In high school I started getting acrylic french tip nails. They were all the rage in 9th grade and I felt like the coolest when I got fun designs like a snowman on my thumb in the winter. After a while I realized what a pain it was to sit in the chair breathing in acetone fumes for an hour and a half every other week. I ditched the "fake" nails and went to simple polish in college.
I stuck with my beloved Revlon (OPI colors when I felt like splurging) until a few years ago when I heard about the wonders of a shellac mani. A smooth shiny paint job with NO CHIPS. Sign me up! I love a good shellac mani. I always manage to smudge the nailpolish (and may be scarred from a time in high school when the nail lady barked at me: "Look what you do! You mess it up already!!" referring to a smudge I procured from the painting chair to the drying chair) so the beauty of shellac is no wet polish! If you are unfamiliar with how the shellac (sometimes referred to as a "gel" nail) works, well....I really don't know. It's like a base coat, you stick your hands in this UV light thing, a few coats and wham! Dry, shiny, pretty nails.
Yes, the upkeep on a shellac mani can get pricey. I usually start seeing chips or peeling around the 10-12 day mark (and am I the only one who loves the satisfaction of peeling off a gel nail? Yes I am tearing off the first layer of my nail beds, but it's just so gosh darn addicting. Once you start peeling, well, you best get out the vacuum because you won't stop until there's a massive pile of pink shavings where you were sitting. Ahem, anyway). Going twice a month was both pricey and time consuming so now I usually go for a shellac mani once a month and on the other weeks I'll either paint my own nails (and I complain the whole time, how do those nail ladies do it so well?!) or use Jamberry. I came across Jamberry last year and it's super cute. It's basically a nail wrap that you heat (with a blow dryer) and press onto your nails. I have itty bitty nails and it can be a pain to cut them to fit, but the Junior Jams for little kids actually fit my nails great. They have tons of fun designs and one pack can last a long time (especially because I only use them on my finger nails and not toes and use them only about once a month). I've found my "jamicure" will last about a week or so. And, helpful hint: I've found my jamicure works way better after I get a professional mani (less cuticle). If you haven't browsed their fun designs, do it. SO fun! I get mine from Natalie Robison. Here's a link to her site: Jamberry!
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| my most recent pedi...pink plaid! |
And besides having pretty digits (a must for any job where you point a lot. Parent teacher conferences? You better believe my mani will be on point!), it's so fun people watching at the salon. I've been to nail salons all over the place and for the most part they are all exactly the same. I get a twinge of nostalgia everytime I am told to "Pick a cuh-luh." It's fun being a girl.
Here are some designs I'm digging:
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| I have these Junior Jams and always get compliments on them |
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| You know I love me some chevron and on nails?! Adorbs |
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| a great pink/red classic color |
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| I can't wait to try this dark green in the fall/winter! |
Photo cred: all from Pinterest, except my toes from my phone and Jamberry from their site :)
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