THESE QUESTIONS WERE ASKED TO ME BY AN AWESOME QUESTION ASKER NAMED VICKI ------THANK YOU VICKI!
***sizes of your brushes, plus any other brush info you'd share ..... make, brand, type. What's your favs?
no favorites no sizes, i cut my brushes to size (i will have tutorial on that in less than two weeks, but to make a tutorial during christmas my busiest season on something that isnt art i am doing on my clients is very very hard......especially without a camera man zooming to really show the details. if you are just starting go to a craft store and get the smallest,longest, non-synthetic brush you can find....it will cost between 4-6 bucks......it will last you awhile and i do this in a pinch if my brushes are all acting up.
***paint, any brands you like? And especially, what is the consistency of your paint and what do you thin with?
i dont have a favorite. sometimes i need thin paint for what i am doing and sometimes thick, so i always go for a good solid color..one that isnt thick or thin..apple barrel is a great product, or folkart i think its called, but i have found paints at the dollar store and one of them was my favorite yellow i ever bought! hahah. what i do is mix water to thin them down, but they NEED to cover....(if you see a lot of separation on the top of the color when you first buy it, it sucks, dont buy it) you will forever be shaking that paint and it wont be a good coverage....;)
***more info on the powder pigments. these are so cool, but I know NOTHING about these
powder pigment means loose eyeshadow. you can buy them at any drugstore...they are the shiney glittery eyeshadows that come in the pot...this is for people who realllllllllly love pigments....i know people who can spot the name of a pigment across the room and if you can, its very very cool to have that infused into your nail art. i am serious about pigments because they are so blendable, but i wouldnt necessarily start out with pigments, it is not a MUST...it is an enhancement....i added them to my first tutorials because "I" love them...and i want to show make up artists that i am going to show them how to add things like 'spiders' and 'snowflakes' to their make up looks and use pigments in my work and create overall effects .....its very exciting for me to do this.
***top coat recommendations
total long answer to this on my blog!!!! (where i am putting these questions!!!!) haha! scroll down
***brush cleaning suggestions
i will do this at length in my brush tutorial, but.....if you are using polish, clean with acetone...if you are using acrylics, clean with alcohol....these can be drying...oil your brush with an organic oil like olive oil.....(it goes into the hair...) as for synthetic, the same thing except....they start looking frazzled..you can clip and keep them in line by running them (wet) over a dry piece of soap and letting them sit overnight.
***do you paint with other paints besides acrylics
polish and glitter and pigments
***where do you get supplies
everywhere--- and i am not loyal to any brand.....i think if i get too comfortable using one thing, my nails will look like crap, i will get bored as hell and i will end up cleaning floors as a way out of my profession.....i buy weird stuff constantly and try new thing every. single. day. i buy from suppliers online and i also pick up things at beauty supply stores and craft stores if i am in a big city...... one buyer im loyal to is online on ebay, the screen name is "papi"...i have bought from them for years and never have they got my order wrong or made me wait a long time and i love that...its not a plug at all...just good service..however, they said if you mention me, i get a 10% discount....which is awesome for me....and you, since you will be learning from the new stuff i buy...lol
***you mentioned using alcohol ... to wipe off boo-boos? clean brushes?
if you make a mistake on a nail...say you start and your nails are freshly painted and you paint a giant acrylic star on the nail and it looks like crap.....you can spray that nail with alcohol..rub gently and the star will come off without hurting the polish. this means......you cannot mess up.................its impossible to mess up.....everything you do can be erased and you can practice until perfect.....however, the second you add glitter polish or whatever..you are screwed, because alcohol doesnt erase that and you have a big glop of glitter on a nail with no star...hahahahahahaahh!!!
***answers to to any questions you think I should've asked!
i think you are a great question asker! i am going to put these up on my blog (link on my youtube) and you will help tons of girls and give me a reference point to send them to. everything you asked is definitely things i had planned on making.....but, seriously........i thought this too: if no one watched .....then, why waste time cutting brushes up? it takes a gigantic amount of effort.......and i still dont know exactly what people want to see most?learn most?know most? so i am winging it, so your questions kind of GUIDE ME through knowing people are watching and seeing what i am to do next to have made the baddest ass nail channel i can make......so thank you....:)
i hope my answers are clear, i think and type super fast and do not check over things....when i am rich and famous, the first thing im doing is investing in someone who is good at that and edits well!!! hahahahahahahahah
lovelovleove and thanks!!!
robin
***and Katie asks:
****1. is acrylic bad for your nails?
****2. how long does it take your designs to dry? same as regular polish??
ill answer 2 first. acrylic paint dries super fast....if you watch my tutorials, it dries before i can paint it fully sometimes and i have to add water.....so, to answer.....your polish is drying WHILE i am painting and then, essentially, you just wait for the top coat to dry...it is almost as if it dries FASTER (but you are putting time in designing the nails while polish dries) so, all and all, it takes the same amount of time as a regular polish/top coat.
question 1. is harder to answer. ive seen people DESTROY nails with acrylic............using a drill improperly and not nipping back properly, having a cuticle area left lumpy, or on the skin, or over the cuticle can really damage a nail. water mold is not too common and not damaging unless it is not taken care of immediately and sometimes, water DOES get trapped....but it is NOT very common. i say....if you get your nails done regularly and really attempt at keeping them nice.....have a manicurist who cares and does not hurt you...(acrylic application is not supposed to hurt)....if you have little lifting and go get them filled regularly then your natural nails grow underneath and do not break constantly......then, i would say NO they are not bad for your nails at all.........and they get a bad reputation because there are a lot of people who do not do a good and thorough job in application....acrylic nails have been around since the 70's and women still go every day and have them done...which means they WORK and women love them and they serve a purpose or else it would have died out years ago.....some women have horror stories about allergic reactions and bad manicurists, and horrible nail breaks---- and some have wonderful stories about how acrylic helped them to stop nail biting, made them have better self esteem, makes them feel renewed, transformed and has given them a higher quality of life!!!
so...i guess it is an individual experience based on the client and the person doing the work :) i hope this answers your question!! i am posting this comment to my blog because it rocks!!! thank you for asking them and i hope this helps!
xoxo
robin
