Mirror, Mirror on the wall...Who's nails are fairest of them all??

“Mirror Mirror on the wall...
who's the fairest of them all?”

If you are like me, you have stood in front of the mirror thousands of times and asked yourself that question and of course every woman wants the same answer..

“You!”

Us girls are a vain bunch, we spend millions of dollars between us each year trying to look beautiful and when we finish don't we look “the bees knees!”

I want to look beautiful too and since I was a kid I have always painted and colored my nails, sometimes all different colors much to my mom's horror! As a young girl I used to sit and watch her having her nails cleaned and buffed like some kind of princess in a movie and I wanted that treatment too. I used crayons and water color paints at the time because I didn't know what nail polish was!

Even the cat got done sometimes! Ha Ha

I have always been artistic. I loved art at school and the teachers would often find me looking up to the heavens in yet another “Bianca Nail Polish Adventure” as I day dreamed the day away as some super agent saving the world but with wonderfully painted nails!

When I got home, I painted my Supergirl nails with simple designs of a two matching colors until with practice I was using toothpicks and needles to draw miniature flowers and other colorful designs. I was the most colorful kid on the block and the envy of all my friends who eventually begged me to do their nails too. Famous at last!

But you know how it is...as we grow we forget our dream and our passions and school drums into us that we get a job and stop daydreaming and with my crushed fantasies I became part of the daily never ending job seeking students until I ended up in the dreaded call center world!

Big money they promised – but in reality I was just a small cog in their machine to make them loads of money exploiting me and my ambitions at the same time. Long hours accompanied by eye bags and lack of sleep soon became the norm and when I stood in front of the mirror and said “Mirror Mirror on the wall...” the mirror screamed, broke and fell to the floor in pieces.

The dream was gone, my nails were chipped and I was loosing Bianca to the system of the call center!

Does my story remind you of you at all? Crushed dreams and no future? But my story is not meant to make you feel bad, but rather to inspire you to follow your dreams as my story changes like all stories that start with “once upon a time...”

Once upon a time, there was a small 19 year old call center girl with chipped nails and a broken dream...

And then I met a guy who would change my life not only as a love, but also as an inspiration. As we sat in the house, he noticed that I spent hours always painting my nails. No sooner was I finished than I would paint again another color and it was he that suggested that I quit my job in the call center and turn my talent into a passion and a business.
And so was born the “baby” of Nail Art Decals, my very own business and only 19 years old!

Nail Art Decals is my future, not only will I bring joy to thousands of women just like you and me, but I will also be able to plan my future financially and obtain my dreams and passions. How nice to be the little girl painting my friends again.

Presently I am setting up two bases. One in Manila and the other in Boracay a beautiful island of sand, sun and an endless supply of wealthy customers looking for more beauty. Just what I needed and at the same time, I can enjoy the beach when I am not working. Not a bad place for my 1st office!

I do not want you to think that this was easy for me. It was not. I had almost no money to buy my brushes and tools of the trade and I needed to pay for permits and licenses and I had to borrow money to get going, but I believed in me and I believed in my passion – and the help of my man!

I was running 3 jobs at this time, call center agent, freelance nail artist and also working in a salon to make ends meet, but in the end I took the plunge, dropped the other work and focused 100% on my own nail business.

I wanted to associate myself with the big hotels in Manila and it took all my courage to approach them, but the rejection really got me down as they turned me away with another “No!” after “No!” but then I remembered “getting a “no” for an answer must not make me feel disappointed thus this must make me feel happy because for every “no” is a step leading me forward to reach “yes”.

And so, I always plan every day which hotels and which companies I need to go to so as not to forget anything and in my travels I was drawn to a shop called IANTI.

My attraction to them grew as I saw they had the polish I was looking for to complement my business.

One day, I went to IANTI and asked about the benefits of being one of their agents and if they already opened their shop in SM. IANTI, it is a company that supplies and sells products such as make-ups, nail polishes, Tupperware, etc. So then, to make the story short, I met the owner of IANTI, named: Ms. Maridel, swapped contact details and had a very nice conversation. And until now, we still do have nice conversation aside from just talking about business.

So this is how I started my own company, with the help from Tim (my man) and friends and of course IANTI. Maybe without them helping me I might not have given it a go and set up it all correctly, because first of all, I didn't have any idea how to run a business because I'm working as an employee and not as an owner and I didn't have any idea about nail arts being a business because I thought it's just a normal thing going on in the world.

This is how I fell in love with my business, it's not only because I'm the owner but it's because I like and I love doing what I'm doing, designing nails. The business might be new, but for my part, as a nail artist, I've been doing it for years. I didn't study how to design nails, it's just one of my hobbies and dreams that became a reality.

And now When I look in the Mirror...I know the answer already!

And if your mirror doesn't give you the answer that you want, email me at biancasantosnailartdecals@gmail.com and I can set my magic brushes into action so you get a resounding “YOU”.

Acrylic Nails vs Gel Nails

Acrylic nails vs Gel nails: Which are better to have?

Acrylic nails vs gel nails is always an important topic whenever a woman wants to have artificial nails. There is always a big competition when it comes to choosing between acrylic nails and gel nails, although acrylic nails came before gel nails.

Acrylic nails are more popular than gel nails. They can either be placed on the tips of your fingernails or the whole fingernail itself. Acrylic nails are also the strongest artificial nails among all, mostly when applied correctly and when the correct nail care is practiced, they will last for a long time.



There are two different types of gel nails: light cured and no-light cured. Light cured gel nails are hardened by placing them under a halogen or ultraviolet lamp. No-light cured gel nails are set by spraying or brushing the surface with a gel activator, or dipping the brushed fingernails into water. Light cured nails tend to look more natural and are easier to apply and maintain than no-light cured gel nails. Gel nails are said to be an enhancement because the long-term goal of wearing gel nails is to allow your own nails to grow healthy and beautiful under the gels, so it is as if your gel nails are actually a protective armour for your real nails as they grow again.

There are some various of advantages and disadvantages that might help you decide the right choice of nails for you and if you can't decide it is best that you talk to your nail technician or simply email me and I will help you.

Here are some of the advantages of acrylic nails:

Acrylic nails are easily available than gel nails, so it would be a lot easier for you to have acrylic nails because most of the nail salons offer these over the counter. These nails are commonly preferred by women because they tend to be the strongest, cheapest, and longer lasting than gel nails. Acrylic nails are well known for being more durable than gel nails. Among all artificial nails, these are the ones that last the longest without spending a lot of money and they don't need lots of maintenance. One good thing about having acrylic nails is when it gets damaged or break, you can almost always fix it temporarily and easily by yourself. The process of removing it is more easier, simple, and straightforward if done by a professional nail technician. The nails can be soaked rather than filed off.

Here are some advantages of gel nails:

Gel nails tend to look more natural and glossier than other types of artificial nails. They are better looking on the nail and have a natural feel when wearing them due to their thinness, flexibility, and light weight. Gel nails tend to look natural because of its crystal clear texture that's why it can be mistaken for regular nails. Gel nails are said to be odorless compared to acrylic nails because they don't use offensive smelling chemicals when removing and applying. These strong chemicals used in acrylic nails tend to cause more damage on your own natural nails than the chemicals used in gel nails. The curing time for gel nails is considerably shorter than acrylic nails. When applying the chemical there tends to be less filing involved rather than other artificial nails.

Disadvantages of having acrylic nails:

Acrylic nails can damage your natural nails in a harsher manner than gel nails, since acrylic nails are using stronger chemicals in applying it. When done incorrectly, acrylic nails can look fake instead of natural or can even look worse. Natural nails may have a difficulty in growing under acrylic nails because it tends to be thicker than gel nails.

Disadvantages of having gel nails:

Gel nails don't last long and are less durable than acrylic nails even though they are more expensive. When applying nail polish to the finished gel nails, they don't stick as much and can therefore be removed easier compared to acrylic nail. When damaged or broken, gel nails are more difficult to fix than acrylics because there are not as many salons providing this service and they can't easily be fixed at home because of the gel chemical used. So, when damaged, you need to set an appointment right away with your nail technician. When removing the gel nails, it usually done by filing off not unlike acrylic nails that you can just soak in water.

When looking and deciding for artificial nails that will suit you best, it is always the best way to know the advantages and disadvantages for you to lessen any damage that you will may acquire to your real natural nails. Acrylic nails are always in contrast with gel nails that's why there is always a topic for acrylic nails vs gel nails.


**Thank you so much Rubyran, monibela and quinn.anya for the photos.