FGW: Nailed it!

Following in Deco Diva’s, er, footsteps *tee hee*, I thought I’d share my thoughts on some nail products I recently played with.

In my house we had one rule about nail polish. You could start wearing it when you grew your nails long enough that you could see them over the tops of your fingertips. I finally managed to reach my goal in the 8th grade, and I don’t think my nails have been that long since. I started wearing glue on artificial nails every now and then in high school, and still do on occasion. I got my hands on*tee hee* Broadway Nails French Deceptions and gave them a whirl.

I once heard this style described as an American tip, a white tip that fades gently into the nail color instead if the clean line of a French tip, and I’m a big fan of the look. The major difficulty with clear nails is that getting them on without air bubbles underneath is really hard.  I have a method for applying even pressure that involves a clothes pin and a little patience, and it seemed to be far more effective with the thicker gel glue in the Broadway kit, though I still had some small bubbles underneath. You could go with a full set of professional acrylic nails to completely avoid the bubble issue, but the money and time commitment are just too much for someone as impulsive as me. With a price tag of around $5 and a maximum wear time of 10 days, neither of those are issues with Deceptions nails. They’re easily removed too, just file the tops of the nails and soak in an acetone polish remover until they soften and can be removed. I recommend you file as much as you can and use a 100% acetone remover to move things along more quickly. These are good if you want something for an occasion but don’t want to eat your nails up with professional acrylic or gel nails. I also just think they’re really fun to play with!

If you just want to take care of your natural nails the I really like the RED manicure kit that Kiss Nails Inc. sent our way. It has 8 products, including cuticle nippers,which fell out of style for a while but which I have always loved. The $10 price tag makes it an exceptional deal, and I was really surprised at how sturdy everything is, though I could’ve used  a 4 way buffer that stands up a bit better. The smooth, high shine you get from a buffing block just can’t be equaled.  This would be fun as a baby shower/bridal shower party prize in lieu of the standard lotion or scented candle, or as an inexpensive but thoughtful gift for your favorite teen or tween.  Throw in some great polish and remover and you have a perfect pick me up treat  for a friend, or yourself!