If you do your own nails....

[carolpetunia]

When I was 25 or so, I worked for awhile in an office where all the women were obsessed with their nails. They all had fabulous manicures, most of them professional. I'd see them pass each other in the hall and nod knowingly: "Revlon Autumn Frost, right?" "Yes, but I'm tired of it -- I'm getting L'Oreal Vivid Violet tomorrow." "Oooh, I love that one!"

Well, I wasn't willing to pay for a professional manicure, and I was a writer, too, so typing made it difficult to keep my nails nice... but I did my best with what I had. I even used fakes for a few months.

And then one day when I was visiting my parents, my father was playing guitar and asked me to second for him on "Oh By Jingo," and I realized how long it had been since I'd been able to play guitar, with those long nails in the way.

And that was the end of the manicure madness for me. Long nails look pretty, but... I'd so much rather be able to DO things with my hands!

 

[ut0pia]

I can definitely relate to not wanting to take the time for doing your nails so often! I think some people make it an enjoyable experience and have fun painting their nails, but i'm so definitely not this type of person- I'm so impatient that frequently I will do my nails and wipe them off because I didn't wait for them to dry and they got smudged! Anyways..
I was in the same position as you before I started applying a base coat, my nail polish rarely lasted longer than a day looking perfect. I don't apply a top coat because it takes longer for them to dry lol. I usually apply my base coat and then a few hours later apply the color. It lasts about 2-3 days, the reason why is probably because I am always peeling it off and touching my nails too much out of some kind of nervous habit..If not it would probably last longer. Oh and by the way, I think it depends on the quality of the nail polish itself. When I buy those $1 bottles they never last longer than a day sometimes even less lol.
Oh and I'm so excited, thanks to Yosemite who mentioned this in a previous thread I bought nail polish thinner recently and all of my dried out nail polishes are good!! It's like my nail polish collection expanded dramatically!! lol
I also have a question to add, I've seen in some of the salons cans of something called "nail polish dryer" or something of the sort. It looks like hairspray on the outside. Does anyone know if they sell this at Sally's beauty supply or anywhere or have experience with these? I'm not going to get the UV lamp b/c it's over the top i'm not turning my house into a salon but those cans seemed cool!

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I can definitely relate to not wanting to take the time for doing your nails so often! I think some people make it an enjoyable experience and have fun painting their nails, but i'm so definitely not this type of person- I'm so impatient that frequently I will do my nails and wipe them off because I didn't wait for them to dry and they got smudged! Anyways..
I was in the same position as you before I started applying a base coat, my nail polish rarely lasted longer than a day looking perfect. I don't apply a top coat because it takes longer for them to dry lol. I usually apply my base coat and then a few hours later apply the color. It lasts about 2-3 days, the reason why is probably because I am always peeling it off and touching my nails too much out of some kind of nervous habit..If not it would probably last longer. Oh and by the way, I think it depends on the quality of the nail polish itself. When I buy those $1 bottles they never last longer than a day sometimes even less lol.
Oh and I'm so excited, thanks to Yosemite who mentioned this in a previous thread I bought nail polish thinner recently and all of my dried out nail polishes are good!! It's like my nail polish collection expanded dramatically!! lol
I also have a question to add, I've seen in some of the salons cans of something called "nail polish dryer" or something of the sort. It looks like hairspray on the outside. Does anyone know if they sell this at Sally's beauty supply or anywhere or have experience with these? I'm not going to get the UV lamp b/c it's over the top i'm not turning my house into a salon but those cans seemed cool!

The professional manicurist used a spray but I've used the brush on ones and they were fine. I'm so happy the thinner worked for you. Sometimes it was hard to find but worth the search and the price.

 

[fwan]

i used to have long beautiful nails too and i had to wear gloves while doing the dishes or cleaning because my nails are so brittle just about anything would break it, but i found to keep them hard i had to look after them at least three times a week!

When i get stressed through my nails and teeth work together, finally for the past 4 days i have not chewed on my nails and they are starting to grow again but i cant find half of my manicure files and polishes!

I havent done my toes since January they do look very yuckky! haha

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

When I was 25 or so, I worked for awhile in an office where all the women were obsessed with their nails. They all had fabulous manicures, most of them professional. I'd see them pass each other in the hall and nod knowingly: "Revlon Autumn Frost, right?" "Yes, but I'm tired of it -- I'm getting L'Oreal Vivid Violet tomorrow." "Oooh, I love that one!"

Well, I wasn't willing to pay for a professional manicure, and I was a writer, too, so typing made it difficult to keep my nails nice... but I did my best with what I had. I even used fakes for a few months.

And then one day when I was visiting my parents, my father was playing guitar and asked me to second for him on "Oh By Jingo," and I realized how long it had been since I'd been able to play guitar, with those long nails in the way.

And that was the end of the manicure madness for me. Long nails look pretty, but... I'd so much rather be able to DO things with my hands!

You should be able to do anything with long nails that you can do without. Long nails aren't for everybody that's for sure. One thing I found out was that as my nails got longer I used and moved my hands differently when doing tasks. I can honestly say that I never used gloves, did all my own housework, typed for a living all my life, have not been in any way a girly girl and have never had a problem doing ANYTHING with my hands. Now playing a guitar, I'd definitely need a pick although my nails were very strong.

That's the other thing, not everyone will have strong nails - heredity plays a big part. I got lucky as I inherited my mom's nails and she had beautifully shaped and strong nails up until she passed away at 81.