Thursday, November 11, 2010

Perfection? Nailed it.

Manicures - feel and look great when you get them, horrible when they get nicked as you zip your coat to leave, chip in 6 hours and peel in 48. What's a girl to do?

Having nice nails is something that's surprisingly important in my job.... people notice. And yet, it's not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish when my hands are in water all day long.

Enter the life-changing GEL POLISH.

I'd heard about this stuff, but didn't really understand it. It's just like a nail polish, except it's "cured" under lights rather than just drying. They do a little bit of scuffing the nail surface to ensure lasting result, but it's not nearly as damaging as the process used with fake nails.

I chose my polish (Gellish: Stand Out #37) and watched as my fabulous new manicure took shape. I LOVED IT!!!!!! So shiny, so smooth, so perfect, so professional. My nails looked ***perfect*** and I became instantly addicted.

Another share-worthy tidbit about this stuff - you can paint nail polish right over the top of your gel polish, and take it off (even with acetone) without damaging your gel manicure. It's a great option for people with really flimsy or ridge-y nails to create the strong, healthy appearance, even if you just opt for a translucent color choice.

Now, it's been two weeks (tomorrow) since my manicure and they're going strong. I have only one tiny chip on the very edge of my right pointer finger - aka the finger I use all the dang time to pick open various things or dig stuff from my teeth. But they're still fab. Here's a photo of my left hand with my two-week old manicure:

TWO WEEKS post manicure!

You may notice that you can see a tiny gap of outgrowth, but honestly it doesn't bother me one bit. Something to note is that the polish has to be removed in-salon.

I'll definitely do Gel Polish again, assuming there's nothing traumatic about the removal process. And this perfect shade of red may just have to be my signature color! It makes me quite a Stand Out, don't you agree?

Gel polish manicure available at Cole's Salon for approx $40

xoxo,

KM