Nails

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Dermelect Tribeca

September 17th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

As you know, I’m still nursing my slashed Freddy Krueger fingernails from The Great Gel Debacle of 2018 back to health, which is why I’m feeling Dermelect. They’re a line of polishes designed to help heavily damaged, brittle nails.

I haven’t seen or heard a lot about them… I feel like they’ve been on the down-low, but you can find them at Ulta.

Their formula is infused with keratin to strengthen nails, and after spending a week with this gorgeous, foggy lilac gray cream called Tribeca ($14), dare I say that my paws are looking the best they’ve looked in weeks? — especially the tips of my nails. They’re looking much healthier and stronger.

I usually avoid pastel creams because they chip like crazy on my nails (like, seriously, I’ll usually see big chunks missing at the base within a day). Plus — ugh — I’m not into layering the three or sometimes four coats it takes to boost creams up to full opacity. I’d rather spend those precious minutes of my life doing more important and pressing things…like watching people taking baths with their cats and rapping about it.

Tribeca only chipped a bit, and I only needed two coats!

I’m surprised how well it held up over the course of seven days. For the record, I used the same base and top coat I’ve been using throughout the 7 Days series.

It held up even better than my Smith & Cult rose gold glitter mani a few weeks ago, which had been the best performer in the series so far.

Tribeca is a “do” for me. Give it a whirl if you feel like a foggy, moody pastel.

Day 1

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With OPI Chills Are Multiplying!

September 10th, 2018 by Karen 18 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

Life lesson learned last week: the greatest threat to your manicure isn’t washing dishes, or lifting heavy weights at the gym, or pounding at the keyboard like you’ve just inhaled 12 cups of coffee. The greatest threat to your manicure — the threat that spells almost certain doom — is being distracted while waxing your upper lip at home.

From this, there is almost no going back.

A minor moment of shock

Because, friend, as I smoothed some Bliss blue wax onto the forest that is my upper lip, then stared at myself in the mirror in shock and thought, “Holy sh*t, I look exactly like my brother with a blue mustache,” I momentarily misplaced that little plastic waxing wand thingamabob you use to spread the wax on your skin and accidentally sprinkled big, hot blobs of wax onto the nails on my left hand.

WHOOPS!

Just a few chunks…

But not all was lost. After recovering from the initial shock (I’ve been waxing for years and never had this happen before. Distracted waxing is dangerous, people!), I waited for the wax to dry, massaged some of the oil that comes with the kit on my nails to loosen the wax up, and carefully peeled it off.

Unfortunately, a few chunks of my polish peeled off, too…

Frankly, I’m surprised any of the polish remained because that wax removes *everything*.

Du-ra-ble!

To make a long story even longer, all of this happened on day five of this dark blue OPI manicure. Through then, it was chugging along remarkably well. Better than average, for sure! A lot of people say that OPI lasts a really long time. Well, they aren’t joking.

Like I’ve done in my last couple of “7 Days” nail polish experiments, I used Smith & Cult’s base coat and top coat, along with two layers of polish, in this case OPI Chills Are Multiplying ($10.50).

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Smith & Cult Ceremony of Secrets

August 31st, 2018 by Karen 25 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

One good thing came out of my recent gel manicure debacle. I have a new passion for finding kick-@ss non-gel long-wearing nail polishes, i.e. nail polishes that can actually handle my life!

I do my nails at home once a week now, and over the course of that week my paws take a beating. I’m typing, I’m cleaning, I’m taking care of the dual divas who room and board with me (human and otherwise), I’m gardening, I’m preparing meals (gluten-free sometimes!), I’m working out… Basically, going about my day like busy women do.

Wanted: long-lasting nail polishes

So, a few weeks ago I started a project to track down some lovely long-lasting polishes, and when I find a new contender, I follow the following process: I use the same base and top coats for consistency — Smith & Cult’s tough-as-nails (lol) The Basis of Everything and Above It All — and I paint my paws with two coats of that week’s nail polish.

Then I take some pics to document the condition of my paws over the seven days before removing the nail polish and starting all over again with something else.

Let’s get ready to rummmbllllle! In this corner, Smith & Cult Ceremony of Secrets ($18)

I put Smith & Cult’s Ceremony of Secrets, a rose gold micro glitter, through its paces a couple weeks ago, and that week, on top of the usual life things I had to do, I also spent a day at a beach on the Russian River, which meant futzing with beach umbrellas and chairs, sand, and opening and closing multiple zippered totes (those zippers man… They’re like death traps for nail polish!). I also constructed three sand castles and, of course, swam.

Also, that week I lifted heavier free weights than usual at the gym, and those dumbbells and kettle bells are rough and will totally shred a manicure like *that*.

Despite those extracurricular activities, this glittery manicure held up exceptionally well. By the end of the week, I saw some small chips at the tips of my nails, a few chunks taken out along the base of my nails, and some cracks along the sides where I could’ve done a better job with the edges and top coat, but Ceremony of Secrets held up well overall.

I’m sure I could’ve worn it at least another day.

Day 1: So fresh, so clean

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Smith & Cult Analog Fog

August 24th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

At one point over the seven days I wore Smith & Cult Analog Fog on my paws, the weather took a decidedly dark, chilly turn…

It started to look like fall.

We closed the windows and contemplated turning on the heater.

Also, I started baking stuff in my oven again. I cranked out three lasagnas (one was even gluten-free, what-what!), two banana blueberry oatmeal bakes, a gluten-free pizza from Costco, and two batches of oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies. Really, Smith & Cult should have named this polish “When It’s Cold, Bake Your @ss Off” instead.

Taking everything I did into account, and considering how much time I spent blending, chopping and whisking while wearing this polish, my manicure held up well. It was still shiny and relatively chip-free after five days, with just a few dings around the tips of my fingers.

It jumped the shark after I made the third lasagna and washed the dishes without gloves, which was probably, um…not the greatest idea. That’s when I really started to see pieces of polish chipping at the base of a couple of my nails (granted, they weren’t big chips).

Like I did for my last seven-day nail experiment, I wore two coats of the polish atop a base of Smith & Cult Basis of Everything, and with Above It All as a top coat on top. Point being to isolate the polish to try to figure out how it holds up to real life.

Also like last time, I didn’t refresh the top coat at all over the course of the seven days, but I think if I had, like if I’d refreshed it on day three or four, I could’ve made this mani last at least one or two more days.

I think Analog Fog did great, all lasagnas considered! Plus, the color is gorge! It’s one of those mysterious, elusive purples… Ooh-la-la! It’s a cream, so there’s no shift or pearl or anything like that, but sometimes it looks like a pinkish purple. Other times, it looks like a straight-up plum.

I’ll definitely be wearing it again. ?

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 1

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 7

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I Have Feeeeeeelings About Gel Nails

August 7th, 2018 by Karen 37 Comments

I historic moment — my first (and last) salon gel manicure

Yes, it’s 2018, and yes, I’ve officially left behind my wooden cart and my donkey and ye olden times to join the modern world because — GASP! — I got a salon gel manicure for the first time a few weeks ago.

I know, I know, I’m only eight years late to the party, but here’s the deal: beauty-wise, nails are something I can actually do myself, and I can usually do a pretty decent job, which I attribute to steady hands after 16 years of playing classical piano.

So, 1) I very rarely get my nails done at a salon, and 2) even when I have, I never saw the point of getting a gel nail mani after hearing so many nightmare stories from friends about how gel mains absolutely trashed their nails.

Never say never

But you know how it is — one should never say never in Beauty Land! The opportunity presented itself for me to get a gel mani a few weeks ago at a brand meet-and-greet in the city, and I carpe diem-ed it with a deep teal from OPI.

I wish I could remember its name, but I can’t. I was too distracted by this sign at the salon…

weird texting sign — Is this sign confusing, or am I writing too much into it…? It’s confusing, right?

Like, what does that sign even mean? Are they saying, “Don’t even try to talk to us. Just please shut the hell the up,” or is it code for “feel free to chime in on that group text because we don’t mind if you stare at your phone the whole time?”

And don’t even get me started on Papyrus! I’m just glad it wasn’t Comic Sans…

Three weeks of WOW

Anywho! #rantover. Gel nails. Mine lasted until I got tired of them and wanted them removed — an incredible three weeks — with nary a chip, and trust, I tempted fate during that time, too. I washed dishes and gardened without gloves a few times, and I also made a point to type with mucho fervor when I found out about Nick Jonas getting engaged.

Even though it was fun to actually have a mani that outlasted all of my crazy, by the end of the third week, I was SO DONE. Weirdly enough, the gel polish started feeling heavy, and I felt like my nails couldn’t breathe. (Side note: I have a mild case of claustrophobia.) And I was really annoyed that I couldn’t just chip or peel off the polish on my own. Suddenly, my gel manicure turned into a needy boyfriend who wouldn’t leave me alone, and I desperately wanted to break up with it but couldn’t figure out a way.

The DIY removal route

I googled a few “how to remove gel nails at home” tutorials, and HA HA HA. All I have to say is that unless you love being frustrated while sitting around with foil-covered fingertips, find a salon, and have it done professionally.

I’m sure there are peeps out there who are able to successfully DIY remove their gel nails at home, but I tried twice and failed.

The day after my second attempt, I boogied on down to a salon and paid $7 to have a very nice lady soak, scrape and chisel the gel polish away, and while she was doing this, she talked at great length about how she never, ever does gels on herself because of the damage they cause.

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