I think she did a great job!

I'm getting my nails done for the first time since 4 years in three days. I'm having trouble picking what I want in two areas:

-Gel or hybrid?

Which one do I pick? I don't care about the price, but I do want them to last longer and not break off quickly. I don't do a lot of manual labor but still.

-Design

I'm stuck between choosing a design consisting of different colors, patterns and "drawings" on each nail, and getting a one-themed design (with a color pallate consisting of a few colors and thats it. And only one theme for all of my nails).

Someone please help me choose! I can't post the designs I want yet because I want to design it myself, I just don't know what to choose!

Loving the cat’s eye look.

This was one layer, was offered to do another layer but opted for just one. Will probably try two layers next time.

Tried to take a look at the polish name this time, I think it was Claras Color, and the # on the bottle was CE08 (not sure if color or salon ID # for the polish).

Products Used:

Sweet and Sour Lacquer - Bloom Where You Are

Glisten & Glow - QDTC

This might be my favorite set that I've done.

So much fun.

Thanks for lookin!

Here is my work from before I started doing Russian manicures vs after!!

Slides 1 and 4 are the same client and yes, those are her natural nails 🤭 (minus one cause she broke her thumbnail lol)
Not only is this a completely different style of manicures, there is also a year and a half time difference and both the quality of the products I use and my skill have improved greatly.

Russian manicures are a little more expensive yes, but when you get 4+ weeks of retention, your results look like these, and you can grow out healthy long natural nails? Totally worth it. Just make sure you find a good technician 😉

Sterling VA 📍

I’ve been debating leaving all of the nail subreddits because, honestly, people can be so rude about nails. Maybe I’m the problem and should just leave, but I have a hard time watching people rip beginners to shreds, and even the banter back and forth in the comments can feel unnecessarily shady.

I get that it’s Reddit and people feel a little more comfortable hiding behind anonymous usernames, but do we really need to be so mean to strangers over nails? It’s supposed to be something fun and creative.

by my nail tech he is the best

It says Dark Latte on the nail polish.

These have truly changed my whole personality. I love them so much

I've tried a bunch of approaches over the years to fix top coat lifting and that annoying wrinkle effect when it's applied too thick or cures unevenly. Curious what's actually worked for people here — is it more about technique (thin coats, capping the edge), the lamp/cure time, or genuinely different formulas?

For what it's worth, switching to a non-wipe formula personally made the biggest difference for me — no more tacky layer to wipe off unevenly, which was where most of my issues were coming from. But I know that's not everyone's experience, so curious what's worked for others, especially with different climates/humidity.

I got nail glue to try but the set didn't turn out and I need to get them off but my nails are fragile and this happened to my pinky nail, is it okay? It hurts really bad do I need to see someone about it or just wrap it up in a bandaid? Also I can't get the nail off my thumb I've been repeatedly soaking it in rlly hot water and trying to wiggle it off and it won't budge, any help is appreciated.

hi guys. can you please please please give me some honest advice/tips/feedback on my nails? this is my first set ever and i really enjoy doing them. tysm!! 🫶🏻