I’ve been playing with paint:
This was taken just after I applied the polish and before I cleaned up the edges.
Every once in a while, I flirt with nail polish because I love the look of it. Only in winter, mind you, it’s not at all practical in the spring when I’m in full gardening mode. I saw this shade at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. I really like it, but I eventually encounter the same problem I always have: it chips. Unless one doesn’t have to do any work around the house, takes obsessive care of their finger and hand movements, and has it done professionally, it isn’t going to last that long.
I’m already planning to remove it all this morning and put on a fresh coat. And eventually, I’ll get sick of it and that will be it for a while. I do paint my toenails in the summer, but that’s always been the case.
For a couple of years about 11 years ago, I had someone apply acrylic nails to my nails and got them done every two weeks. I’ve never liked my nails, which grow exactly like my mom’s did – the sides of the nails angle outward instead of a straight vertical, making it impossible to grow my nails to any length. Plus they’re smallish. The acrylics became a pain in the tush and I started to worry that they were ruining my natural nails, so I stopped.
Does anyone out there wear nail polish? If I’m foolish enough to continue this for a while, do you have any tips for me as to the brand of polish and top coat you use?
Changing the subject, I started The Night Circus, but I’m so sleep deprived at the moment that I’m not reading it today. I’m barely into the story and when I’m sleep deprived my perceptions are off. This is not a mystery which flows easily for me, it’s a different genre that I have to read carefully. It would be too easy for me to give up on it. So I’ll look at a couple of magazines today, instead.
Don is off to NYC this morning for an audition.
Happy Friday.
Nice color!
I rarely wear polish, but when I do, it’s usually because I have to go out to an event where I need to look nice. Unfortunately, I’m always doing work in the garden and around the house, and my nails get so dirty that I cannot get them completely clean. Then I use polish as camouflage. It has to be a dark color to hide the ground in dirt. I like Zoya polish because it has fewer toxic ingredients, yet still lasts pretty well. The secret is you need to do a bottom & top clear-coat. That helps with the chipping, I find.
Good luck!
I’ll check out Zoya, Cara! Thank you.
no tips (ha ha) on fingernails and polish from me … i painted my nails only a few times as a kid to be more like my beloved mother, but having weak nails meant i gave up on fingernail polish a long, long, long time ago. messy hobbies and jobs that require(d) lots of hand-washing didn’t/don’t help, either. good luck. the color you chose is sure pretty.
best wishes to don for safe travels and getting that part and to you for getting more sleep!
happy friday.
kathy in iowa
Thank you, Kathy!
What a pretty colour!
I go with a French manicure mostly because I think it looks tidy and neutral for work. That said, I have been known to paint my nails all sparkly for Christmas with my favourite Opi brand polish.
Opi is the best, though this polish is Sally Hansen. Thanks, Barbara!
I love to wear nail polish. It makes me feel dressed up even if I’m at home. Guess I’m still a little girl at heart. I recommend OPI Start to Finish. It works as a base coat, or a top coat…or as a stand alone. It will make your color coat last that much longer. I am not as brave as you to wear such a beautiful bright color, muted colors are more for me. Can’t wear polish in the spring, or summer though….I love to get dirty in the dirt too much!
Enjoy your day! ;)
Exactly! When gardening time happens, nail polish is off! Thanks, Donna!
I don’t know why but I hate stuff on my nails. I will start chipping away at it before it is dry. Makes them feel heavy. Really? Probably not but I FEEL it is so! For Kevin’s wedding I used brush markers to paint my toes for the sandals (they looked good; not shiny but good.) Half the time my hands are in paint up to the wrists (that’s not the plan — I’m just messy). So I’m of no help. But good luck!
Thanks, Jeanie!
I keep my fingernails and toenails extremely short and polish free.
I think of it as my Island Nails! it makes me feel very free and easy. like a child even.
but it’s true. it’s a lovely healthy look and very young looking in my mind.
I read years ago that formaldehyde is used in nail polish. and it turns the nails yellowish.
it’s used to embalm bodies! (at least it was at the time. maybe that’s changed now)
but that was enough for me not to ever use polish again! my nails are pink and clear of any ridges or such. they look just fine. I take biotin every day as a supplement too. so they’re healthy. and they’re so short I can file them with an emory board instead of cutting them.
I think that’s better for them too.
I’ve gotten used to my nails being very short and I love them. that’s all that matters to me!
I simply massage my fingers and toes with coconut oil after I use it for my face. it’s heavenly.
it’s a very island-y way to live. and it will make you feel better until you can get those
beautiful hands of yours in your gardening mode! LOL! xoxoxo
Oh, I don’t polish my nails often enough to worry about those things! In fact, hardly at all.
Thanks, Tammy!
I love the look of nail polish but for some reason I never take the time to apply it! I think of it when I’m driving or right before bed. You’ve inspired me to try to paint them this afternoon.
Hope you catch up on your sleep. Everyone I know is having the same problem, including me. Maybe something weird with the moon cycle.
I wonder…maybe the moon cycle IS part of the problem! Thanks, Betsy!
I was wondering about that, too! I slept horribly last night…couldn’t fall asleep (which is rare for me), woke up twice to use the bathroom, and then woke way too early thinking I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door – which totally freaked me out. Was probably dreaming, but jeez…that was super scary.
I’ve had dreams where I heard knocking – loud knocking. Very unnerving! xo
I feel like I’ve talked to a lot of people lately about this sleep-deprivation thing. NO ONE, including me, is sleeping! Could be our adulthood (advancing) ages with all our aches & pains so that the body is restless (and menopause never helps), but I also think there’s just too much on our minds as headlines daily are slamming into us from all angles and a lot of people are feeling ‘tentative’ in dread of this election year and what could or couldn’t happen. I still think we’re all on info-overload in general, just too much on the brain all the time. Looking at too many screens! We used to, in the ‘old days’, read the morning paper and maybe watch the 6pm news, but that was it for headlines unless maybe you listened to the radio during the day. Now we’re on phones constantly; on the computer. Online.
I sometimes try to understand and ‘visualize’ the rhythm of life for my ancestors, certainly not without hardships and unknowns in their rural/farm lives and no access to healthcare like we have today, but they weren’t confronted with other fears, worries and so many choices, good and bad, like in 2020. They often didn’t even know what was going on in another town and certainly didn’t find out about global goings-on for months at a time. If they took the wagon to church on Sundays, I don’t think they were talking about war in some faraway country; instead it was stuff about their farms, getting together to make a quilt or raising a barn. Okay, I’m sentimental, but it sounds wholesome.
The world’s out of whack (or else there’s a perception that it is), and now we have to be concerned with this virus from China on top of everything else. I’m not a robust and healthy 20- or 30-yr-old; I’m a senior who’s immune-compromised; I’m vulnerable and, yeah, this is scary news which is escalating.
I just think we live with too much unease. Which is why there’s such a push to ‘simplify’ in so many of the remaining shelter magazines, books, etc. as ‘experts’ try to help us unwind. (Nothing wrong with a good old movie now & then; painting nails, knitting, doll houses, reading absorbing fiction that doesn’t unsettle the brain, listening to music or playing music, exercise, cooking, cleaning and decluttering, spring gardening; prayer and meditation; seeing friends; going somewhere different nearby, like a nice park or the beach or a pleasant hike; sending Valentine’s Day cards or writing a newsy letter to someone; all good!)
I think we know too much now, of everything bad that can happen to us, in our towns, if we travel, how we eat, how we can die. I know ‘way more than I want to know of bad stuff & stories; I’m sick of them! Tired of reading about it! Maybe two centuries ago, ignorance was bliss. You got up with the chickens, you got breakfast on the table, the dad went out to plow the field, the mom did the homekeeping, garden chores and maybe even milked the cow, you sat down to supper and then went to bed physically exhausted once the sun went down (and slept like a baby). You moved in a rhythm with the daylight, the seasons.
My quest – – to ever feel I’m in balance and in tune with ‘life’!!
I’ve stopped reading the news or Twitter during this sham trial. I get too upset. I can’t let it impact my health or my husband’s health. My power lies in the voting booth. And in calls to my representatives. I called the Senate Sargent-at-Arms yesterday to complain about the GOP Senators leaving the room during Adam Schiff’s testimony, doing crossword puzzles and generally acting like the compromised fools that they are.
You’re being wise about how much input you’ve been allowing into your life. Self-protection! Your vote is your voice, for sure. But good also for you to make that call! My husband is ‘manning’ the polling place come March and this is just the start.
Thank you, Vicki! And thank your husband.
I love your sentence, “I just think we live with too much unease.” I think you have hit the nail on the head. And the rest of the paragraph is right on!
Thanks. Feeling not at ease is surely the opposite of feeling soothed and reassured! It sorta throws you for ‘living in the moment’ when you’ve got something nagging at the back of your mind and assaulting your well-being. We have to try so much harder to counteract the negativity. It’s energy-draining.
I love to have my nails painted. I do it myself.
I use gel polish.The kind you use a UV lamp with. Using gel polish has more pros than cons. The color last on me usually 2 weeks. At that point is when I first notice a chip or two. By week 3 there a definite chips and it is time for a re-do. This is winter. In the summer the color won’t last much more than a week and a half. But is my book that’s pretty darn good considering the dirt I usually find my self in.’
It is a bit expensive to get started with gel. You have to get the light, then there is the base coat and top coat. NOT the same thing in gel. You need to have the proper polish remover to do the job correctly. AND, when you’re going to do your nails you have set aside a large chunk of time. To do two coats it take me about 2 hours from start to finish.
The result of nails that last so long is worth it ….to me the length of time it takes to achieve the look.
It might be too much of an investment for me, Trudy. But thank you for explaining the process – it’s complicated!
I do wear nail polish from time to time. I try to wear a light shade, if it chips and it always does, it will not be too noticeable.
Marilyn
It sure does always chip! I just took it off and I’ll try again in a week or so. Thanks, Marilyn!
I love the look of nail polish, but, as with Jeanie, when I put it on, my fingers feel like they are being smothered – weird, yes, probably at least a little psychological. Just last week I saw a
documentary about nail salons in San Francisco “Painted Nails” and the toxicity of the chemicals in the salons. Fascinating look behind the scenes of one family and their salon.
Fun way way to start the weekend and have a little pamper yourself time.
(Merde to Don!)
I’ve already taken it off!
I hope you get some good, restorative sleep this weekend.
Beautiful nails and toenails are something I always notice with interest/delight…on other people. I’ve never had a professional manicure or pedicure. I’m just too hard on my hands; I never wear gloves at the sink, that sort of thing. What’s so fun in this day & age is to see gals wearing a whole spectrum of color, even blues and greens, of course polka dots and whatever else; whereas, in ‘my’ day at a younger age, we obviously only had the requisite reds, pinks, corals. I still think a French nail is quite pristine but I suppose when it comes down to it, a blush-pink always looks good on the hand, too, although you can’t beat a red lip!
I never wear gloves either – can’t be bothered. I need sleep pretty badly. Today, I’m good for absolutely nothing. Just exhausted. Thank you for your email yesterday, Vicki. Sound like things are going fairly well. Take it SLOWLY, my friend. xoxo
Thanks, dearest Claudia. And I do SO feel your fatigue and hope it improves on the sleep side.
I decided this year that I want to go back to growing a few veggies, not a lot; mainly the lettuces. My aunt always wore gloves in the veggie and flower garden, but I can’t. It’s like I have to feel the dirt. Even if I’m just re-potting a plant. My hands look awful; I’ve lost elasticity in the skin but the most I ever do for my poor fingernails and hands is throw on some hand lotion at the end of the day, so what can I expect! If I was a veteran actress in the movies, I’d need a hand model; a stand-in! It seems like lately, the hands are trashed with too much hand sanitizer (I’m in a lot of medical offices; germs) or that I’m always in a sinkful of suds! (Four animals I’m always cleaning up after, for instance.)
Your hands look really nice, Claudia, and you’re blinding me with your diamond ring; what a stunning ring. That’s another thing; I never wear my rings. Too rough; banged my engagement ring, early on before I was even married, and chipped the nice diamond solitaire. Can’t even tell you how many rings I’ve lost either. The only jewelry I could ever really wear was earrings once I got my ears pierced; but, sigh, finding I’m not much wearing them anymore either. Have a lot of arthritis in hands/fingers and struggling now to put in earrings or fool with small buttons on garments. I used to be so deft with gluing a broken object, or doing intricate crushed-rock mosaic art; threading a needle…but, man, with the stiffer hands and also fading eyesight, getting older is a challenge!
Well, as you know, my hands are in the dirt all the time in the spring and summer (and the fall). And I do all of our dishes by hand. Plus, I work on the dollhouses, which is really hard on my hands. And I have some arthritis from years of knitting and crocheting and a broken wrist during grad school which aches when it rains. It’s a pain, isn’t it?
Yeah, my prob over too many years was too much keyboarding with the job when nobody understood anything about an ergonomic work station. I used to ‘process’ a lot of data and it was too much repetitive motion.
I so love my miniatures and I have a lot of work yet to do on my own small doll houses but working in the close confinement with the tiny things is increasingly hard; I don’t know how you do it, Claudia! Your houses are perfection. I do have long-handle tweezers which are helpful for some placements of things. Toast tongs can work, too.
Breaking a wrist; ouch. I’ve only broken a foot and a toe. But, yes, when the weather gets cold in SoCalif, which isn’t often but historically in November, my hands ache ‘to the bone’. My grandma would have called it ‘rheumatism’.
I also broke my ankle right before our wedding. I had a cast on as I walked down the aisle (which was a long staircase.)
I love the color. Having been a nurse I have never worn fingernail polish, but always love to have my toes done. Your rings are very pretty and remind me of a jewelry designer Alex Sepkus. Do they happen to his?
No, they’re designed by Sonia Bitton – it’s one piece and it’s called a flex ring. It flexes, making it easier to go over your knuckle. Thanks, Sherry.
I use OPI nail colors. If I have chip nails or weak nails, I would soak them in lemon juice.
Thank you, Rose!
I have small nails, too. (And hands.) I keep my nails polished year-round to protect them, but I mainly wear a very pale pink. I brush on a base coat, then two layers of nail polish (be sure to let the first coat dry very thoroughly before applying the second coat…I sometimes just do the first coat in the morning then wait til later in the day when I have some free time to do the second coat). Later that evening or even the next day, I apply a top coat. This lasts me about four days and my hands are constantly in water, dirt, art journaling, typing, doing housework, etc.
Sometimes I get on a whim and paint my nails a fun, funky color but not too often since it chips easily and is hard to maintain.
My favorite brand of polish is Essie. They have some great colors, too.
I agree with what you said about the acrylic nails – they do ruin your natural nails. I’ve never had it done since I’ve seen what a couple of my friends have gone through with them. I’m not a fan of going to the salon for maintenance either.
A week before Christmas, I tried the press-on “sticker” sheet nails from Lily & Fox (online). They were recommended by Debbie R/Mountain Mama. They were a little tricky to learn at first, but once I got the hang of them, they were easy to apply. They looked great and lasted two weeks. Got a lot of compliments on them. I have more sets including snowmen for the winter, but I’ve been lazy and haven’t applied them yet.
I removed the polish yesterday – I got frustrated with it chipping. It’s either time to try another brand or stop for a while. I hand wash all our dishes, I work on the dollhouse, so it’s easy to chip the paint. Thanks, Melanie.
Good morning Claudia. Sorry about your sleep. I just go with the flow. Some nights good, some bad. When bad, I just try not to badger myself or pamic, cuz it is what it is. Eesk
I use a little square bottle from Walmart or Target called Pure Ice. $1-2. I use the bottom and top coat as well. Extremely nice polish with very little investment. I think your nails look lovely!
Have a good day! Good luck to Don.
Thanks for the tip, Verna!
Great color! I don’t bother with finger nails. I’m just not careful enough, and it lasts about an hour. I do the toes, though. My daughter showed me the secret to a long-lasting pedicure. Use base and top coats. I use the ones from OPI that I was able to find at TJMaxx. As for the color itself, I use whichever brand has the shade I like.
I do use base and top coat. And still they chip, but not quite as quickly! Thanks, Lynda.
I use Essie in a pale color, it doesn’t chip, wears a little but the pale color helps with that.
On a different topic, there is a miniature exhibit you might be interested in. I might have mentioned it to you when we met at the miniature show in Connecticut. It is an exhibit of my friend Cathy’s collection: 5 dollhouses and 5 room boxes; a French Bakery, a toy store, a ladies dress shop and a Christmas room with red leather chairs! She also is showing some of the furniture she’s collected over the years. It’s a charming exhibit and it is at the Historical Society of Rockland County in New City, NY. Not sure how far upstate you are, but it might be worth at trip.
http://WWW.RocklandHistory.org.
Have a great weekend, hope you get some good sleep soon!
Barbara (from NJ)
Rockland is about two counties south of us – not impossible. It’s where we found our dog Riley and adopted him. Thanks, Barbara!
Have you tried the gel top coat? I love it. Keeps the polish on a lot longer and comes off with regular nail polish!
I haven’t. I’ll keep that in mind, Debbie. Thank you.