As you guys know, I’ve been taking vitamins (lots and lots of vitamins) every single day since June 8th. One of the vitamins that I take everyday is Biotin, which is supposed to help promote hair growth. This will become really important once I start losing weight quickly after surgery. I am not ashamed to admit that I’m pretty vain when it comes to my hair, and losing it really scares me. Needless to say, the Biotin is one that I never forget to take.
But the other thing that Biotin also promotes? Nail growth!
My natural nails have never been nice. They break and split on the side, so I’ve always just kept them really short. Until now. The Biotin is making my nails strong, and they’ve been growing. Having nice-looking, natural nails is a sign of good health.
My natural nails have NEVER looked better.
Not only are they growing, they’re all the same length, which is really something.
So today I found myself with a bit of time, and I decided to polish them. Now I’m no Kenlie, who is an expert at doing her own nails, but I’m pretty proud of the way they turned out. The accent nail, that pink camo one (which is called Booty Call – love!), is a Sally Hansen Salon Effects polish strip. Have you seen those? They’re like stickers for your nails that go on really easily and are supposed to last up to 10 days. I’d never tried them before, but they were simple to use, and I liked that they didn’t need to dry, unlike the polish. I wanted to be really careful not to get any bubbles or other nail problems, so I let each coat dry in between. But I think the finished product was worth the extra time and effort.
Not bad for an at-home mani by an amateur.
The thing that usually keeps me from polishing my nails is that they chip so easily. Case in point:
Taken just a few hours after I polished them. Look at those nicks and chips. Ugh.
And what did I do to cause these chips? I went grocery shopping. Seriously? I didn’t plant a garden, type a 10-page paper, or do the dishes. I shopped. This is why I hate nail polish – it never lasts on me. And yes, I did use a base coat and a top coat. If you have any tips for keeping polish from chipping, please let me know.
I’m much too much of a perfectionist to have my nails looking like this, so I decided to put the Salon Effects on all the nails. I like the way the turquoise looks with the pink. Very fun.
Who knows how long this will last, but as long as it lasts the week, I’ll be happy. I’m also happy to report that because my nails are fairly short, I can use one strip on two nails. Which makes these more affordable. $8 for 16 strips is sort of expensive, compared to polish. Doubling that makes the expense a bit more tolerable. But really, not having to wait for them to dry and the fact that chips will be less likely makes them worth the extra money.
This whole new world of at-home manicures is kind of fun, so I’m going to head to Target tomorrow to buy more Salon Effects and some Essie polishes. OPI polishes are my favorite, but I’ve heard good things about Essie too, and I think they’re a bit more affordable. I don’t think I’ll be a nail artist or anything, but I do think keeping up with my nails is going to be a fun nighttime distraction. Bonus – you can’t give in to cravings while your nails are wet.
What’s your favorite nail polish? Brand and color name, please.
Essie and OPI are usually about the same price and I like them both! Sometimes they have specials on Facebook so maybe friend them in case there’s something going on.
Very pretty! What about Shellac or even a generic gel polish? It dries very quickly and doesn’t chip for several weeks. I think OPI has gel polish too. They have home manicure gel kits @ Ulta that include the the light that seals and sets the gel.
I had actually just gotten a Shellac mani 2 1/2 week ago, and I liked it a lot, but I don’t like that you have to go back to the salon to have it removed. (I ended up picking it off my nails, which I know is soooo bad). I’ve been researching these nail strips more, and it looks like a company called Incoco has an enormous selection!
I like the nail strips and may try them myself. They may not be as damaging as gel. You can do the Shellac at home and purchase the remover as well. I know, I’ve picked mine off too and at that point its just as bad as acrylics!
Looking good Bella! I must recommend getting the OPI base coat (Nail Envy) and the OPI top coat if you don’t have them already. I find that I can use whatever polish I want, along with these base and top coats, and it lasts for over a week. I’ve never used Essie (it’s not yet widely available here) so I can’t recommend it, but I can’t praise OPI highly ENOUGH! I do a lot of free-hand nail art myself (I don’t like to use the stickers or gel nails), so I use a wide range of polishes, from cheap drug store ones to high-end, and with the OPI top coat, I never have to worry about chipping. I do my nails once a week and it always lasts me until the next time
I like OPI on my toes, but I don’t use it on my fingers because I also have nails that tend to chip all the time when I polish them. The only time they didn’t was when I got the shellac stuff right before I got married. Flew all the way to Italy and they were intact through the wedding, but had some problems over the next couple weeks. Eventually I also peeled them off my nails, which isn’t good, but oh well… I should check out those stickers. That could be fun.
So cute!!
I’ve been a nail-biter my entire life, but I actually have GROWING NAILS now because of the prenatal vitamins I’ve been taking for a few months. My nails are growing more quickly than I remember to bite them. Fun!
Congrats on the nails.
I’ve been tempted to try those Salon Effects ones, but hadn’t heard anything about them yet. I saw some of the colors on clearance at Target for 3.48, I’m going to have to pick some up and give them a try!
Wow, that’s a great price. I found them really easy to apply, and so far so good with their durability.
I have the same problem with needing my nails to looks perfect. I’m a biter so when they do start to grow I have to paint them to prevent biting. I’ve used those strips but I felt like they chipped just as much as polish. Ive been able to grow my nails out for a few weeks now so I’m plannin on getting a mani on Friday, maybe I will try that gel stuff