**Press Release**: North American Hairstyling Awards 2015

***PRESS RELEASE***

Despite the title, this post is actual nail-related!  Let me tell you how :D

The North American Hairstyling Awards (or NAHA for short), founded by the Professional Beauty Association, is the most prestigious photographic beauty competition in North America.  Each year, individuals are recognized in various categories for their outstanding skill and artistry in the professional salon industry - it's a big deal and adds prestige to a stylist's name and portfolio.

So what does this have to do with nails??

Well, this year, there is a new category - Nail Professional of the Year!

This new category celebrates artistry and creativity of nail professionals.  NailPro Magazine, OPI, and CND all had their hands in helping to create it, too!  Like the award for the Hairstylist category, this award is the most prestigious recognition a nail pro can attain.  The artists that enter the competition should be well-versed in a variety of skills, like embellishments, nail art, and salon style/type of nails, demonstrating the excellence and artistry of the industry.

Now we come to the whole reason I am even writing about this - entering the competition!!  No, I will not be entering - I am not well-versed in anything, I am just very good at painting tiny pictures with a tiny paint brush :P  But if this sounds like your kind of deal, then you should enter in this amazing new category!!!

Here's the skinny on all the requirements for entry:

*Applications will only be accepted online

*Payment for PBA members is $45 for professionals and $35 for students; for non PBA members it is $90 for pros and $70 for students

*Must submit application, fees, and images through the official NAHA website Here.

*Entry is open to makeup artists, licensed cosmetologists, barbers, nail professionals, and cosmetology students attending school in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

*Entrants for the nail category must be certified nail technicians and do not need a hairstylist to nominate or enter the category.

The deadline for entries is February 19th of 2015.  The NAHA event will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada (City of Lights, baby!) on July 12th of 2015.  If this sounds like something you want to be a part of - do it!!! 

That website again for entry is here: North American Hairstyling Awards  

I think it's awesome that nail art/design is getting more and more popular - from magazines to TV shows, and now to professional competitions!  It's an art form that hadn't gotten much credit until recently, which is a shame - there are some absolutely amazing and brilliant nail artists out there that should be recognized for their awesome talent!  And now, they have that opportunity!

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I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, recovering from food comas and shopping sprees :D  See you soon <3

*NOTE: This information was sent to me by a PR rep for publication.  Links in this post are NOT affiliate (i.e. I get no kickback when you click on them through my blog).  I have simply provided them for your convenience :)

**Press Release**: 5 New Polishes by Skin Artisan!

***PRESS RELEASE***

Alright, who's out there shopping like a boss today??  I can tell you one thing - it's not this gal!  I don't do well with crowds, no matter how good the "deal" is, it's not worth the headache to me.  I cyber shop ^_^  There are lots of indies hosting Black Friday online deals today that I'll be taking advantage of instead :D

I wanted to share with you 5 gorgeous polishes that are brand-spankin'-new by the company Skin Artisan.  This company (before these new polishes) specializes in handmade soap, bath and body, and home goods.  I had the privilege of receiving their polish beauties to swatch before their release :)  So let's take a look at them now!!

We'll start with "Let It Snow:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Let It Snow is a white, holo, and silver hex glitter top coat that dries in under five minutes to a shiny finish.  Shown in the pictures above is 2 thin coats over a matte blue polish.

Next is "Christmas Coral:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Christmas Coral is a lovely vibrant coral red with a subtle holographic effect, micro coral red glitters, and small silver holographic glitters.  This polish is opaque in two coats and dries to a shiny finish in under five minutes.

Here is "Black Ice:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Black Ice is a beautiful dark grey jelly with black holographic hex glitters and a scattered holographic effect.  Shown above is 3 thin coats applied that dried to a shiny finish in under 5 minutes.

Next is "Wind Chill:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Wind Chill is a pretty light blue crelly with white flakies and a light blue shimmer.  Shown above is 3 thin coats applied that dried in under five minutes to a shiny finish.

Lastly we have my personal favorite - "Christmas Lights:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Christmas Lights is a gorgeous full-coverage silver glitter polish with red, green, yellow, and blue transparent hex glitters.  Shown above is 3 thin coats that dried in under 5 minutes to a shiny finish.

The Ups:  These are terrific polishes for an initial launch!  There's a nice variety of types of polishes, and all are very Wintery in look!  While some of the polishes have a thicker formula than others, they all applied very smoothly, and dried in a decent amount of time.  Some of the thicker polishes took a little longer to be immune to pressure (meaning if I push down, my fingerprint won't imprint in the polish), but they all were good to go out the door in less than 10 minutes.  The glitter in each of these is sooooooo sparkly indoors and outdoors, especially in Christmas Lights and Black Ice - and we all know how much I love sparkles ^_^

The Downs:  I only came across two "issues" with some of these polishes.  The first is with the application of Let It Snow.  I found that it was a bit tough to get the glitters to spread out evenly with a simple brush stroke, so I had to instead "dab" the glitters on and spread them out evenly.  Luckily, the polish self-leveled, so it didn't look uneven when applying it this way.  The other issue I had was a very, and I mean very small amount of staining on my skin from Christmas Coral when I was cleaning up.  I always use 100% acetone remover when cleaning any stray polish on my cuticles, and I still found my skin was just a tad red afterwards.  However, the staining went away with 2 hand washes, so it's not one that's gonna stick around a while.

Overall: This is a fantastic set of 5 polishes!  I am very impressed, especially since it is the first time Skin Artisan has made polish!  I will be keeping this brand on my to-watch list for sure ^_^

Here are the Facebook and store links so you can keep up-to-date with this brand, too!

Store: Here

Facebook: Here

Skin Artisan is having a Black Friday special - 30% off the total purchase with the code BLACKFRIDAY14 !!  This code is good from 10pm EST 11/27/2014 through (I'm assuming) 10pm EST 11/28/2014  I would definitely take advantage of this special - that's a crazy good deal!!  I would hurry if I were you, though - those 5 polishes are in limited supply!  Pick up some of the other products this company offers, too!  I received two small bars of soap with the polish, and the Vanilla Bean is AMAZING!!!!

Happy Black Friday and *SAFE* shopping if you're doing it - otherwise, happy digestion Friday!! :D  See you soon <3

*NOTE*: These polishes were sent to me for swatches and a review by Skin Artisan.  My opinion is in no way swayed, and is 100% honest.  Links I have provided are NOT affiliate (i.e. I get no kickback when you click on them through this post).  I simply provide them for your convenience :)