Celebrating 10 Years of Travels in Hong Kong
I am EXTRA excited to be planning my next trip - Hong Kong! But WHY is this trip so, so special??
I am extra excited to be heading there in a few weeks for several reasons - its hard to decide what I should mention first so I’ll do a baby countdown for you :)
3. Happy Travelversary to me!
Me at a nail art supply booth at CosmoProf HK 2008
November 2018 will be the exact 10 year anniversary of when I began to REALLY travel internationally, and my first trip of many to Asia. I wanted to go somewhere abroad with my BFF (who is also in the beauty industry) and I heard about a trade show called CosmoProf in Hong Kong. I love night markets and Hong Kong was cheap and I so was instantly sold. Previously I had been to London and all over the Caribbean, but I’ve always thought of this 2008 trip to Hong Kong as the one that really started it all.
2. Happy Anniversary to my Travel Bestie!
Also, it was the first of many amazing trips with my best friend from back home, Jeff! He’s the handsome fella that joined my fam and I this past August on our Mediterranean cruise and the Maldives last year, among other trips with me to L.A., Beijing, and Dubai. Happy anni babe!
Jeff and I this year on the Spanish Steps in Rome
1. Drumroll please… Where I learned GEL NAILS!
And the most a-ha! moment of that trip by far is when I learned how to sculpt with gel. Beauty girls and nail friends, you know what I’m talking about chemically when I say gel nails. Travel and non-beauty peeps: in a nutshell - there are two types of gel nails - soft gel (porous - so it can be soaked off, aka gel polish) and hard gel (not porous - much stronger). Hard gel is what we use to fix broken nails or extend them to the fab ballerina and stiletto nails we see celebs like Ariana Grande and Rihanna wearing.
Pre- “Hong Kong ‘08” as I’ll call it, I was told by a co-worker that gel was “only for overlays”. Womp, womp. Anyways, it wasn’t until I sat down to get my nails done there on a total whim (gold glitter and Swarovski crystals, natch) that I understood. By watching my nail tech sculpt them with hard gel, the biggest lightbulb of my career went off. Previously, I had been suffering from serious carpal tunnel syndrome from gripping a nail file all day long. Gel, unlike acrylic, is self-leveling (!!) - so little no no filing is needed. After I returned home, I switched 80% of my clients to gel and my carpal tunnel totally went away. I still love working with acrylic, but switching to gel 10 years ago after learning in HK really saved my wrists (and my career!)
in a taxi in 2008 Hong Kong - with the gold glitter gel nails that started it all!
I am deep into planning my Hong Kong Beauty anniversary trip - drop a comment below of any must-see or must-do things! Beauty stuff is most important but I’ll take it all - I love personal recommendations :)