Fabulous Friday Favs * Even The Cop Liked My Nails

My nails look awful. They're weak. And thin. I can't keep polish on them. It just chips off like fleas jumping ship. I've had acrylics (ok, that was in the 90's).  I've gone natural (early aughts). And more recently the gel nails.  Anything but natural killed my nails and made them worse than the were before.   

Bare nails awaiting salvation.

For the last couple of years, I've been doing the gel thing. But then I moved to the 'burbs.  Wait. Not the 'burbs. The sticks.  And the closest nail salon is 20 minutes away. Which in the grand scheme of things isn't the end of the world. But, it's just far enough that I can't seem to get there every two weeks anymore. So, my nails look like crap. All. The. Time.  

And here's the salvation.

However. . . . I think I have found my nail care holy grail. Deborah Lipmann, the queen of nail polish, has come out with a set of polishes that act like gel but there's no heat lamp (i.e. no setting my hands up for at best, age spots, at worst, skin cancer) and none of the damage that the gel does when removing it.  It's called Gel Lab and now my polish lasts for at least a week. Sometimes longer.  Which is amazing, considering I can get a manicure with regular polish and it's chipping off by the following day.  And then I hear my Mema in my head telling me not to be "tacky." Because my polish is chipped. And by her standards chipped polish was always tacky.  

Essy polishes for my color. Don't judge my polish names.

Here's how it works:

Step one under control.

First step: apply the base coat and let it dry for one minute Second step: apply your color 1-2 coats of your polish of choice and let it sit between coats for a minute each coat Third step: apply the top coat and let it sit for two minutes. And you're set. Done and done.  For two weeks, give or take a day.

Here's what I was going for, sort of.  But with silver sparkles instead of gold.

 

Here's how it ended up.  I'm pretty pleased.  And it will last two weeks!

Now I'm ready for my blogger's conference in Atlanta this weekend.  Yup.  Hanging in the ATL for a few days and I'm going to learn how to be an amazing blogger.  Expect some great posts next week. Maybe.  And even the cop that stopped me today for speeding (I got a warning) liked my nails.  I'm pretty sure that's why I didn't get a ticket.  See, now you too can speed around penalty free with your well manicured, not tacky nails. You're welcome.