New Job!

YAY! After working 6 years in a crap (but easy and very flexible) retail job - I finally have a new job! Guess what it is?

A manicurist for the salon Nail Tech!

Well actually, I am an apprentice. A lot of people don't now you can work at a salon without a license. In truth you can work as an apprentice, learning on the job, but there should only be one apprentice at a time. You can also work with a permit and work towards getting your license. (It kinda makes me wonder what a license is for though? I guess to say "Yes, I know what I'm doing. I'm a PRO.") Where I live, there are no nail schools. The only way to learn to do nails in school is to take a full cosmotology course, learning nails, make up, and hair. Although I enjoy styling hair, I don't have an interest in actually cutting it. Plus, a lot of times you have to go to school for such long hours that you can't work a job. You end up paying money instead of making it!

So why a manicurist? Well painting nails is a hobby of mine, and I really enjoy doing designs. I was a real artist in high school, so I guess it stems from that. I would go to work with my nails done at my old job and it would go a lot like this:

(except I'm not a man, and I worked retail, not in a restaurant, lol!)

Customers would get really excited and ooh and ah over my nails. They would ask me where I got them done, and when I said I did them or made them, they got so confused! "What? What do you mean?" I mean I did them, duh! Its not like only people at salons can paint nails!

Sadly, being a manicurist is really not as fabulous as some make it out to be. First off, I can't have my nails done! T_T I have to have my hands in acetone way too much. Maybe in the future I can do more acrylic than manis and pedis, and I may be able to do my nails then. Also, I have to wear khakis and a white shirt. They want us to look professional, but I'm hoping I can make it fashionable too.



So here, I compiled a bunch of pictures of nails that I've done over the years for my interview, and figured I'd put it up for you to look at. It is certainly not all that I've done, though. Looking back on some of the older pictures makes me cringe a little, ha ha. Lets hope I can start adding some really awesome nails to my portfolio!

Natural Nail:

All of the above are my own nails, except for the last. Those are my friend Stella's hands, which I did for a Gal Makeover photoshoot. You may remember her from here.

Nail Chips

Acrylic

(Only did the acrylic for these. Rin painted them herself, so cute!)

So as an apprentice I can be sponsored by my teacher, Tiffany, for two years. Within those two years I have to get 1200 hours of work in, and learn practical and theoretical nail ...stuff, lol. Which should be easy because I have to work 55 hours a week! T_T  I get one day off a week. I think I will have to study a lot outside of work too. It is very fast paced, and I need to learn really fast. They don't always have time to show me everything at work. All in all, it is a LOT of work, because it is school and a job all rolled into one. But this is ultimately something I could turn into a career. I hope I can learn fast enough! And not go crazy from lack of free time! (haha, My boyfriend can no longer complain that he works more than me and has no free time!)

So, anyone have any suggestions on how to look gal AND professional in khakis and white shirt with no nails? Time to start hunting through magazines!

♪♫grimmy