Nails

So I've been on a hardcore nail kick for the last two years or so, I went from having maybe two or three bottles of nail polish to well over 30 or 40 (Jeez! that's embarrassing). I was trying to stop spending quite so much money on manicure-pedicures so I started buying nail polish and trying to train my shaky hands (due to a medical condition) to actually paint my nails. Overall, I did pretty well, and I got into doing my nails about once a week. If I had a special event, or my girlfriends and I just wanted an afternoon to ourselves, I'd still go get my nails done, but overall, I cut back in a huge way. (I'm still crap at giving myself a pedicure however.)

In the process of this massive nail kick I discovered China Glaze and Kiss Nail Art Polish and, my favorite, Sally Hansen Nail Strips. Sally Hansen Nail Strips have to be the best frickin' thing since color t.v., sliced bread, and space travel combined. These things don't chip, smudge, move, fade, nothing. You can do anything with them, I'm a swim instructor and a life guard and my pool is harsh on the nails, if you get a manicure and get in the water within the next 24 hours, the manicure is ruined in 30 minutes. I wore these all summer long and they not only lasted forever, (14 daysish) the pool had no effect on them whatsoever. I was sold. This little habit got me out of my habit of painting my nails, obviously. Regular polish just doesn't hold up in comparison over the summer for me. Well, my obsession lasted way after summer was over. It lasted all the way to January when my best friend convinced me to go get a gel manicure with her.

I know gel manicures have been around for a while, my best friend has been doing them for a few months and I've heard all the hype, but in my mind, my little Sally Hansen Nail Strips lasted just as long and cost a lot less, so what did I care? Well, I'm on my second set of gels and I kind of love them. Before I went on my DIY nail kick, I was pretty much obsessed with two manicures: if my nails were grown out, I got a French, if my nails were short, I did dark colors. Needless to say, I haven't had a French manicure in over a year and a half. They chip the most obviously at work. I got a gel French and I love them. I might be back on a French kick if I can justify spending the money on it every few weeks. Although, since I got into nail art a little bit, I do have white nail polish with one of those teeny tiny brushes, so maybe I can string this gel manicure out a little longer. So far, I'm pretty impressed with the gels, I can't say much about how my nails are after I get them removed since I had my first set removed and another set done, so that remains to be seen. The quest for the perfect, fun, long lasting manicure continues!