Gel Polish Review

So, in preparation for a photo shoot I took part in (as a model) for Agent 18, I decided to take the opportunity to try out gel polish.

I had heard about it for a while and it's starting to get really popular now.

For those that don't know, gel polish is different from gel overlays. Gel polish is not recommended for those with weak or brittle nails as it adds no strength or structure to the nails and therefore will chip rather quickly (or so I hear.) Gel overlays are kind of like acrylics, it needs to be filed off of the nail. Gel polish can be soaked off (that remains to be seen for my polish at this time.)

Anyway, my personal experience with gels has been overall positive thus far. I went to a place called The Nail Bar in Irvine. The nail technician started by trimming and shaping my nails and then soaking them in water. She then applied a base coat to my nails and put them under the UV hand lamps for a minute or so. Then she applied the color, in my case, OPI gel polish in Samoan Sands, a nice peachy nude color. She had to apply three coats to get an overall opaque coverage. In between each coat, I went back to the UV lamps. After that she applied a topcoat and then again UV lamped me for around 3 minutes.  I was a little surprised at the weird heat/stinging sensation I felt on my nails every time I put my hand under the lamp, I assume it was just the polish heating up. It was nothing too intense though. Then it was done! She applied rubbing alcohol to each of my nails, I think this had something to do with the topcoat, but they went from SUPER shiny to regular shiny. My nails needed no drying time after the UV bake and she went on to give me a nice hand AND neck massage. All in all, it was 24 dollars and took about 45 minutes total.

pros:

• quick, easy, no drying time.
• LOTS of colors to choose from.
• my nails feel stronger and LOOK AMAZING.
• at this point in time, absolutely no chips. Which is really nice because I chip my nail polish within 24 hours.
• relatively cheap for this particular salon and they did a really nice job. Other places can be expensive though.

cons:

• stinging feeling when you put your hands under the UV light
• speaking of the UV light...I was a little creeped out by it. Exposure to UV rays is never a good thing. I suspect if I was going to make this a regular thing I would take steps to protect the skin on my hands from the lamps.
• I have to go back to the salon to have the gel removed. I've heard bad things about picking it off yourself.

I did the shoot earlier this morning in West Hollywood, and the gel is still going strong. And check out my sweet new phone case I got from the awesome people at Agent 18. The floral print is right up my alley and it's super well made! Thanks again, guys!

Vintage Floral Iphone 4/4s Case - Agent 18

weekender madness

So, first I have some new and exciting news!

My new DSLR camera arrived today. It has video capabilities so that means I'll be able to share how-two videos and harass everyone with my face in video format! Plus it was about time I upgraded.

I bought a whole bunch of supplies for some fun DIY tutorials coming up in the next month.

Anndd...I tried out gel nail polish today for the first time. I have a review of my first time experience with gel polish coming soon as well.

And one of my images has been chosen to be included in the 2012 Exposure publication for Artists Wanted.

yay!

but today, is about weekender bags. I am in desperate need of a new one. For those that don't know, I spend probably half of my time at my boyfriends house. As a result, for the past two years I have been living out of a bag I lovingly crafted from beautiful botanical print curtains I got on sale at Anthro.

It's a good bag, it has served me well, and considering I kind of just blindly made it one evening with no pattern it has stayed in pretty good condition.

Either way, it's time for me to get a new weekender bag and these are some cute ones I've been eyeing after the jump:

So, I'm at it again. Knitting is something that I would like to have an undying passion (and talent) for but I never seem to finish what I start.

Oh, and I suppose you've noticed I'm writing this little post on a brand new blog. You see, I have a history of starting blogs. It's kind of a problem. I'm kind of a blog-hoarder, if you will.

But this time is different! THIS TIME I MEAN IT. sea dottir is going to be a place for me to show my photography, interview people I find interesting and inspiring, do give-aways, tutorials..Just like a real grown up lady with a real grown up blog.

So in the meantime, I feel like august is a good time to start knitting a scarf, especially considering I rarely end up with a close-to-finished scarf until it's spring again. Baby steps and all that.