Artificial Gel Nails

Beauty news: Nice to nails

Now is the time to be extra kind to your nails to keep them in good condition through the cooler months. A cuticle conditioner should be your top choice to ward off dry skin and help encourage healthy nail growth, says salon manager Amber Vorster at Kohimarama nail bar The W Room.

The specialist salon, in a quiet street a block back from Tamaki Drive, is bringing a new style to nail services. It has a boutique feel, including a small garden courtyard where women can relax with a coffee while their nails dry. But with more and more clients opting for O.P.I Axxium gels, rather than artificial nails, or a paint job, the number worrying about chips and smudges is fast evaporating. Vorster says nearly all her clients have shifted to the gel polish, which, like Shellac, is fast gaining favour round town. The O.P.I version has the advantage of more colour choice, including many of O.P.I's lacquer favourites. Right now, brights are in for tropical holidays, especially on toes, but otherwise women are opting for neutrals or strong, dark shades, including chocolate, rather than the muddier colours that have been popular.

The W Room, 5/7 Eltham Rd, Kohimarama, ph (09) 578 3221.

Makeover magicians

Lancome national makeup artist Stefan Knight is moving back into the freelance world.

He's busy working on another season for New Zealand's Next Top Model - look out for him wielding the brushes in upcoming episodes. A predecessor in the Lancome role, Petra Rijnbeek, who has also worked in television, has teamed up with friend Kirstin Lloyd, formerly of Servilles. The pair have opened a new hair and beauty salon called Amica (which means friend in Italian) in Grey Lynn. Rijnbeek reckons: "Auckland is humming with successful women who don't have the time to pamper themselves and be immersed in current style trends." She says Amica offers specialist appearance advice in a friendly environment.

Stealth wealth

Flying underneath the radar for our recent VIP issue and beauty column on luxury skincare available for retail sale in New Zealand was the Natura Bisse range stocked exclusively at the Langham Hotel's Chuan Spa . With prices for this Spanish selection pushing $1000 for serum and day creams, the spa's winter promotion which lets you be slathered in the stuff while enjoying a 90-minute body treatment seems - relatively speaking - a bargain. The Perfect Day promotion costs $390 and includes champagne afternoon tea before or after your treatment, available Monday to Wednesday only until the end of July. The spa is also offering several other enticing winter treatment deals, including a couples honey massage and an introduction to traditional Chinese medicine paired with a facial.

Acrylic or Gel Nails technical

Maybe it’s time to try alternative artificial! False nails are an ideal choice for those who nails fruit or have problems with their growth. Some women try fake nails just to get rid of “vice” and others just want to have beautiful nails and easy to maintain. If properly applied and then removed, artificial nails do not affect much the structure of your nails horny, but not even expect them improve their current condition. But if you decide to put your nails, this habit can become for you as trivial as hair coloring, and if from one day you decide not you put them, they look the same as before. Their application begins by placing a special support over the natural nail, then add acrylic (made of special composition) and is built below the natural nail, it remains the customer lugimea. This type of manicure can last up to 3 months, and require care every two weeks. Their maintenance is done by grinding the top layer and add another, thus providing a natural nail. Artificial nails should always care to avoid adverse consequences caused by them. Should periodically go to a manicurist nail to avoid collapse, this is happening because the nail glue weakens and the artificial nail from the natural falls. Another reason to go to the schedule of care is to avoid thinning of the natural nail and also to avoid discoloration.

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