Recover healthy nails - LOCYCARE

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Being a manicurist for about 8 years, I had tried various products and to my knowledge, cuticle oil is the best for dry nails and cuticles.  However having greasy fingers is not what most ladies like.

LOCYCARE Nail Gel was send to me many weeks ago..... I "sat" on it as I was really busy (ooops...), and also I was thinking it's just another nail cream or something...  Then, when I applied it the first time.... I was WOW!!

This was my nails condition last week.

All the housework, constant contact with acetone from doing nails made my own nails really dry.  I doll up people's nails but hardly have time to do mine recently.

The 2 thumbs were the worst.

I know the problem very well of course, the ridges and lines and those little white patches were cause by excessive dryness.

LOCYCARE nail gel squeezed out to be a transparent gel, very light in texture, with a faint minty fragrance.

LOCYCARE contains a unique combination of humectants restore the natural water content of damaged nails and artemisia leaf extract which has an antimicrobial action.

I dabbed a bit of the LOCYCARE nail gel on each nail and spread it on the entire nail plates together with the cuticles in a swift massage manner.  The instant absorption was amazing and my nails were hydrated immediately.

My nails after the first application.

The ridges on my thumb was visibly less noticeable and the hydration lasted about 3 to 4 hours.

No more greasy fingers from traditional nail/cuticle oil, I could get back to typing immediately after applying LOCYCARE nail gel!

This is the current condition of my nails after applying LOCYCARE once a day for 1 week.

I believe the result could be even better if I had applied it twice a day as recommended.

LOCYCARE Nail Gel (15g) is retailing at S$19.90 at selected pharmacies.

5 Facts About Nails

Our hands, we use them everyday, we looked at them everyday, we pluck stapler bullets and open can drinks with nails etc...

Yet most of us have very little knowledge about nails.  There are also many online articles full of myths spreading around.  People just click Like & Share without filtering through their senses, thus many misconceptions about nails.

Let's clear the clouds and doubts....

5  FACTS  ABOUT  NAILS

1.  I need to "rest" my nails to let them breathe between manicures.

Painting colors over nails doesn't suffocate them as nails don't have lungs, NAILS DON'T BREATH. Nails are made of layers of keratin which are dead.

2.  Manicures are bad for nails, my nails became dry and brittle after removing nail polish/gel.

Old Park Lane Gel Effect Polish S$26 from NAILS INC.

Painting our nails aren't bad for nails.  In fact they are like a protective layer on our nails in a colorful and fun manner.  Of course, the polishes must be free from toxic chemicals like toluene and formaldehyde.

Chiltern Street Girl Gel Effect Polish S$26 from NAILS INC.

The dryness is caused by acetone in polish/gel removers.  Proper hydration is needed after removing colors.  It's like after removing make-up on face, we put on skincare for hydration.  Our nails deserve the same pampering too.  Nail/cuticle cream or oil cures the dryness and helps to prevent nails from peeling too.

Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme S$14 from BURT'S BEES

3.  Do I have fungus on my toes nails?!

To many people, it's difficult to tell between a bruise or a fungus infection on toe nails.  They both look greenish black, perhaps with some blues lolxx...

But when your pedicurist tried to scare and convince you that you got nail fungus, they may have an unethical intention to make you buy over-priced anti-fungus drips.  Stay calm, don't panic and don't get taken in.

If the color patch is not growing and it doesn't smell, it may be just a bruise.  The bruise however will not go off and can only be trimmed off, so it may take a few months to get rid of the ugly color completely.

If the color patch is not growing but smells a little rotten, or if it's getting larger with no smell, you may purchase anti-fungus drips from  the pharmacy (you will thank me for saving your pockets).  Home remedies such as dripping white vinegar or soaking in diluted dettol will kill the germs, after which, pat dry the infect area.

Very rarely and unfortunate, if the color patch is growing and spreading to other nails, smells rotten, go to your doctor!

4.  The base coat is lousy, my nails still stains.

The base coat may not be lousy.  The trick is to let the base coat COMPLETELY DRY before applying the colors coats.  Yes, it's so simple.

5.  Filing is bad for nails.

Just not too long ago, I had met a beauty workshop trainer with more than 10 years experience, advising people not to let manicurists file their nails or cut their cuticles.  All nail salons owners could had murder her on the spot lolxx....

The purpose of filing is to give nails a more precise shape which nail cutters can't.  It's also useful when you only need to shorten your nails slightly.  Using a cutter can sometimes trim off too much of the desire length.

Nail Files Soft Black and White S$6 from SEPHORA

However, filing is to be done gently and in one direction only.  The sawing movement of left and right will cause breakage of nails.

If the above doesn't address to your concerns about nails, just leave a comment, I'll try my best to answer.

*  I am a certified manicurist, having fun in nails grooming industry for more than 8 years ;)

Depend GelLack

Date: 17.04.2015

Every time when I was approached by a brand, they will always request to have a briefing session a day before the actual event.   I would tell them not to worry, I will arrived earlier before the event starts to take a look at the products and I am confident that I can tackle and handle all sorts of gel and polish within minutes.

With my 8 years of experience in nail industry, I don't just paint blindly.

So, here I was, my first visit at Watsons' office after being a loyal customer for so long.

Within a few minutes, I could handle the brand at ease.

Not much photos were taken as I was busy non-stop doing express manicure for the Watsons ladies.

They were all so excited and happy with the manicure treat!

I am really happy to contribute to this successful event.

GelLack targets ladies who prefers to DIY their nails with gel.  They have a small range of safe colors, portable LED lamp, base and top coats etc.

These are some of the designs I had done using their colors.

How's the quality like?  Well, there's always a difference between DIY and professional products.  Is like, it's different when you DIY dye your hair at home compare to a dye done at a hair salon.

No matter what, gel beats traditional lacquer polishes which takes forever to dry which then chips after a few days.  GelLack, is completely dry once it's done, higher gloss finish and more lasting, very much better than wet lacquers which belongs to grandmother era.

Instead of acetone, warm water and their in-house removal oil is used for removing.  I am not very sure if hot showers, hot spring baths will weaken the durability.

Here's 3 sets of nail designs done by me using GelLack for their web-poster.

DIY nails or nail salon?  That depends on your life style and individual preferences ^.^

Collaboration with Bellaoggi

Last week, most of my friends and also my sisters took the precious long weekend for a overseas short trip *jealous*.

Myself, I was working *slight depress* >.<

Recently, I had been collaborating with quite a few beauty brands.  Last Friday was a special one with Bellaoggi, a Italian beauty brand which required nailarts.

I managed to tuck in my art brushes, acrylic paints and a hand rest all into this golden hand carry cosmetic case.  It looked so glam with my all black outfit.

Most of my clients requested full black outfit.  Kinda hate it especially if I need to work late.  I have this phobia of being knock down on the road.  Wearing mourning black crossing the road at night is dangerous to me.  I had seen it myself numerous times while travelling in my hubby's vehicle.  Most girls insisted that wearing black has got a slimming effect.  But aiyo, fat means fat lah sia, si mi visual illusion also don't change reality lolxx... back to the topic...

My work station from Friday to Sunday, at Bugis Junction Hylam Street.

Bellaoggi had engaged Precious Nail Services to promote their gel-effect nail lacquers.

The young girls I worked with were very nice and chatty.  2 of them were 17 years old, only a year senior than my Darren son lolxx....  They were such cute darlings ^.^

Such collaboration work "force" me to adapt to lacquers of different textures, different bottles and brushes within a very short time frame.  As in I have to familiarize myself with them in a couple of minutes.  Then I have to hold them in my palm affectionately and paint flawlessly on customers or guests, heehee...  Pretty challenging and I love it!

Bellaoggi gel effect lacquers are bold with strong color pigments.  Love their flat wide brush and the streak-free texture.  In fact I was quite impressed by the quality.

I had gain knowledge and valuable experiences exposing to different brands, not just OPI OPI and only OPI.

The following were some of the nails I had done with Bellaoggi lacquers over their 3 days roadshow -

Some of you who followed my Dayre or Instagram may know that my hubby was down with sudden illness and was admitted to hospital during the same time.

There wasn't a slightest clue given when this happened and I was totally caught.  As much as I was worried, I tried not to let my personal problem affect my work.  Darting between work and the hospital wasn't easy, but I held on and pulled through.

The satisfying smiles on the customers looking at their mirror shine manicures were priceless and motivated me further.  Friendly and understanding working partners of Bellaoggi had also made everything most pleasant during my tough period, very thankful to them.

End this post with self advertising for Precious Nail Services -

https://www.facebook.com/precious.nail

http://preciousnailservicessg.blogspot.sg/

Collaboration with Escentials at Paragon

Date: 10.09.2014

I do have not a stationery office, my work place of the day was at Escentials in Paragon.

It's boring, but almost all companies I worked with required full black attire.

Spacious and big, Escentials carries Europe beauty brands.

Got to work with Covet London nail lacquers.

A mini manicure bar was set up for invited media to have express manicure with Covet London nail lacquers.

Some of the colors we had tried on.

Each job opportunity gained me more experience and more exposure to different brands of lacquers.  The list of corporate events I worked with are HERE.

If your brand needs professional manicurist, please contact Precious Nail Services at ~

preciousnail@rocketmail.com

Updates at Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/precious.nail.5

Soft Launch of FAST Clubhouse

Date of event: 25.05.2014

 Precious Nail Services, runs by me, was engaged to an outbound job at a special clubhouse!

Selfie, was wearing Precious Nail's uniform to look more professional ;)

It was a soft launch of FAST Clubhouse located at 10 Raeburn Park.

It wasn't a club house for rich tai-tais, neither was it for Singaporeans.

It's a clubhouse for foreign domestic workers!   It's a non-profit organisation that conduct upgrading classes for them.

It also provides recreational facilities, like KTV, library, billard and computer lab.

Rather than roaming around aimlessly at shopping malls, I feel that this makes a great place for domestic workers to engage in healthy activities during their off days.

Reporter from Channel News Asia was here too.

For those who have domestic helpers at home, probably you may like to find out more from their web-site ~ www.fast.org.sg

Now that you have a rough ideal on what FAST Clubhouse is all about, here's my manicure booth ^.^

Looking fat here, but die die have to post my manicure booth in rose theme in pink and white hues.
  Pretty looking and I had been using this decor for sometime.  Thought changing roses to sunflowers; replace white table cloth with bright orange/yellow or pale green.

I took away many virgins...... virgin manicure I mean, heehee....

Most of them had never done manicure before, they had their first time with me!

They were squeaking and giggling, with eyes as shiny as the fresh polishes on their nails.

I may be just a manicurist, but the joy that I brought to the girls gave me a priceless job satisfaction.

Being a blog owner makes it possible to share my mini achievement in this space.

I hope my colorful polishes will continue bring me to more places, meet more people and of course, gives me income to fulfil travel destinations.