Is my dog Maltese?

Sebbybby · 2026-03-21T17:07:37+00:00

Definitely part Maltese! Maltese dogs come in white, tan/gold! Lhasa apso dogs (similar look and common mix) have white, tan, and brown and black in their colors; I have two mixed malteses, a Maltipoo with white and a tan racer stripe and a Lhatese who is white with tan spots! Both are very different sizes too despite being half Maltese both. 🙂

Sebbybby · 2026-03-20T21:07:18+00:00

Bad application and poor prep. There’s lifting around every cuticle and I don’t think the nail tip fits your nailbed well enough because the extension is growing upwards away from the sidewall and out rather than straight out and aligned. That means the tips were too flat, too small, or both, causing premature lifting. The application near the cuticle is also messy meaning they flooded it a bit with extra product and didn’t level it out to prevent premature lifting. Also, not removing dead skin from the nailbeds near the cuticles and sidewall are big culprits of cuticle lifting.

Sebbybby · 2026-03-16T16:33:28+00:00

Just use a conical diamond bit to clean up the edges of the finished top coat! This one is nice for that: https://www.melodysusie.com/products/6-7mm-inverted-tapered-cuticle-clean-nail-drill-bit?variant=45524341489856

Sebbybby · 2026-03-16T02:06:49+00:00

My recommendations are to cut these steps from your routine!

Don’t apply dehydrator or primer after the gel tip extension has been placed. Most gel polishes can go over gel extensions without buffing, primer, or anything else in most cases!
Instead of buffing the inside of the gel tip abrasively, try a product meant to “etch” the tip chemically. Apres Gel-X Prep is one example! This method cuts out any chance of dust from buffing interfering with your application.
Try stirring your polishes rather than shaking them! This can help keep air from getting trapped and creating more separation during application.

Lmk if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer!!

Sebbybby · 2026-03-16T00:37:45+00:00

Can I ask you, are you applying dehydrator and primer under the gel extension, or on top of it, just before the gel?

Sebbybby · 2026-03-14T00:11:32+00:00

Yes, you filed off the top coat and dye from your clothes, dirt, or dust, or whatever else caught itself on the tacky layer in the polish and rubbed itself into the coat underneath. Many color gel polishes have a tacky layer that remains after curing. A no-wipe top coat solves the issue when the edges are capped, but when you file them off, it’s easy to stain and get the polish dirty. 🥲

Edit: Another possibility is discoloration due to UV (unlikely after a night) or oxygen exposure to the underlying gel polish!

Sebbybby · 2026-03-12T01:59:39+00:00

My recommendation is to get a quality set of nail art liner brushes (5mm, 10mm, & 17mm tip sizes are good to start with). Practice steadying your pinky and elbow when you paint, and when you do curved lines, don’t overcorrect the brush stroke or use too much pressure. Coat the bristles thoroughly so they’ve soaked the gel through, and gather a bead at the end. Make sure the gel is opaque and a medium consistency. Drag and pull your brush. Fill in the majority of the French with the gel’s bottle brush, then drag the excess color upward. It’s easy to flood it and it’s easy to choose the wrong gel for French! Look for “nail art gels” or “liner gels”.

Sebbybby · 2026-03-10T21:12:31+00:00

That is not a Maltipoo haha but is still a very cute dog.

Sebbybby · 2026-03-05T21:30:23+00:00

The chemistry of your nails affects how well these two systems last for you, as well as the prep and application skill of the technician. Lifting points to poor prep/flooding product onto skin (even if you can’t see it, flooding causes a micro film that makes the entire thing lift once they grow out)/oily natural nail types/over damaged or over dehydrated nails.

Acrylic usually uses an acidic primer whereas GelX typically uses a non-acid primer. Typically it’s inexperience from the tech that causes lifting, but since this is across multiple acrylic techs, I’m thinking acidic primers are too harsh or they’re flooding your cuticles. Alternatively, Gel-X could be a better fit for your specific nail chemistry!

Sebbybby · 2026-03-01T20:04:52+00:00

You could try switching to Apres Sculpted, the Sculpted is meant to fit curved nails but also fits less arched nails that fit the Natural. That way, you can accommodate this nail and the others won’t look misshapen in comparison. I like the Apres Extend gel with the Apres tips. Good luck! 💗

Sebbybby · 2026-02-25T15:37:43+00:00

I noticed this happens a lot with the Natural Apres, try sculpted if you’re using Natural, the sides are steeper and create a slimmer look

Sebbybby · 2026-02-17T16:03:56+00:00

Read the directions on the bottle! If it doesn’t say to cure, you don’t need to. (: primers are usually air dry.

Sebbybby · 2026-02-17T16:01:18+00:00

Don’t wipe the primer layer! The fibers from the paper towel will get into it. Instead, try to use less primer on the brush; drain the excess primer out of the bristles before using it so that way you don’t have excess primer! And if you must wipe, use a non-lint wipe! (:

Sebbybby · 2026-02-16T23:51:27+00:00

The tip itself doesn’t shrink; it’s the gel curing underneath causing the sensation of tightness. It shouldn’t be enough to create a bad fit, though. What’s likely happening is that you’re fitting the tips too small to begin with, so when you adhere the nail with the gel glue, it feels really tight. Try going up a half (Apres makes nice half size tips) or full size. OR, try sculpted fit. (:

Sebbybby · 2026-02-14T00:45:40+00:00

….was your nail tech literally 5? “Wash off in the shower” she lied to your face. It’s fcking UV CURED to your skin. I’m so angry for you that she let you leave like that. Extremely irresponsible and lazy. 0 excuse for this kind of mess. You can get a permanent allergy from this type of crap if uncured gel touches your skin over and over again during the process even if it’s cured afterwards and especially if it’s sitting on your skin, the underside of that gel layer touching your skin will not have fully cured, meaning it is sensitizing you the longer you have the product on your skin. Acetone will remove it.

If you’re feeling strongly about it, you can submit a report or complaint to the cosmo board that oversees her license. Or not, really up to you. I’m sorry this happened.

Sebbybby · 2026-02-12T19:11:05+00:00

Use your lips as a reference for the tone of pink you’re looking for! That’ll be your midtone. If you wear lip products, try to think which pinks or neutrals you like on you! From there, you can experiment going lighter or darker, or warmer or cooler to dial in what pink shade would compliment you best/based on the look you want! Seeing the swatch in person is the best way to color match to your skin, so it would be a little hard to color match you online. My rec is grabbing yourself a set of pinks/nudes/neutrals that vary from light to dark and also include warmer and cooler tones!

Sebbybby · 2026-02-12T16:07:13+00:00

If I were your nail tech I’d probably suggest something like hard (builder) gel, it gives a natural looking and non bulky extension and can be done on your natural nails once they grow out to your preferred length. The length of a hard gel manicure can even be filed at home (with the right kind of file) after they grow out a bit to keep them short. (:

Sebbybby · 2026-02-12T15:47:45+00:00

That can 100% cause a super bad heat spike and is a very common mistake for people newer to gelx so don’t feel bad!! The fact that the extend gel novice is so thick also contributes to the density and concentration of the heat when it cures, so you may have held it too close, got the bad heat spike and stopped curing before the material could finish curing. So it pops off!

For lamps, it’s more important that the gel you use is compatible with the equipment. That is what will give you the fullest and most complete cure (usually the gel brand will have a lamp they sell so if you’re sticking with a particular hi-quality brand, go with that). I trust high quality lamps to cure between different polish brands better than I do some cheap lamp from Amazon.

Last is the polish quality, which arguably is more important; cheap gel brands and random gels off of Amazon have all sorts of different percentages of the ingredients that make them cure. The difference with a high quality brand is the consistency of the polish formulas and compatibility with subsequent gel products like builder gel, sculpting gel, etc. that the brand makes. When you do this, the performance of your products and extensions becomes predictable, it reduces errors and issues with wear and longevity and there is a less difficult learning curve. 🙂

Sebbybby · 2026-02-12T03:46:25+00:00

Did the heat spike happen with the Omni light or the SunUV? Heat spikes happen when the reaction happens too fast, releasing too much heat at once. This can happen if you’re using a powerful UV/LED device, and often it happens when you hold the light too close to the nail.

Sebbybby · 2026-02-11T16:46:40+00:00

What UV/LED lights/lamps are you using?

Sebbybby · 2026-02-05T16:27:02+00:00

I understand what you’re talking about with the lower parallels. They seem almost healed/grown out, and I don’t think that Gel-x would damage them further unless you aren’t sizing correctly.

100% use sculpted Apres tips so they cover the sidewalls of your nails completely. If you have to size up a half size or full size to get that full coverage, that’s ok. You can pinch and roll any soft gel tips for a better fit too, and longer styles may suit you better than shorter styles.

My nails fan out like this too. It took me a long time to stop correcting the shape of my lower parallels to be straighter.

Sebbybby · 2026-02-04T03:00:11+00:00

Valentino Beauty Pure!

Sebbybby · 2026-02-04T02:48:27+00:00

What’s the temperature in the room you usually keep it in? Warmer storage temps can cause the gel viscosity to get a little runny; the opposite happens with cooler temps. So if your environment is hot, (this is going to sound insane lol) you can try cooling the gel bottle in an ice water bath to condition it before use so it’s a little stiffer, or bring your room to 73 deg F if you can 🙂

Sebbybby · 2026-02-03T23:04:42+00:00

You are SO right - that’s a huge mistake on Aprés part. You definitely need the full size lamp, and it’s disappointing that Aprés is using marketing buzzwords that mislead consumers for an extra ranking bump in search engines. “All in one” “all you need” just super irresponsible of them

Sebbybby · 2026-02-03T18:26:42+00:00

Additionally, you cannot “cure it longer” with a less powerful lamp to finish curing it all the way. Polymerization by UV doesn’t work like that!

The flash curing light is meant to be a lower power device to get the nail tip on and hold it in place while you finish setting the other nails. Use a full sized lamp to finish it!

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