I remember, ohhh about 3 or so years ago, MTV making a huge announcement that the word "Bling" was being retired. I remember because I thought it was hysterical that they would even make such a production out of the word.
Regardless, hundreds of thousands of people haven't gotten the memo. Look around you the next time you're at the mall. Tweens, Teens and even Moms are throwing a rhinestone on any and everything they can get their hands on. YES even their nails.
Rhinestones, in my opinion, are a Technicians best retail item. I'm not saying sell them by the packs (but you never know who will buy them to put on their own phone). I'm saying add them to your service.
Think of it this way, if you charged .10 cents US per stone used on a set of nails, and you used only 5 stones per nail, you've just increased your profit by $5.00! Pretty cool for something so easy and well loved.
My favorite kit in our Cinapro line that I LOVE to sell, is the Cina Rhinestone Decoration Kit. Watch the math on this baby. Betty the nail tech purchases this kit for $4.95. In the kit are 400 rhinestones. If Betty uses all the stones on her clients and charges .10 per stone... she's made a whopping $40.00 off of her $4.95 investment!!! That's a profit of $35.05!!! Helllooooooo!! Just try making that kind of markup on a bottle of shampoo or a bottle of nail polish.
Here's another one for you... 10 Gross Crystal Rhinestones from Cinapro. 10 Gross = 1440 stones. Betty's cost is $9.95. Again, if Betty charges only .10 per stone, she's made $144.00!!! That's a profit of 134.05!!!
Now here's my super speedy trick for applying rhinestones to anything and everything that will sit still long enough. A Stick of Spagetti. Yup... Mama Cuccio's pasta. If you take a dry stick of spagetti and dip it into water for about three seconds, the moisture activates the starch in the pasta making the end sticky. You can then use it to pick up those tiny stones and apply them to the nail (or anything else). If you get any glue or topcoat on the end of your stick, simply snap it off and redip. You're rockin and ready to fly through a full set and rake in the money.
Profits like these get me excited enough to sing about the Bling!!! The heck with MTV!
Elaine
(writing from Valencia, CA today)