The Elysian is a luxury-modern boutique in the heart of Houston. Every inch of our is carefully created  and decorated with the intent of providing the deepest relaxation and the highest possible aesthetic satisfaction.

I didn’t know there was such a thing as a good manicure, but the biggest difference I feel after getting one compared to a good one is self-confidence.

Cosmopolitan

You will feel like yourself again and you’ll understand your own beauty perfectly. You will feel better and understand what it means to wear a mani.

I thought my mani could be expensive and awful, but I fell in love with my look. I’m a happy-go-lucky person and a job well done me me feel fabulous. It also helped me to step out of my comfort zone and you know that, men dress better than women when they have a manicure. I also felt great not like the sole owner of a yard and have no mani. Now I have a collection of men’s nail polishes and there is definitely some of the same styles that work with women! What I do love about nail polish are all the different textures that it gives, like silicone and metallic. They help to reinforce what are well defined nails and really give you a body beautiful manicure.

Manicure Image Cassie Roberts says getting to play with textures will make you feel amazing. Manicure Image Cassie Roberts says getting to play with textures will make you feel amazing.

I also love the colourings and products to she the nails and polish them with. I love the textures, manicurising skills, setting colors and nail art. I don’t think there is anything much better than a bright neon mani! There are really great polish brands to choose from, and I loved CoverGirl Dark Chai Brown. There is so much you cando with your mani, but you should change out your colour depending on how you like it. Most often my nails will be bare in the winter. I can do my mani in the summer, but if I do the brown, that is my go-to colour. I love dipping into a rich hue when I get to have my mani in the summer.

I also love getting to play with textures in my colours, so I go for organic manis and natural colours. For example, I like Nars, Nars Moon Eyeshow, Nars Venom and Tom Ford’s Midnight. The smooths and finishing touches are great. Overall, it’s great to take on your own manicure and find out what you like.

Kevin Mazur

Kevin Mazur

There are three big trends that have been seen with manicures – no brushes, no pre-shampoos and no coloursticks. I use soft tools that make my nails more beautiful and easier to clean. I love a flat brush. I just put a bunch of cuticle oil underneath the polish and that keeps my nails good. I also use a good colour base, either Clinique or Essie, from tryandtry.com. Essie Show Riance (€14.95), which gives you the feeling that you’ve got a full face of makeup on.

Use a chart or keep notes for your mani as you go as you can colour when the weather is good or in cold weather. When choosing colours, it’s always best to colour in the area underneath your nails. If you like a nude, that will look good on your toes and legs. The reason that cool-toned, matte manis work so well for me, it’s that natural colour; you can’t d on rouge,glitter, shine or tan.

Kevin Mazur

I like being totally about me and my nails. I’ve worked on my nails for 25 years, so I know how to take care of them. I like to be in a neutral she when I am wearing socks and boots. But if I want to wear heels, or a classic red, I always look for something with shimmer and shine. I love Essie Shimmer in Lilac Sands (€13.95), which I use to finish off my mani at night.

Many of my favourite bars will sell a white manicure for a very reasonable price. I alsouse some gel polish, like Ulta White PlusSelf Hold Manicure in Allegro Red (€9.95). I just have a gentle manicure, and then I go to sleep with my nails looking good.

By YNEISHA VAUGHAN

Follow her here on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest

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Follow Irene on Twitter.com / Instagram.com / Pinterest

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If You Want to Be Your Greatest Self-Confident, Artistic and Fearless, Treat Yourself to a Manicure, Braid or More

Basically, Beauty Blogger Illissa Dja has a hobby. And one she very much enjoys is helping others better themselves. It helps to share her knowledge. And as an amazingly accomplished nail artist and makeup guru, she is almost certain to know every handy beauty tip, trick, and ultimate hack for your skin, hair, and life. You won’t need to hunt for it because our news team has enlisted her help for some months of ah-mazing posts. The thing about taking blogs is that you get all of your hands on them and the thing you see every day is worth every ounce of glory that comes with them. And the more people are reing your stuff, the more more you get to showcase your work and the more people fall in love with it. So, who doesn’t want to be a part of that? Click through to find out what Illissa loves doing for herself and for others, and then pick up your favourite way to improve your life.

Illissa Dja: From the introduction, this is a story about a ‘nice’ person who helps out many, many people. A really good person. By the end, it will be more about her trying to help others help themselves. If that was mine or you and I met each other, I would introduce you to my American husband of 2-3 years and the ‘happily married’ couple that h just me it to number one on the UK Power Couple list

I do having ‘fun with beauty’ as a hobby. The fun part is it is a dynamic. It is not just me changing up the colour of my nails and not having a problem, but inste focusing on a bigger, more purpose. And, as you may be aware I h never done this before. [But) I began doing it for practical reasons. I was 18 and, just as a fun experiment, I put together a sort of ‘Inlens’ nail kit which I then incorporated into my manicure studio which has just 1 blue nail…I don’t have glue yet, so I did it for fun but in-in case I did. [Oh! it was painless]. I wore a card case and a cap for it so nothing extra. It is also more of a lifestyle change so, in the long run, I would like to do other types of aesthetics like a top coat polish and so on. [Ha… that still sounds fun.] I h built up a catalogue from art books and an online questionnaire of current and past beauty trends so it is great that I have that information and have now taken it with me into my business. It is also something I am continually learning about to make sure that my knowledge and skills keep developing. You become this person’s muse. This is a story about a person who works with a lot of girls and we help each other and the sense is always positive.

Where did you get your start in beauty?

I grew up in the small town of St Magnus, 30 minutes from Gothenburg, so my first meeting with someone at the beauty office came to me when I was in my early teens. Someone showed me a brochure and ‘Nothing’ on it and that is where it started. I joined the competition and rose to the top. You know how it is. I was the youngest contestant. I guess I’m a chip off the old block, [but] now I’m a ‘real’ nail artist. [But] lots of people say they are really impressionable. [But] I have been the opposite, I kind of have a ‘healthy’ thing, I am married and have a cute daughter and a beautiful husband but I never think I am anything less than you and whoever I meet I try to help, so I think I have this gift. I try to help people

The Elysian is a Modern Nail Salon in the Heart of Houston focusing on High Quality Service. Every inch of our is carefully created and decorated with the intent of providing the deepest relaxation and the highest possible aesthetic satisfaction.

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