My Favorite Things: Good Nail Polish

Hey Loves!

So, I don’t think I’ve ever defined myself as a “girly girl” but I have always loved nail polish and manicured nails. I remember my first manicure at age 8 and asking for my own cuticle clipper in the sixth grade. Don’t judge me. Anyway, My struggle was nail polish lasting 2.72 seconds from drying until the chipping began.

This continued into adulthood. No matter what I did, how I did them, what top coat I used, 24 hours later my nails looked like that of a 3-year-old who played with markers. But, none the less, I persisted.

I’ve tried professional manicures. No luck. Gel manicures were a game changer but they were expensive, time-consuming to remove and were not the best for my nails. Oh, the agony! Why is this life so hard?!?!?!

 Anyway, perusing Pinterest to escape from reality, I came across a pin saying a nail polish that will really last all week. Because I am a masochist, I believed this could be the answer knowing full-on it was not. Armed with my sally’s coupon, I bought Gelous. Eager to try it, I slapped it on, slapped on nail polish and slapped on another coat. You know, for good measure. A day later, the chipping of my nails and my heart began. So, I gave up. I mean, I gave up on a lot of things at that point but having nice nails was definitely not something I believed was in the cards for me.

Sometime after Mother’s Day (because I got a gel mani for Mother’s Day), I realized how much manicured fingers and painted nails meant to me. Not in a superficial way, but they really delighted my heart. (See judgment clause above because I feel you starting to judge me.) I also wanted to invest in taking care of myself, improving my appearance and making my heart happy. So, I searched Pinterest again for the pin where I first discovered Gelous. You guys, that’s when I realized that not only did I not read the pin I also did not follow any instructions. Not one. *insert several facepalm emojis*

 I was supposed to apply one coat of Gelous, let dry. Repeat. Apply one coat of nail polish and let dry. Gelous. Let dry. Nail Polish. Let dry. So, again, I and my bruised masochistic heart tried it again with those instructions and glory from the heavens! It worked! This manicure, done at home with any color polish ( 5-free of course) lasted an entire week! A week of swimming, cleaning, butt-wiping, dish cleaning, food cooking, floor sweeping and laundry folding. It lasted! Hallelujah!

 As if that wasn’t enough, I got sparks of delight during the day from a manicured nail. Y’all, I AM WINNING! 

Now, here is the kicker: For this to work and work well, I need at least an hour, really like 1.5 hours, where I can do my nails and not mess them up. This requires planning and the setting of real-life boundaries Y’all. So, I do it during nap time when my husband is home. I communicate in maybe not the best way that I am not to be touched or have to touch something and/or someone until further notice. So far, that works.

I haven’t used a top coat because I don’t know of an awesome one. Any recommendations? 

Love you. Mean it.