Return of the Psycho =)

Hey all! Looooooooooooooooong time, no see :( I missed blogging very much and hopefully I can come back to my one-post-per-week routine :) Again, this is going to be a post about my absence and what I did during this time.

Buna tuturor! Nu ne-am mai vazut de muuuuult :( Mi-a lipsit scrisul pe blog mult si sper sa ma intorc la rutina mea de o-postare-pe-saptamana :) Inca o data, aceasta va fi o postare despre absenta mea si ce am facut in acest timp.

I couldn't resist not to try false nails for one more time before finally deciding to let my nails grow :P Especially considering the fact that I got an acid-free primer (that does not damage the natural nail) and I wanted to see if the adhesion of the acrylic would be considerably improved. And it was :D Although I still got a lot of air underneath because of my poor application technique, the nails did not fall and I got to wear them for about a month.

N-am putut rezista sa nu incerc unghii false inca o data inainte sa ma decid in sfarsit sa-mi las unghiile sa creasca :P Mai ales considerand faptul ca mi-am luat un primer fara acid (care nu strica unghiile naturale) si voiam sa vad daca aderenta acrylului ar fi imbunatatita considerabil. Si a fost :D Desi tot au prins o gramada de aer din cauza tehnicii mele proaste de aplicare, unghiile nu au cazut si am putut sa le port cam o luna.

This is the first design I wore. Because I couldn't do a nice french with a nice smile line (it is very hard), I chose to apply a transparent colour on the free edge and then conceal the natural smile line with glitter, as I was also aiming for a mermaid-y look. The water-like texture was achieved by using tin foil over my forms. I cut a piece, wrapped and unwrapped it carefully then I put it on my forms, before applying the clear acrylic. The downside was that I couldn't get all of the foil to come off and that's why some nails look silvery and other look transparent. I applied a sheer lilac in a gradient to the tip and then a bluish iridescent glitter mix, capped in clear acrylic, filed and applied a gel topcoat.

Acesta este primul design pe care l-am purtat. Pentru ca nu am putut sa fac un french frumos cu o linie de zambet frumoasa (este foarte greu), am ales sa aplic o culoare transparenta pe marginea libera si apoi sa ascund linia de zambet naturala cu glitter, pentru ca voiam si un look "de sirena". Textura ca de apa a fost obtinuta folosind folie de aluminiu peste sabloane. Am taiat o bucata, am mototolit-o si am desfacut-o cu grija apoi am pus-o pe sabloane, inainte sa aplic acrylul transparent. Partea proasta a fost ca nu am reusit sa dezlipesc toata folia si de aceea unele unghii arata argintii si altele transparente. Am aplicat un lila transparent in degradeu spre varf si apoi un amestec de glitter albastrui iridescent, am construit forma cu acryl transparent, am pilit si am aplicat un topcoat gel.

Of course, these nails aren't perfect, some are crooked and/or poorly filed. Anyway, after about two weeks, I got an offer for a cyber punk photoshoot. And so I decided to change the shape and design of my nails. As I didn't want to file all the clear acrylic off, I did a painted design on top of the old one. I simply filed off the gel topcoat, painted using acrylic paint, applied some studs and pierced two holes on my right ring finger and pinky finger nails for a chain. This is the result, the photo is by Fabian Tatomirescu:

Bineinteles, aceste unghii nu sunt perfecte, cateva sunt strambe si/sau gresit pilite. Oricum, dupa vreo doua saptamani, am primit o oferta pentru o sedinta foto cyber punk. Si asa am decis sa schimb forma si design-ul unghiilor mele. Pentru ca nu voiam sa pilesc tot acrylul transparent, am facut un design pictat deasupra celui vechi. Pur si simplu am pilit topcoat-ul gel, am pictat cu vopsea acrilica, am aplicat niste tinte si am facut doua gauri pentru un lant pe unghiile de la degetul drept inelar si cel mic. Acesta este rezultatul, fotografia este facuta de Fabian Tatomirescu:

The length of the nails didn't bother me at all, except the fact typing was a nightmare. I you ever want to get nails this long, make sure your keyboard is as flat as possible. I could type better on flatter keyboards. At some point I began seeing them as too short (!!!) and thought I should've made them longer. The chain also didn't bother but after a few days I caught it in a door handle and one of the rings came off, without causing any damage to the nail.

Lungimea unghiilor nu m-a deranjat deloc, in afara faptului ca tastatul era un cosmar. Daca vrei vreodata sa iti pui unghii asa lungi, asigura-te ca tastatura ta este cat se poate de plata. Eu puteam sa tastez mai bine pe tastaturi mai plate. La un punct am inceput sa le vad ca fiind prea scurte (!!!) si m-am gandit ca ar fi trebuit sa le fac mai lungi. Nici lantul nu m-a deranjat doar ca dupa cateva zile l-am agatat intr-o clanta si unul din inele s-a desprins, fara sa-mi vatameze in vreun fel unghia.

The damage came, however, when I removed them. Acrylic dissolves in pure acetone but if you apply primer, it will be a little stubborn and I didn't have enough patience to soak it a second time. The usual process is to either soak your nails in a bowl of acetone for about fifteen minutes or use the foil method as you were removing glitter polish and then gently scrape the softened acrylic (absolutely make sure you don't scrape the natural nail) and redo the process if necessary. I did scrape the natural nail :( Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture because I was out of town at that moment but three of my nails were damaged. If after removal your natural nails hurt when you press them, DO NOT apply anything else other than natural oils on them. The pain means that the nail is so thin, your nail bed is almost exposed and this means chemicals you apply on your nail can reach your bloodstream. This was not the case with my nails :P Here is a photo taken about a week after the removal, showing the worst affected nails:

Stricaciunea a venit, totusi, cand le-am dat jos. Acrylul se dizolva in acetona pura dar daca aplici primer, va fi putin incapatanat si eu nu am avut suficienta rabdare sa-l las la dizolvat inca o data. Procesul uzual este fie sa iti tii unghiile intr-un bol cu acetona pentru vreo cincisprezece minute fie sa folosesti metoda cu folia ca si cum ai indeparta oja cu glitter si apoi sa racai cu grija acrylul inmuiat (in mod absolut sa te asiguri ca nu racai unghia naturala) si repeti procesul daca este necesar. Eu am racait unghia naturala :( Din pacate, n-am reusit sa fac o poza pentru ca eram plecata din oras in acel moment dar trei dintre unghiile mele s-au stricat. Daca dupa indepartare unghiile tale naturale dor cand le apesi, NU aplica nimic altceva pe ele in afara de uleiuri naturale. Durerea inseamna ca unghia este atat de subtire, incat patul unghiei este aproape expus si acest lucru inceamna ca chimicalele pe care le aplici pe unghie pot ajunge in fluxul tau sangvin. Nu a fost cazul cu unghiile mele :P Aici este o poza facuta la cam o saptamana dupa indepartare, care arata cele mai afectate unghii:

I was out of town to stay with my aunt for three weeks to help her change her diet and become healthier. An exclusively vegetarian diet, based on whole foods can prevent and even heal numerous diseases. If you're interested in this matter, I strongly recommend you to read "The China Study" by T. Collin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II. You will be surprised how many aspects of our health are controlled by our diet. If you need advice, recipes or anything else, you can e-mail me, I love to help with everything I can :)

Am fost plecata din oras ca sa stau cu matusa mea pentru trei saptamani sa o ajut sa-si schimbe dieta si sa devina mai sanatoasa. O dieta exclusiv vegetariana, bazata pe alimente cat mai putin procesate poate preveni si chiar vindeca numeroase boli. Daca esti interesata de aceasta chestiune, recomand cu tarie sa citesti "Studiul China" de T. Collin Campbell si Thomas M. Campbell II. Vei fi surprinsa de cate aspecte ale sanatatii noastre sunt controlate de dieta noastra. Daca ai nevoie de sfaturi, retete sau orice altceva, poti sa-mi scrii un e-mail, ador sa ajut cu tot ce pot :)

Traveling to another town has its advantages, especially if you've got a friend there who does nails xD Meet Elena, a very talented friend of mine! We painted each other's nails. She wears very long acrylic nails and I was excited as she let me do whatever I wanted on them <3 Remember my post about the watercolour technique? Well, I finally got a set of twenty-four professional quality watercolours!!! I was so excited and I instantly decided I wanted to use them so I did an abstract design and applied some gold transfer foil here and there. She did a lovely poppy design on my short nails (the french is done by me). Both photos are done by her.

Calatoria in alt oras are avantajele ei, mai ales daca ai o prietena acolo care face unghii xD Ea este Elena, o prietena foarte talentata de-a mea! Ne-am pictat unghiile reciproc. Ea poarta unghii foarte lungi din acryl si eu am fost entuziasmata pentru ca m-a lasat sa fac ce vreau pe ele <3 Iti mai aduci aminte postarea mea despre tehnica acuarelei? Ei bine, am reusit in sfarsit sa-mi iau un set de douazeci si patru de acuarele de calitate pentru profesionisti!!! Eram asa entuziasmata si am decis instant sa le folosesc asa ca am facut un design abstract si am aplicat niste folie de transfer aurie pe ici-colo. Ea a facut un design foarte dragut cu maci pe unghiile mele scurte (french-ul este facut de mine). Ambele poze au fost facute de ea.

Oh, yes, I decided to go back to the round/oval shape. The square shape doesn't represent me at all!! I also decided to let my nails grow only until they begin to have that ugly curve... This will be difficult because if I look at my nails when they are long, I see them short :( If my nails are short and I look at the photos I took when they were long, I think "Wow, I had such long nails!" :)) Am I sick or something?!

Ah, da, am decis sa ma intorc la forma rotunda/ ovala. Forma patrata nu ma reprezinta deloc!! Am decis de asemenea sa imi las unghiile sa creasca doar pana incep sa aiba curbura aceea urata... Acest lucru va fi dificil pentru ca daca ma uit la unghiile mele cand sunt lungi, le vad scurte :( Daca unghiile mele sunt scurte si ma uit la poze de cand erau lungi, ma gandesc "Wow, aveam unghiile asa lungi!" :)) Sunt bolnava sau ceva?!

I'm excited :D Tomorrow I'm doing my nails. See you soon!

Sunt entuziasmata :D Maine imi fac unghiile. Pe curand!