It’s so weird how women evolve style-wise, isn’t it? I remember back when I didn’t care AT ALL about shoes. Like, I had the rattiest pair of hightop Reebok sneakers and (for real) would wear them with anything and everything. I swore nobody looked at my feet, so why waste the precious money that I could ill afford, being very young and financially….lean. Clearly, I have transcended this issue, as evidenced by my crazy vast footwear collection:
Ahhh...my babies. Some of them.
...and the big sistahs.
Now, there’s a new sheriff in town…my nails. I’ve always thought of getting my nails done as something for special occasions, and I was happy to paint them myself once in a blue moon. As much as I type, and periodically (read “practically never”) play the guitar, chipping and cracking was pretty much a sure thing. Which is why I’m so in love with the shellac trend of polishes, which doesn’t do the damage of acrylics, and lasts 2, sometimes 3, WEEKS. It’s a nail miracle! To top it off, you can get your nails done and immediately fish your keys out of your purse, as the polish is dry and totally unable to be smeared, smudged, or damaged. I love that it comes in glitter polish that can be layered, and my nail salon, Nails by Vivian in El Cerrito, has talented nail techs that take their creativity very seriously. Shellac is very much lik gel polish in that you dry your nails under UV light following every layer of polish, including base coat. For me, with my multiple coats, designs, and glitter extravaganza, this is usually about 4 times.
This was not intended to be posted, hence the horribe cell phone blur, and post-grow-outness. But this is one of my fave looks, leopard print nails with gold glitter, all shellac polish.
Black polish and gold glitter polish, with extra gold chunks added individually. Sorry, another cell phone shot.
All pink, with gold glitter ring finger. This was my making an effort to be conservative.
Finally a decent pic with my Nikon! So this is teal blue shellac polish with regular nail polish ladybugs. This is a great way to have designs on your nails with alot of detail, with the added bonus of being able to remove the design if you get tired of it...regular acetone polish remover will take OFF the design, but NOT the shellac polish! Genius.
My two co-workers and I are all nail crazy, and it’s fun to compare nail designs…it’s almost like who can out-do who, from week to week, and I’m getting more and more creative with my design ideas in preparation for what I call Office Nail Wars. It’s not too expensive to get shellac (only about $5 more than a regular mani, at the 3 nail salons that I’ve gone to in the past year). I have yet to see this done in pedicure form, so I don’t even know if salons typically offer it…I don’t need it because my pedis last long enough. By the time they start to look wack, my feet are begging for professional pampering anyway. To remove the shellac, you can soak your fingertips in acetone, a process which is followed by scraping off the remnants with a metal tool. As time passes, the polish will start to peel on its own; however, resist the temptation to pick and peel it yourself, as it can damage your nails.
My next big nail move will be….well, you’ll see when it happens. There’s a look that I’ve been putting off due to the ridiculous cost, but I must do it at some point…..I guarantee you, victory will be MINE in Nail Wars when it finally happens! Stay tuned
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