Getting Caught Up With Nikki

I have missed another week of posting to the blog. I am so sorry. I have been so swamped — but in a good way! School, kids, life, baseball, cheer… I could go on and on. But mostly, I am loving practicing my nails. Acrylic, gel, nail art — all of it. I am having so much fun. I have to say I love it when I hear people compliment me on the work I am doing right now. It feels great!  

So let me tell you what I have been working on. First I did a set of pink-and-whites on my client with a little bit of nail art — it was so fun and the reaction was great. I tried to time myself — I am getting better — but it still takes me a while. I think I am a perfectionist. I want to make sure I see everything and make it all good — no bumps or dips, even application. It’s a lot and I get so into it. Then I realize I have let too much time pass so I am continuing to work on my speed.

I had a set of what would have been pink-and-whites for a first time client, until she said I could do whatever I want. So I went crazy. I loved the creative freedom she gave me. She just said, “Do whatever you want!” I did an inlayed feather, nail art and 3-D bows. Thankfully she loved it and was my biggest tipper to date. I really felt like she appreciated all of my hard work. I couldn’t wait to show it off.

I did a full set for one of the girls in my class today. Again, once someone says, “Do whatever you want,” I do. I did flare tips with two different colored tips. Then I went to town with the 3-D and even tried the crown tip for the first time. I loved it and so did she. I now have about four more full sets for my classmates next week. They are so funny asking if they can book appointments with me. I feel so flattered and I really feel like I must be doing a good job if lots of people are asking for me now. (Smile and blush.)

I also had the fun pleasure of doing a set of Halloween Mood-Changing Gels on one of my favorite return clients. (She’s a very good friend of mine.) I added art work to those too. My client loved the mood-changing gel. She called me later that same day to tell me how awesome her kids thought the nails looked. They loved the idea of temperature changing the color of the nail polish. This was something different for me as well. She had a couple of cracked or split nails and I put a very thin layer of acrylic on them to keep them from breaking. She was amazed by acrylic, she had never had any acrylic on her nails. But she found it so interesting and asked a million questions. In the end she loved it and left a happy camper. 

Another returning client of mine came back to me after wearing her acrylics for a month and decided to switch to gel. I didn’t want to damage her natural nails before switching to the gel. So we soaked off the acrylic and did a nice manicure. Her natural nails were still long and looking healthy. We applied a deep wine color and on the ring finger accented it with a super cute sparkly glitter. She is coming back to see me in a couple of days to change the gel and put on a different color after another relaxing manicure.

I feel like I have been getting a lot of experience using the different gels and I am starting to find products that work differently so I can advise my clients on what I feel would work best for them. It feels great to have my clients trust my opinion and my advice. 

One last picture I want to share is my mini salon. Our assignment was to create a mini model of our salon. So here is my version in mini size of my salon. We also had to create our service menu and present it. I had so much fun with this. If I had more time I am sure I would have made even more additions. My husband finally said, “OK, enough with all the little details, you have spent so much time on it already; it looks great!” So I put down my glue gun and I considered it done. My kids asked me what I was going to do with it when the teacher gave it back me. I said I wasn’t sure, but it was too small for Barbie. God bless my son, his response with wide eyes, “Uh, it’s not too small for GI Joe. Maybe he can use it!” Gotta love kids. I am not sure the GI Joes will be hanging out in Moody’s Salon & Day Spa, but I hope to one day make this dream a reality.

— Nikki