Pre-Designed Nail Tips

If you are looking for an excellent way to save time and money in your nail care and nail art business, Pre-Designed Nail Tips are a great way to go. We offer these tips in a large variety of sizes and varieties. All you have to do is apply them to your client's nail surface. You won't believe how simple this makes the application process!

We use only ABS virgin plastic in our pre-designed tips, giving them a high level of durability and longevity. If you want to make sure that you are offering your clients the best quality without spending hours on individual designs, this is the way to do it. Creating these designs from scratch would take several hours, not to mention quite a bit of skill and experience.

I've personally had a great number of clients who resist getting nail art designs done because they don't want to sit for a full hour or two while the designs are being completed. In the past, I have had no alternative but to limit these clients to plain monochrome designs. But with these pre-designed nail tips, you can give even your most impatient clients a great design in no time at all. And of course, by introducing more of your clients to the world of nail art, you are also opening up new financial possibilities for you business as well.

These pre-designed nail tips feature:

    A full contact area with a natural curve, suitable for virtually any type or shape of natural nails.
    Versatility of use. Use these nail tips by themselves or together with other nail art techniques.
    The benefit of being able to offer great nail art capabilities to even beginning nail artists. Very little pre-established skill is necessary to be able to use these products effectively.

Each order of Viva La Nails pre-designed nail tips comes in a box of 20 tips, in 10 different sizes. This is more than enough to use on any single client (although it is in theory enough for two!) By using a new box for each client, you will ensure that you have the right size tips always available.

IMPORTANT!!! When you are filing the tip surface in order to remove the glossy layer, make sure that you use a nail file with a very high grit number (240 or higher is best). You should only file in one direction moving away from the cuticle area.  This prevents the design from being damaged in the filing process.

To sum up, these pre-designed nail tips can prove to be advantageous to almost any nail technician. If you are a beginner, they are a great alternative to more advanced techniques, but if you are an expert nail technician, they can still be a great thing to have around to offer your less patient clients. Either way, you can't lose!

How to Spot Fake Konad Nail Stamping Products

The Konad system of nail art stamping and the many products used in this process are collectively the hottest new thing in contemporary nail art technology. However, before you jump on the Konad bandwagon, there is one thing that you should be aware of. Many companies based in China are currently marketing poorly crafted knock-offs of Konad's line of products which, although visually similar to Konad, produce inferior results. If you want to offer genuine Konad results to your clients, you need to be able to avoid these knock-offs. In this article, I'll show you how to tell the difference between these shoddy fakes and the genuine article.

(By the way – in our store we sell only genuine Konad products. So if you are worried that you might have trouble telling the difference, you can always avoid problems by buying directly from “Viva La Nails”. I've tried both products myself and know from experience that only the real Konad system is worth spending money on.)

Scraper - the first item that you can look at to see if you are getting a genuine Konad product is the scraper. Notice how the Konad scraper on the left has the brand name printed clearly on the front and is of a slightly darker colour than the fake on the right. You can also tell the difference by the spacing of the holes on the scraper edge. The real product has evenly spaced holes while the fake does not.

The genuine Konad scraper features a straight and precise metal blade which leaves no excess nail polish on the plate.

Stamper - the original Konad stamper is somewhat hard to differentiate from the fake. However, if you look closely, you will notice that the Konad stamper has a slightly darker coloured surface. This results from using a higher quality material.

Image Plates - the difference in quality between the stamping plates is the number one problem with using fake Konad products. Fake plates are made using an inferior crafting method, resulting in imperfect designs.

The Konad plate (pictured on the left) was made using a precise advanced laser etching technology. As you can see, the fake image plate was created using an inferior laser technique, resulting in rough edges and inferior performance.

Fake Konad image plates have a dangerous sharp edge around the sides, again resulting from poor manufacturing. The producers of Genuine Konad products smooth the edges to prevent the possibility of injury.

Special Nail Polish - real Konad nail polish has a higher viscosity than regular nail polish or fake Konad nail polish. This results in a smoother application. Fake Konad polish also tends to come in duller, less vibrant colours, making it easy to spot.

Hologram - finally, the easiest way to differentiate real Konad products from the fakes is the Konad hologram, which you can see here. In it you can see a textured array of flowers and the Konad brand name. Fakes will lack this identifying marker.

The Result

The difference between the results that you can achieve with Konad and the results you can expect with a fake is obvious. Notice how the Konad nail art (on the left) is so much sharper and clearer than the fake Konad nail art (shown on the right). If you want your clients to be happy with their nails, by all means, make sure that you only purchase genuine Konad products.

Learning to Use the Konad Nail Art System

The 21st century has provided no dearth of new and innovative nail art techniques. One of the most effective and essential of these is the Konad nail art stamping system. Konad is a product which allows you to create complex nail art designs in less than a quarter of the time.

Konad's secret is its use of a pre-designed template model. The centrepiece of the Konad system is a special engraved image plate containing a number of “preset” patterns. This allows even a novice nail artist the opportunity to supply clients with consistently professional looking designs.

Now before we go on, allow me to warn you about something: There are dozens of companies now on the market who make tons of money marketing FAKE Konad products. I know from personal experience that these products are inferior in quality and simply cannot produce the same kind of results. For this reason, “Viva La Nails” carries only AUTHENTIC Konad products.

The great thing about Konad is that it produces very sophisticated looking results without requiring a sophisticated process. In fact, Konad is actually quite easy to use. And seeing that it requires only a few simple tools, it is portable as well. This makes it a great choice even if you are operating a mobile nail care business.

All right, enough with the small talk! Let's get down the process itself:

Step 1 – The first step is to use a fresh cotton piece and some acetone to carefully clean the image plate. This is a quick and worthwhile step which will increase the overall performance of your Konad system.

Step 2 – Assuming that you are starting out with a brand new Konad system, it is best to treat your stamper tool with a 100 grit nail file. Otherwise your stamper may be a little too smooth for optimum functionality. File it down lightly just as you would a nail surface.

Step 3 – Now use the same cotton piece with acetone to clean off the stamper surface.

Step 4 – At this point, paint a small portion of Konad Special Nail Polish onto the preferred image on the image plate. Make sure that you use only official Konad nail polish for this step. Regular polish or Knock-off polish simply won't produce acceptable results. This layer of polish doesn't need to be too thick, just thick enough to cover the design.

Step 5 – Quickly after you have applied the Konad polish, use your Konad scraper to make a quick scrape across the image plate. Move away from the centre of the plate towards the side, removing any excess polish. The pressure that this creates on the image plate may produce scratches on its surface. If this happens, don't worry. This is completely normal and will not have any negative effects on the system's future performance.

Step 6 – Keep moving quickly so that the polish does not dry. Pick up the stamper and press it very lightly onto the design on the image plate. This should be done by placing one edge of the stamper down first and then quickly rotating it down on the image plate and then right off again. No pressure is needed, just a single clean movement. After a little bit of practise, this will be just like tying your shoe.

Step 7 – Before transferring the design to the nail surface, check to make sure that it looks perfect on the stamper. It should look clean, without and broken lines, just like in the photograph shown here. If it is not, wipe it off with a cotton piece and some acetone and try again back at step number 3.

Step 8 – Now, transfer the design from the stamper onto the nail. You should again use the same type of movement that you used to get the design from the plate onto the stamper. Don't apply too much pressure; simply move the stamper from one side to the other in an easy rolling motion.

Step 9 – Once you have transferred all of the desired designs from the plate onto the nail surface, allow it to dry for a few minutes. Finally, use some Konad Top Coat solution to seal your design.
Just to make sure that this final tricky step comes off well, make sure to follow these two rules:

1. Use only REAL Konad top coat solutions.
2. Apply this top coat only ONCE. If you try to apply several strokes of top coat, you are likely to damage your design.

IMPORTANT!!! After each transfer, make sure to clean the stamper, scraper and image place off with a cotton piece and acetone. This is essential if you want to protect the quality of your designs.

And you're done! You've created a premium professional looking design in just minutes. While this technique may take a little practice, this is really very little compared to more demanding techniques. You should be working like a pro in just a couple of days.

Crushing Twice is Twice as Nice!

Are you tired of using those same three boring colours over and over again? I'll bet you are. Well, never fear, because today, I'm going to introduce you to a new technique that is going to completely change the way you do nail art.

Let's talk about what you can do with a single product that is known as “Crushed Shell.” Crushed Shell is the perfect medium for creating impressive backgrounds for your nail art. By mixing it with gel or acrylic you will have an unlimited number of colours to choose from.

Crushed shells are created through an innovated process in which natural shells are ground into minute asymmetric fragments which are then imbued with striking colours for use in nail art. Crushed shells can be used on nail extensions using gel or acrylic; however, they should not be used directly on natural nails.

At “Viva La Nails” we have more than twenty-five colours that you can choose from, each of which carries its own delicate blend of aesthetic implications. And, you can create even more possibilities by mixing colours. Why not try green and red for Christmas or blue and purple for Easter?

But my favourite thing, by far, to do with crushed shell is to CRUSH IT! That's right, you didn't hear me wrong. It's been crushed once already, but it doesn't hurt to crush those shells again!. Once crushed into powder, crushed shells are one of the easiest nail art tools to work with. Just try to imagine what you could do with dozens of different colours of shell-based powder dust!

But before you start going wild with the colours, I'd better show you how to complete the re-crushing process. Here are some step by step instructions:

Step 1 – Take a small empty container, such as a mortar or a small nail pot, and fill it with a small portion of crushed shell. In order to keep things simple, start with a very small batch.

Step 2 – Find a strong metal or stone blunt object with which to grind the crushed shell into powder. Apply pressure with this tool repeatedly for a few minutes.

Voila! That's really all that you have to do!

You've just more than doubled your nail art arsenal. And it only took two easy steps! I've used this type of technique in several of my tutorials so make sure to check them out for ideas regarding how to use double-crushed shell in your day to day nail art activities!

Fantasy Butterflies - Free Hand Nail Art

Today I'm going to teach you how to create a beautiful butterfly nail art design using a free hand nail art technique. This is a great design to use on clear tips, but it really works great over just about any colour. For clients who desire a brilliantly colourful look, this is the perfect design. And since this pattern can be used with just about any colour scheme, it's great for matching with outfits for special occasions.

The most important element of this design is the tiny butterfly pattern that you see above. Since this element is so crucial, it is a good idea to practise painting butterfly shapes alone on a blank nail surface a few times before attempting to complete the entire design.

What you’ll need: acrylic colour powder (pink), liners (blue, pink, black), top coat, dotting tool, rhinestones.
Technique: Free Hand Painting
Skill Level: Intermediate

And without any further ado, let's begin!

Step 1 – The first thing that we want to do is put down some sort of colourful background. This can be done using colour powder, coloured gel, or even glitter. You can either just colour the front part of the nail or you can do the entire nail surface. In any case however, it is a good idea to create some sort of contrast.

Step 2 – Next, use pink liner to draw a single oval in the shape of a flower petal over the prepared area of the nail.

Step 3 – Now repeat this process three more times to create a butterfly design.

Step 4 – Now, use a blue liner to create a second butterfly repeating the same movements.

Step 5 – To make your butterflies really stand out, you should now use an extra thin nail art brush in order to create a thin black lining around the butterflies.

Step 6 – Use the same thin brush to draw two small antennae on each butterfly.

Step 7 – To further brighten up your design, use a dotting tool to create several colourful dots in a random configuration throughout the nail surface. You should use an average of ten dots per nail.

Step 8 – Now, use top coat to seal your design.

Step 9 – You're not done yet! This design will look even better once we add some sparkle to it. Use a rhinestone picker to apply rhinestones or Swarovski crystals to the centre of your butterflies. Choose a colour that works well with your design.
Now remember, you don't have to painstakingly follow the colour scheme that I've demonstrated here. In fact, the results will be even better if you choose a colour scheme that is specially suited to your client's tastes. You can pick one or two great colours for the butterflies, or, if you want the design to really stand out, you can paint each butterfly a different colour!

Once you've mastered this technique, don't be afraid to experiment a little bit. I've found that butterflies look especially great on top of French nails. Why not? Even customers who usually eschew complex designs often have an affinity for this simple but striking pattern.

Nail Art Tutorial - Bubbles of Eden

Welcome, Friends!

What can you do if you need a great nail art design that is both elegant and playfully pink? Well, you could try out this new design that I'm about to show you today. I like to call it “Bubbles of Eden.” It is the ultimate combination between free hand painting, Konad stamping techniques and crystal rhinestones. What could be better?

What you’ll need: liners (pink, hot pink, black), rhinestones, Konad special polish – white, top coat, scraper & stamper set and Konad image plate Nr. M16
Technique: Free Hand Painting + Konad
Skill Level: Beginner
Now, let's get started with the magic!

The first step is to paint a smooth, abstract shape over the tip of the nail using a pink liner. There is no set way that this has to be done; each shape should be as unique as the infinitely cresting waves of the ocean.

Allow the first nail to dry as you repeat this process on the others. Now, use some white liner to create a medium sized flower petal over your pink figure.

Now repeat this last step so that your flower has three petals. The flower should look robust and full since this will be the main element of your design.

Now it's time to introduce a third colour into our design. This colour, we will create by mixing our white and pink tones to create a very light shade of soft pink. Use the centre of your colour palette to mix these two colours until you get just the right tone.

Now use our newly created shade of pink to colour over our flower design. This colour should be light enough for it to really stand out against the darker pink background.

Now we will introduce yet another colour into the mix. Use a hot pink liner to paint small, delicate lines inside each petal, endowing the flower with a natural look.
                                 
You can finish the flower design by adding some tiny black dots in the centre of the flower. Just add a few, and try to make them look as haphazard as possible.

And we're not done yet! Now it's time to introduce some Konad nail art into this design. Using the special Konad stamper, transfer a design from image plate Nr M16 to the nail surface.

These Konad forged bubbles should endow the entire scene with an air of lightness. Remember to apply a layer of Konad top coat so that your design doesn't smudge!

And while the top coat is still sticky, finish up your design by placing a few crystal rhinestones in lines at the edges of your pink background pattern. This immediately adds an extra bit of sparkle and luster to your design. You could also try using Swarovski crystals in this design for an even more luxurious look. (But watch out! This could get expensive!)

And bingo, you're done! You've added yet another great nail art design to your repertoire.  You might want to make every second or third nail without a flower just to break up the monotony as I've done here. I think this makes your design look much more natural.

Now, if you don't have a set of Konad tools handy, you still can use this design if you are willing to try to draw your bubbles by hand using an extra fine brush! (Although the Konad system will definitely save you some time.) Good luck! :-)