It's a Start

In an effort to counter the laziness brought on by working from home, I decided my appearance was as good a place as any to start. At least this way I get some immediate gratification.

Since I'm heading out of town for a wedding, I decided I needed to do something about my nails and invested in a Gel manicure. (Scroll down to the CND Shellac description.) These puppies, according to the manicurist, are supposed to last 2-3 weeks without the damage of acrylics. We'll see about that!

While I think the manicure looks great, I'm second-guessing my choice of French tips. They just seem so very WHITE. If I go for a repeat, I think I'll ask for color instead. According to what I've read, I should be able to paint over these with regular polish as long as I only use a non-acetone remover. If I can't get past the tips, I may try that next week.

Update:

A week later, the gels still look pretty good. No signs of bubbling or peeling although I can see where my natural nails are growing. In the white areas, there are some lines - like cracks in the topcoat? Nothing major. My cuticles are a mess, though. Not sure how much of that (if any) is due to this manicure. I don't usually get hangnails like that but travel, stress, etc could be partially responsible.

I do plan to paint over the gels in a day or so to see if it helps prolong the manicure for a few more days.

While in New York, I went for a pedicure with my sisters. My youngest sister, who lives there, had just returned from a trip and got a manicure too. She has been using gels off and on for a while. This particular manicure had had some problems with bubbling and peeling but I was able to see the process of removal. She had her nails redone with regular polish and her natural nails looked to be in decent shape. She uses Nailtiques #2 on them as a base coat.