Ningi Nail Retreat

Spending our lunch break together looking out the salon window today 🥰

🚨 NO, GEL NAILS HAVE NOT BEEN BANNED!

You may have seen some rather dramatic headlines doing the rounds lately about a “gel nail ban” and concerns around gel manicures.

So let me clear this up.
Gel nails are NOT being banned.

The recent changes being reported relate to one specific ingredient called TPO (Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide), which has been used as a photoinitiator in some UV/LED cured nail products.

TPO has been banned from cosmetic products in the EU, and the UK is now phasing it out as well.

That is VERY different to “gel nails have been banned.”

Professional nail brands have been aware of these changes for some time, and the brands I use have already removed TPO from their products, as they expect it to eventually be banned here in Australia as well.

This is actually a great example of why I am so particular about the professional products I choose to use in my salon. Regulations change, science evolves, formulations improve, and reputable manufacturers adapt accordingly.

So please don’t let sensational headlines frighten you into thinking that suddenly all gel manicures are dangerous or that gel nails are disappearing.

They aren’t. 🤍

As always, I will continue to keep up with industry changes, use high-quality professional products and make informed choices about the products I use on my clients.

And your beautiful gel nails aren’t going anywhere. 💅😂

Claire

✨ A little update…

From 1st September 2026, there will be a $10–$15 increase across my services.

This small adjustment allows me to continue using the highest quality professional products, invest in ongoing education, and create the beautiful, long-lasting results you know and love. 💕

A full updated price list will be available to view in the salon from 1st August.

If you’d like to know the new base price for your regular appointment before then, please feel free to send me a message. I’m always happy to help.

Thank you so much for your continued support of my little salon. It truly means the world to me. 🤍

Last night was such a lovely night ❤️

I got to sing with my choir, celebrate so many amazing small businesses, and spend the evening surrounded by such supportive, inspiring people and friends 😍

I also want to say a huge thank you to my beautiful clients who nominated me and continue to support my business. Your trust, kindness and encouragement are the reason my business has grown into what it is today, and I’m so incredibly grateful for every single one of you 🙏

Being part of this community means so much to me and I feel very lucky to have been nominated alongside so many talented people.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists — our local small business community is pretty special. ✨

I am so proud to announce that I am a finalist in this year’s Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards 🥳🥰

Thank you to all of you that nominated me. I am so grateful to have your support and to be able to do what I love every day ❤️

The next step was to submit a 250-word summary of why I should win to the panel of judges. I truly hope that my passion and dedication to my profession and to my clients has translated onto the page so that the judges will know how much this business means to me, and how deeply I care about every client who walks through my door.

No matter the outcome, being named a finalist already feels like a win. Thank you for supporting my small business and trusting me with your nails — I appreciate every single one of you more than you know 💅✨

I would be honoured if you would nominate my little salon 😍

🎉 Our Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards are back and bigger than ever!

Due to popular demand in 2025, we’ve introduced a brand new category this year…

🐾 Best Pet Store / Groomer

When nominating, please choose the category that best suits the business:

🏆 Pumicestone’s Business of the Year
⭐ Rising Star Award
🤝 Customer Service Excellence
🌱 Sustainability Champion
❤️ Community Impact Award
🍽️ Best Hospitality Business
🛍️ Retail Business of the Year
🌴 Tourism & Attractions Award
💪 Health & Wellbeing Award
🔧 Trades & Services Award
🎨 Creative Industries Award
🚀 Young Entrepreneur Award
👏 Best Employee Award
🏡 Best Home Business
💇 Best Beauty & Hairdresser
🎓 Best Education & Childcare
🐾 Best Pet Shop / Groomer
🗳️ People’s Choice Award

✨ Know a local business that deserves recognition?
Nominate them today and help celebrate the incredible local businesses that make Pumicestone such a vibrant community.

📩 Submit your nominations here:
https://arianadoolan.com.au/pumicestone-business-excellence-awards-2026/

What an incredible week at Nail Mastery Bootcamp! 💅✨

Last week I was fully immersed in learning and refining advanced nail techniques with some incredibly talented educators. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from the best.

We covered so much — from correct nail form placement, advanced structure and shaping, glitter encapsulation, beautiful French smile lines and new product systems like Poly Gel.

What might look like “just a set of nails” actually involves so much technique, precision and attention to detail behind the scenes. From building the correct structure and apex, to refining the shape and creating crisp smile lines — every little detail matters when it comes to creating nails that are not only beautiful but strong and long lasting 💅✨

I’m incredibly passionate about continuing my education and investing in training so I can keep improving the quality of the work I create for my clients.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be starting to incorporate these new techniques and products into my services. As I refine and perfect these new skills, appointments may run slightly longer than usual, and I really appreciate your patience while I continue practicing and perfecting them.

The exciting part is that my clients will be the first to experience these new techniques as I introduce them into the salon 💗

I’m feeling so inspired and cannot wait to start creating some beautiful new sets for you all!

Thank you for always supporting me and allowing me to keep growing in a craft that I truly love 🙏✨

Day Four of Nail Mastery Bootcamp and wow! 😍💅

Today we combined several of the techniques we’ve learnt over the past three days to create what’s called a “Princess Nail.” ✨👑

The result? A perfectly crisp French smile line with a stunning sparkling glitter tip encapsulated in clear gel… and it is absolutely beautiful! 😍

Honestly, the photos don’t even do it justice — the sparkle in person is next level ✨

Seeing all these techniques come together into one design is just amazing. The detail, the structure, the sparkle… I’m obsessed! 💅✨

And just like that, Bootcamp is done! Today was my final day and I’m leaving with so many new techniques, skills and inspiration that I cannot wait to bring back to my clients 💗

I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from such talented educators and to keep growing in this craft that I love so much 🙏✨

Day Three of Nail Mastery Bootcamp and I won’t lie… it was challenging! 😅 But ya girl loves to learn so I’m not complaining 🙌

Today we learnt the correct way to place nail forms and wow… it was fiddly and a little frustrating at times, but SO worth it because look at these perfectly shaped nails! 💅✨

I am so in love with the milky white fade into the pink glitter tip 😍
When I get home I’m definitely creating a full set of these for myself!

And can we just take a moment to appreciate that gold glitter and the perfectly painted black French tip!? 🖤✨

I am officially in nail tech heaven 🪽💅✨

Which one is your favourite — the glitter fade or the black French tip? 💗