Nail polish!

[Juanita Vee]

Hey all... haven't been feeling well... hope some of you are doing the opposite of me and feeling better than usual!

I used to hate nail polish but have now found I really like it and am just wondering if anyone knows any tips for it? I just have cheap drugstore stuff. I had a friend who painted houses for a job and always had beautiful nails regardless of how hard she was on them, she mentioned it was the kind of polish she used, but I can't remember anything else.

So I thought I'd ask here, anyone have nail polish tips, brands that are good, or anything else?

thank you!

 

[Pearshaped]

Hi @Juanita Vee
Oh I envy you,I used to love nail polish but can‘t stand the smell and am not able to put it on anyway.

1.Nails have to be clean and DRY to get the best results.(alcohol or similar recommended to remove possible moist/fat. polish remover works ,too)

2.two layers color,one layer „top coat“
common mistakes are using too much color for one layer.

3.It is worth to invest in a good top coat nail polish.My favorite was the one from OPI.
Without a top coat,the color will come off already after two days.

4.let the first layer of color dry for 5mins and then continue.

5.to speed up the process of drying,you could put your hands in ice cold water.
Have fun💕

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Hi @Juanita Vee
Oh I envy you,I used to love nail polish but can‘t stand the smell and am not able to put it on anyway.

How funny! Don't we all just somehow- Know how?

If I paint my toenails, my toenails know it. How do they know it? How can it be I can "feel" the polish, even days later- on the toes?

I cannot tolerate any of it, and have nearly worthless fingernails which need to be hidden.

Yet- I know how to do it professionally, because my best friend is the Hair Dresser and to pass her state board exam, I was her victim. And so- I sat thru the nails.

The key secret is: you never touch the cuticle or skin and never actually let the brush touch- the very edge of the nail. Thats how- they are made to look so perfect. Thats the secret trick. So you look at the nail, and the polish ends, but the nail keeps going for just a bit longer!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Oh,, there is another secret trick. Something about the very end of the nail, there at the fingertip.

If you paint right down to that very end and overlap the very end, the polish is more likely to chip.

There was some solution for that. What was it?

 

[lenora]

What about quick drying top coat to go over the second coat?. It hardens the nail and makes it dry faster. I wouldn't put shoes with toes in them on for a few hours afterwards, the same with boots. Get a really good finish and a decent pedicure, at a salon, should last for 6 wks. Nails don't last as long and I don't bother doing mine or having them done since I no longer go out in the evening.

By the way, if you're getting a pedicure, you don't need the hot rocks put on your legs, the massage both leg and feet, have the callous removal only if you want it. This will at least halve the cost of the pedicure and some of them are truly cheap. This include the nail polish and you can try out different high-quality ones like Opi. Some of them are pretty odd colors (by my standards) but I like seeing the younger girls in them. I would look ridiculous. Look at the price board carefully. A pedicure is the one luxury I have and love. Make certain your implements have been sterilized. sit back and enjoy. Yours, Lenora

 

[lenora]

Thanks, @Rufous, I do enjoy a pedicure as long as I'm in and out as fast as possible. My fingernails I keep very short because of the germ heyday that's hiding out. I scrub them frequently so they aren't the best part of my anatomy. However, they are clean. When I went out in the evening they were always well polished and I let them grow. Now there are nail salons like garages used to be....one on every corner. Thus, they're prices are competitive.

I just found out that the one I liked won't be reopening because of the coronavirus closing. A great pity, but there are some even closer to home. The larger ones I've found to be the cleaner ones. Oh, @Rufous, I'm trying to find the addresses for Cate & Sarah, but nothing is coming back apart from a movie I recommended with Cate Blanchett. I'll keep trying....I have the name of the medication here, but if I can't reach them, then I'll wait until I receive another message from them. Don't you worry about it. Thanks, Penny

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I had a friend who painted houses for a job and always had beautiful nails regardless of how hard she was on them, she mentioned it was the kind of polish she used, but I can't remember anything else.

It might have been one of the new gel polishes which seem to be a lot tougher and have a longer half-life than regular, old-style polishes ....

Good luck !!! Anything that lifts your spirits is a totally, very, very good thing !!!

 

[Strawberry]

I had a friend who painted houses for a job and always had beautiful nails regardless of how hard she was on them, she mentioned it was the kind of polish she used, but I can't remember anything else.

It might have been one of the new gel polishes which seem to be a lot tougher and have a longer half-life than regular, old-style polishes ....

I agree with the gel. My cousin was a nail artist for decades, and once my finger tips hurt badly constantly from having broken nails, I started having her do my nails with gel. I've never really been into doing my own nails much, and definitely rarely with the fatigue. But just having nails that could grow and not split, chip, or break every which direction was wonderful. Sadly, she died last month. Heart attack (and just before her 53rd birthday). Probably from the financial stress. She also was one of us, fibromyalgia and CFS (without the chronic sick part though). So now I have to figure out if I am going to find someone else to do this, do it myself, or risk nails falling apart and breaking half way up the nail bed...

 

[lenora]

Hi @Strawberry. I'd heard of gel polish, but really didn't know much about it, so checked the info. It takes 4 coats to complete and lasts for 2 wks. I have no idea of the cost at a nail salon. I don't like the idea of 4 wks.but what really got me was that it took 15 min. of soaking to remove. I'm not so sure I'd want that on my nails.

How long did you use it?.....how often did you go to your cousin's salon (sorry about her very untimely death, that must have been quite a shock indeed), and if you had to do it by yourself, would you bother? I think a touch-up would give you 2 wks. from an ordinary manicure but, like I said, I don't get them any longer. Decisions, decisions. I just had my hair cut and regret that I didn't do it myself. Call me from that generation, my daughters regularly go for mani-pedi's, but they can't get the old girl to join them. I fully understand why you had it done if your nails were broken and hurting...I may be inclined to try it then.

Have you ever tried stuck on false nails? I haven't and often wondered how they would feel. It seems so much trimming would be involved (I have very small nails). Still, I wonder. Thanks for the info and again, sorry about your cousin. Yours, Lenora.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Have you ever tried stuck on false nails? I haven't and often wondered how they would feel. It seems so much trimming would be involved (I have very small nails). Still, I wonder. Thanks for the info and again, sorry about your cousin.

During my Exciting Adventure to San Fran in order for my best friend to get her cosmetology license, the gal being tested next to us got assigned: Do the fingernails (I lucked out, did not have nail assignment).

So the recipient of the Do Her Nails had on fake nails. Those had to be more or less torn off, to actually do the test assignment: regular do nails.

So I observed this gruesome detail and made a mental note: Never Get Fake Nails.

 

[Strawberry]

@lenora Thank you...

I haven't tried press on nails, my nails are very narrow also. I might fit child sized, but not adult. My cousin did my nails maybe 4 years now? I can't quite remember. If you are able to get to a salon, sit up for about an hour, and pay about $45 per month, that is the direction I would go. I haven't gone to anyone else, so I don't know how her fees compare to other salons, but she didn't give me the "family discount." (my demand) I have no idea what level you are at. I am mild-moderate, (I work full time, but can't do anything on weekends except laundry). Driving to her salon once a month was extremely difficult on me, but it really helped having strong nails.

Another story to consider, based on Rufous' gruesome mental note above. My daughter did the press on nails AND tried acrylic nails at a salon with her boyfriend's mother. Both times she got a severe allergic reaction. I've never had her try the gel, but my cousin was pretty sure that it wouldn't bother her even though the others had. Acrylic also is VERY stinky.

I don't think I will do gel on myself as it is physically too much to dremmel off the gel, and I doubt I could handle soaking them off. My daughter did that when she had the acrylic allergy reaction, and it did not work well at all. Dremmel is the way to go to remove the gel.

 

[lenora]

@Strawberry@rufous....OK, I never thought I'd use them, have no reason to now anyway, but have wondered if they're worth the bother.

I strongly dislike nails that look like talons...yuck! If I weren't such a picky person, I'd have nice looking fingernails...I always did when I worked, but then people still did their nails themselves. Imagine that? I asked my granddaughter (19) how often she did her nails and she answered "Never, she know how." And she didn't even blush when she said it.

 

[lenora]

@Strawberry@rufous....OK, I never thought I'd use them, have no reason to now anyway, but have wondered if they're worth the bother.

I strongly dislike nails that look like talons...yuck! If I weren't such a picky person, I'd have nice looking fingernails...I always did when I worked, but then people still did their nails themselves. Imagine that? I asked my granddaughter (19) how often she did her nails and she answered "Never, she know how." And she didn't even blush when she said it.

Of course my granddaughter replied, "Never, she doesn't know how." I'll have to tell a couple of friends about the gel nails. They have the acrylic ones and are planning to just let them grow out. All forget what their real nails look like, so gel may be the way for them to go. Me? I just clipped mine down to the nubs I like....they'll be long again in a week. I'm glad the gel worked for you. Yours, Lenora.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Sadly, she died last month. Heart attack (and just before her 53rd birthday). Probably from the financial stress. She also was one of us, fibromyalgia and CFS (without the chronic sick part though).

Oh, @Strawberry , I'm so sorry ..... it's hard enough to lose a relative you were close enough to to ask her to do your nails, and possibly share moans about the many, many .... uh, joys .... of this tacky little flypaper of an illness, where everything seems to stick to us forever except the things that help ..... it's another thing to add insult to injury and lose someone willing and knowledgeable enough to give you a little grace-note, like pretty nails, which can lift your spirits a bit and bring you closer to whatever 'normal' used to be ....

Life's not only unfair, it can be extremely mean-spirited .....

 

[Juanita Vee]

Yes, sorry to hear about your loss, Strawberry. May your cousin rest in peace. I will come and do your nails for you once I've learned... ;o)

I have learned lots from this thread, thank you! I usually slop on 1-2 coats of colored polish. I definitely don't want fake nails or claws either lol! I'm trying to learn about shellac, it sounds like a combination of gel polish and regular... maybe I will have to buy a bottle. I've always painted my own nails, never gone to a salon.. too cheap!

take care, everyone! My nails are currently dark blue and I love it I'm not a red person...

 

[lenora]

Yes, sorry to hear about your loss, Strawberry. May your cousin rest in peace. I will come and do your nails for you once I've learned... ;o)

I have learned lots from this thread, thank you! I usually slop on 1-2 coats of colored polish. I definitely don't want fake nails or claws either lol! I'm trying to learn about shellac, it sounds like a combination of gel polish and regular... maybe I will have to buy a bottle. I've always painted my own nails, never gone to a salon.. too cheap!

take care, everyone! My nails are currently dark blue and I love it I'm not a red person...

Hi Juanita.....I hope you had a better day today. I'll bet you don't slop on anything but are very careful and your nails look so, too. From what I can gather, with the gel it's not so much putting it on (although I'm probably not going to do the world's smoothest job),but the taking off that is the problem. Why don't you try a salon just once. Truly, they aren't that expensive, although I don't know where you live, and it's nice to be among women who are just trying to look nice. I was in one once and a bunch of burly fireman came in for pedicures. I (of course!) was talking to one of them and he said that having a good pedicure (no color though) was one of the best things he ever did. See, he was there for the foot massage and leg massage with hot rocks on his legs. Clip job, also. They showed up about once every 6 wks. or so.

I'm sure the dark blue does look lovely on you.....I missed the light blue phase and now just use pinks and never red. Maybe nearer Xmas, as a pedicure, but not as a manicure. The yellow is highly unusual and I'm forever amazed at the colors they come up with.

Some are fronts for sex selling rings....get these girls as slaves almost. Work them to the bone during the day and then they're used sexually at night. The policemen around here seem to keep a close eye on things, but these poor women have heartbreaking lives from morning 'til bedtime at the best of times.

We had a raid on a store near us and the owners were shown being taken away in handcuffs. They're still awaiting trial. Meanwhile dozens of women were finally set free. You don't even know what's in plan sight.

Oh, it just occurred to me, a young girl who uses polish may be a big help in making up your mind about which way to go. She would also be able to tell you the pluses and minuses of different types of topcoats. An undercoat and then a nail hardener on top will make any polish last. That I do know from when I did my nails myself. Good luck with it all. Report back. Yours, Lenora.

 

[Strawberry]

Oh, @Strawberry , I'm so sorry ..... it's hard enough to lose a relative you were close enough to to ask her to do your nails, and possibly share moans about the many, many .... uh, joys .... of this tacky little flypaper of an illness, where everything seems to stick to us forever except the things that help ..... it's another thing to add insult to injury and lose someone willing and knowledgeable enough to give you a little grace-note, like pretty nails, which can lift your spirits a bit and bring you closer to whatever 'normal' used to be ....

Life's not only unfair, it can be extremely mean-spirited .....

Thank you so much. We had even talked about moving to the ocean together as we both feel a little better there. *sigh*. It’s still quite painful.

BTW A note to add my cousin always styled my nails very short.

Anyways... I have decided with covid becoming rampant again that I will do my own nails from now on. I ordered a holographic nail polish like what she used but doesn’t require UV to cure. I’ll try to find an old pic of her work with my own when I get it. I think collagen has made my nails stronger, as well as what she did for several years. So I am hoping this will work. *You hearing me cuz? Keep my nails strong, please. *

 

[lenora]

Thank you so much. We had even talked about moving to the ocean together as we both feel a little better there. *sigh*. It’s still quite painful.

BTW A note to add my cousin always styled my nails very short.

Anyways... I have decided with covid becoming rampant again that I will do my own nails from now on. I ordered a holographic nail polish like what she used but doesn’t require UV to cure. I’ll try to find an old pic of her work with my own when I get it. I think collagen has made my nails stronger, as well as what she did for several years. So I am hoping this will work. *You hearing me cuz? Keep my nails strong, please. *

@Strawberry.....Oh, I'm sorry that it's such a recent wound for you. Actually, it takes a long, long time to get over the loss of someone we may have always assumed would be with us...or we would be the first to go.

What was your cousin's name? Yes, I understand your concern about getting the virus which is why my pedicures are once again home grown. Of course they look as nice and don't stay on as well. Still..it's safer.
I inadvertently used the manicures as a subject in my column of today. I promise that I'll credit you in the next one...if you want, that is. I never thought that you brought the idea until after I had hit "reply." I'm in the Forum Dept. under Emotional Support - "Chatting with Lenora" or something to that effect. It's odd the things that catch attention, but I'm learning. So take care, and best of luck with your new nail tryout. Send a photo if everything turns out. Don't use acetone based nail polish remover b/c it's very drying on nails and will lead to cracking (although I'm sure your cousin already told you that). Take care of yourself and, once again, I'm sorry that your cousin has passed. Yours, Lenora.