Ah yeah, I thought that before too that maybe I should try it for Halloween sometime...

I was kind of stupid and painted my nails right before I went bowling. Not the best way to make your polish last! XD

I've seen Matte before, though not in person. I've been wanting to try it out but lately I've been getting annoyed with having long nails, so I end up cutting them before I get a chance. Maybe some day, though!

i just painted some of mine hot pink and putting silver glitter on the tips. pinkie and pointer finger are black with silver glitter tips.

Oooh, sounds like a pretty mani for Valentine's Day! That reminds me that I should totally paint my nails red for Valentine's Day.

So I just had my first gel mani done last week. So far it's holding up really well! I'm quite impressed! The next question though will be what sort of shape my nails will be in when I get it removed. ^^;

I have never gotten a mani before - or a pedi - I hate people touching my feet, but I've heard of people not being sanitary with their stuff and people getting diseases from shared stuff I mean, I know people get them every day and have no problems, but I feel like I'm going to be the ONE PERSON who has it happen to them lol!

Also - how would a gel mani alter your nails? O.o;

The place I went to uses disposable tools so that's definitely a plus!

Because from what I understand it's so permanent that the removal process can damage your nails or weaken them.

Oh nice! I didn't know they had those! I've literally never had my nails done at a salon before lol

Oh wow - I had no idea gel polish was like that! Let me know how it turns out - hopefully it's not too bad!

I've only done it a couple of times. I think this last time was my 6th time getting a professional mani if I count correctly. I usually don't do them to be honest because I feel like I do a better job of it myself. The ladies always seem to shape my nails weirdly or get bubbles in the polish or like it starts chipping only a day or two later. I really am amazed by how the gel mani is holding up though! I saw them starting to remove a gel mani from another woman's fingers as I was leaving. They file off most of the polish then wrap your fingers in tinfoil. I'm not really sure what comes after that though. ^^;

I've only had a manicure one time & it was for my wedding.
Truthfully I couldn't stand the nails they put on, but they were pretty.
I was so happy when they finally were gone.

Sometime soon I need to finish getting the polish off my nails, been to tired after work to worry about it.

I'm not a fan of fake nails. They feel thick and icky...

With my job its a miracle if I ever get my nails to a decent length.
I had them almost to a nice length & then I broke 2 of them today.

I actually broke a nail right before I went to get the mani done so I had them file all of them short. ^^;

Originally Posted by zigbigadorlube

I've only done it a couple of times. I think this last time was my 6th time getting a professional mani if I count correctly. I usually don't do them to be honest because I feel like I do a better job of it myself. The ladies always seem to shape my nails weirdly or get bubbles in the polish or like it starts chipping only a day or two later. I really am amazed by how the gel mani is holding up though! I saw them starting to remove a gel mani from another woman's fingers as I was leaving. They file off most of the polish then wrap your fingers in tinfoil. I'm not really sure what comes after that though. ^^;

I'm not sure if I want to know what happens next... filing it off seems so unhealthy for the nail!! EEK!!

I agree though - very frustrating when they don't do quality work - I'd be pissed for spending the money and getting that kind of a result! I used to do better on my own, but now that my hands are extremely shaky 90% of the time, I just don't have the steadiness like I used to to do it. Then again, I haven't worn polish in a year because it wasn't allowed for Nursing, and then when I was taking care of my Gram I didn't want it flecking off while I was cleaning her so I didn't paint my nails then either. Crazy to think it's literally been a year or more since I've last painted my nails... I don't even want to think about how horrible an attempt would be at this point

Originally Posted by zigbigadorlube

I'm not a fan of fake nails. They feel thick and icky...

I completely agree! And I feel so unsanitary using the bathroom, and it's so awkward trying to wash my hair. If I do use fake nails, I use the stick on ones for a party and then take them off when I get home. Easy apply and easy removal but they make a cute look for an evening! <3

Originally Posted by Damia Flagg

With my job its a miracle if I ever get my nails to a decent length.
I had them almost to a nice length & then I broke 2 of them today.

I know what you mean - I've had to keep mine short the past year and I've only recently within the last month or so been able to grow them out again and they're growing all sorts of weird and they're so brittle! I used to have this clear polish that was supposed to put nutrients back into the nail when applied - I'm tempted to get that back again and see if it helps. Have you ever used something like that before?

Yeah, I was pretty surprised when I saw them start filing it off. It's been about 2 weeks with the gel now though and there is literally not even one chip so I'm really satisfied on that level at the very least.

I've never used the fake nails that literally get glued on but I've tried those ones that have like sticker adhesive on the back that you can just push on. They're okay but like you said, a lot of dirt tends to get under them which is yucky...

I'm not really a big believer in hardeners. I used to use them but I gave up a long time ago. Back then though I had a hard time noticing the difference certain things make. It's hard for me to see really minute gradual change though I've gotten a bit better about it. Maybe I should try them again sometime...

That's not bad at all! Longer than regular polish that's for sure :3

The glue ones are the worst - they leave glue on your nail and are so hard to get off - they were all they made as a kid so I used them all the time when my cousins would visit (we'd put them on each other) but now I stick with the ones that have the glue dot thing on them that gel-like - easy on easy off!

I used to experiment with them - it just been so long that I'm sure none of the ones I have are any good lol I definitely saw a difference with the one I used to use though - some bamboo something or other - had a frosty bottle and a green top :3

I think at the point the real question is how long I can wear it without it looking terrible due to my nails growing out. XD I don't think I'll be able to wear it much longer than one more week because it's going to start looking weird soon. ^^;

I missed out on a lot of that kind of stuff as a kid since I grew up as an only child.

I have a nail strengthener/brightener sample I got from Sephora that I can definitely see the brightening effect of but I don't use it consistently to be able to tell whether it really strengthens my nails or not.

So I started getting some damage on my gel mani. I guess it lasts about 2 weeks. After that the gel starts to peel up at the edges and the nails start to grow out. Note to self. DO NOT TRY TO PEEL IT OFF!!! Yikes! Without knowing this I peeled the gel off of one finger and took probably like 5 layers of nail off with it. T_T I guess you can remove it at home by buffing the top of the polish off and soaking the nail in acetone but it seems pretty time consuming and since I'm busy this week I think I'll just take a trip to the salon on my lunch break and have the pros do it. ^^;

the removal process is the primary reason I avoid gel nails. I tried the salley hansen miracle gel line. It's supposed to act and last long like gel, and it does but my issue with it was that there is no Basecoat and most of the polishes do stain. So, when I used a favorite basecoat of mine, it really seemed to negatively impact the longevity of the polish. I also can't do gel because I'm just plain paranoid of salons and how clean their tools are I've tried bringing in my own supplies only to have them say they won't use it so I avoid all salons now.

I work for a government agency. I love my job, I love the people I work with, but they are very much on the conservative side when it comes to dress code. So that means crazy colors or glitter polishes are as looked down upon as unnatural hair colors, tattoos, and any more than one piercing in the normal spot for girls. SOOOO, I found halo polishes satisfy craving to be rebellious and my need for shiny/sparkly. Under the diffuse fluorescent lights at work it looks like normal polish and then in the sun it's rainbow awesomeness. It still means that during the week I'm wearing nudes, pinks, red, and browns and I get bored quickly. SO, peel off basecoat for the win!

I haven't tried any of the at home gels. The polish is usually pretty expensive and you have to buy the special top coat so it's just something I haven't felt so courageous to invest in. >.<

Oh, that's a really great solution to your problem! I have one nail polish like that that look like gold sparkles inside and then when you go outside it turns to red sparkles! You'll have to snap a pic of yours sometime if you feel up to sharing! I've never tried the peel off base coats, do they work really well?

Sadly most don't. I've tried plenty but they usually dry out my nails really badly. Then I finally caved and tried the one Cristine (her youtube channel name is Simply Nailogical) uses and it actually works really well. It's out of stock it looks like but this is the one. I was prepared to hate it. Now I think I've gone through almost 3 bottles. I change my nailpolish about every 5 days on average. Lately, this color has been my favorite workday color. At work it looks like a dusty magenta pink hat passes for normal. In sunlight its bright rainbow magenta.

The salley hansen sets are't too bad. you can get a starter set with the top cot and a color and then from there just buy the color. In my experience, it did last longer than regular polish but nowhere near as long as a real gel mani. Then again, my nails grow fast and I never could stand leaving the gel on as long as I probably could have. For me the real gels were more expensive though because, again, I'm a weirdo and don't like the salon tools so it meant investing in a home system that I really never use. So now I keep one coat polishes around (they do exist) and use my peel off base so I can save myself some time.

Ooh, that magenta colored polish is super pretty! I've never heard of that site before but I'll definitely have to take a look around!

Yeah, I've seen those kits but so far no colors I really want and well, I don't really need more nail polish. XD Maybe one of these days I'll invest in it though since if it does have some longevity that would be nice compared to other polishes that chip after a couple days.

I buffed and filed my nails and did my usual mani routine and they're looking nice again. I'll probably apply hand cream like crazy let theme breathe for at least before putting polish back on.

I'm currently in love with Zoya "Vanessa". I've been experimenting with color combinations on an accent nail. My favorite so far was a layering on the accent nail of OPI "Kyoto Pearl", then OPI "Happy Anniversary", with a bit of Orly "Halo" on the tip.

Oh wow, those combinations sound really pretty!

I was going to file my nails down shorter because they're a bit weak from the gel mani but I guess I apparently have to do a youtube video of one of our products this week as a hand model? I'm not crazy about the idea but I guess it's kind of flattering.

Is anyone planning on doing a special mani for the 4th of July?