a little box of miracles! What you get are 24 different sized reusable clear plastic bendable nail forms that you form the acrylic layer in. You then rock it back against the back edge of the nail and rock forward to the nail tip and press it down. Leave it there for about 4 minutes and tap it. You’ll hear the sound of a hardened nail then gently rock the form back and forth until it lifts off. You now have a nail that needs no filing, shines like glass and only needs a little clean up around the edges.

It’s even easier if, like me, you use a nail tip with an acrylic overlay. I find that this lasts longer on me with almost no breakage and I am way hard on my nails. I make jewelry so I often use my nails as tools when I shouldn’t be.

The kit comes with one of those mini disks that we all hate but check out YouTube.com for a bunch of how-to videos.  Make sure that you follow the instructions to use enough on the outer edges of the form, where the strength is most needed to keep your nail from breaking. You can also pick up everything that you’ll need for the acrylic process, I use ASP products myself and never loose a nail, never get any lifted nails or any fungus growth beneath them.

These forms will revolutionize the home nail industry, making it easy for a novice to apply her own nails and not have to worry about the cost of a nail salon visit. You’ll have to do your own fills but that’s nothing once you master the forms. Check them out at Sally online or in your local store.

Then check out a great new magazine called “Nail It!” That’s all about consumer nail art and how to do it at home. I tell you, it’s a great time to be a nail lover right now! I still see a place in the market for nail salons but when you can do some of these things at home and save some money, well, you have to go for it. Face it, the economy sucks right now and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better, if it ever does. So why not learn to cut corners on your budget?

Everything Old Is New Again

Yes, it’s true. The old saying that everything old is new again is starting to show up in fashion and cosmetics and the unfortunate thing is that I’m old enough to remember when they were in fashion before.

I was looking through the latest issue of Glamour magazine the other day and one of the hot new trends for the fall is a high waist bell-bottom jean. Boy, do I remember wearing those when I was a teen and the lower cut the better! Some of those jeans had a zipper that was barely two inches long and we wore them with crop tops! Now they are back but with a high waist on them. Still perfect for wearing with platform shoes, which we also wore back in the 70’s and 80’s. I know that I'm dating my age here but we had some style back then! I wasn't into disco, I was a metal-head and dressed the part. It was Glam-Rock time and everything had to be low cut, glittery and outrageous! My mom gave me her old ankle length llama fur coat with a beautiful silk lining and I just can't say the things that I did while wearing that coat. Added to that was a black Fedora with a silk red rose on the side and behold...I was "Queenie" hanging out back stage at Cobo Hall in Detroit every weekend.

Another comeback trend is Chrome nail polish. It dries to a mirror like finish and comes in bright chromed colors. Avon will be introducing their new nail color line of Metallic Effects Nail Enamel in 5 muted and beautiful shades for fall. I had a whole collection of Sally Hansen’s line back in the early 90’s. That line had at least 10 colors and I had them all. My best friend had to get them, too, so we went polish shopping together and had a race to see who could afford to get them all first. These were bright metallics, like jade green, fushia, bright red. Today's new metallic polishes are prettier than before because the colors are more muted and not so garish.

I'm a perfume addict as well and Avon has an anniversary perfume coming out soon, Far Away Gold. It smells wonderful! I was never a big fan of Far Away but this one is loaded with a vanilla base that knocked my socks off and I’m going to be handing out all kinds of samples. I think it’ll be a hit! There’s also a set called Lucky that will be released for the holidays in women’s perfume and men’s cologne. I haven’t had a chance to test that out yet but we’ll see it soon enough. I'm picky about perfume, I love vanilla based scents and berry notes but also like anything woody and amber laced. My perfume collection has dropped way down because once I put something on and it doesn't smell like it did before, I pass it off to friends. Makeup care packages go out three or four times a year with all my unused stuff.

Remember when all mascara had bristle brush until those silicon brushes came along and changed mascara history? My sister got me a preview sample of one of the first ones by Max Factor and while I loved the "newness" of the design, I missed the old brushes. Well, the bristle brush is back again. Companies like Rimmell of London, L'Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York have all started using bristle brushes once again. Avon has a new one, too, Big & Daring Volume Mascara, that is now utilizing the old bristle brush and not the silicon rubber bristle brushes. While those still have their place, there’s nothing like a tightly packed bristle brush to give you big lashes!

Avon will also be releasing a new skin care line as they re-vamp the Anew line again. Avon Clinical has introduced a new dark circle under eye treatment, Absolute Even Dark Circle Corrector. A new line of skin care will be coming out soon, it’s the Anew Vitale line and it treats multiple skin care concerns.

Want bigger hair? Try the new hair mousse by Mark, This Is Big Body Building Mousse. This is THE BEST product that I have found to lift my fine strands and it lasts from shampoo to shampoo! Now that I've gone to a short Lob hair style, it really lifts. It's pricey but worth it, I have 3 cans put away along with 4 Beach Spray that's new this year from Mark. I use Avon's volumizing shampo, conditioner and spray which are like the L'Oreal brand but cost much less. After I spray on the volumizing spray I add some of the Mark mousse and I have big hair with lots of body and swing to it. 

And speaking of shampoo, Avon has re-vamped their line of hair products for damaged hair (which had a great leave in conditioner) with the new Advanced Techniques Reconstruction 7 line, which includes shampoo, conditioner, daily treatment spray and a weekly hair mask. The old line was great, I expect good things from this new one. If you have had any chemical treatments done to your hair, you’ll want to give this a try! I change my hair color all the time and have the leave in spray, I just haven't used it yet. Maybe today I'll try it out after I change color again.

Well, that’s the news for now! Stay tuned, as Autumn approaches, for all the scoop on the holiday trends that I like, hate or just want to mention, from Avon and beyond! Check out my Avon e-store for all the latest goodies at affordable prices!