Oh, my days, Posse! This is a funkydoodle time – El O has strep (AND a staph-like infection in one of his fingers), I’m recovering from a Contact Dermatitis, probably caused by hair dye (rinsing in the shower) – my back is healing, but for 2 weeks it felt like alligator skin floating on lava. Or lava floating on alligator skin. Whatever – it hurt and itched like crazy! Now it’s Peeling Alligator Skin (ew) though the lava part seems to have subsided. Little blessings.
ew
Work is nuts – in a GREAT way – because I get paid. But I’m keeping track of 3 or 4 projects, all of which are comprised of about a billion little parts, like a knockoff watch.
And I’m starting to get that skritchy throat……damn you, El O! This’d better not be Ebola!
So. I got nothin’. Nothin’ perfume-wise, at any rate.
But I do gotz nails!
That is a MAJOR thing for me. All my life, I’ve suffered from weak, peeling (as in, my index fingernails would stop at the tip of the nail bed, then proceed, like geographical strata, in peeling layers. Ew. Nail Magic was the only formula that worked – and that was because it was chockablock with formalin (and that was okay by me – if you’ve ever touched an embalmed body you know it’s hard as a rock) Then the Health Police harshed my nail mellow, removing the formalin and rendering Nail Magic useless to my splintery digits. I thought all was lost and was resigned to just wearing a clear coat and hoping for the best.
Until I stumbled upon this little gem
da BOMB!
I have no idea how I came upon it – and I couldn’t care less. I’m just happy AF that it is here and on my nails! It’s all EOs and more EOs and about 3 chem-y things at the very bottom, none of which are formalin – but it works like a charm! Lookit!
NAILS!
I was going to try some ‘interesting’ color – but I’ve gone that route a few times – and it freaked me out so much I took it off after a day and put on a YNBB. Drives my bfffe wild, as she loves her some ‘interesting’ color and gel-y stripes and things, so joint trips to the nail salon are fraught with a bit of creative tension! It’s confirmed: I’m a YNBB girl, all the way, as evidenced by the 20 (TWENTY!) shades of YNBB that reside in my polish basket, alongside the 1 pink, 1 red and 1 gold (and that one doesn’t even count because on me it’s just YNBB with some glitter). I fell in love with a Pat McGrath/Sephora colorswatch photo and beetled out of here like a lima bean, looking to replicate…… after spending an hour at Sephora and Ulta I realized that the love I have for that photo is the color of the model’s skin, which I cannot replicate, alas, that gorgeous hint of cinnamon under the warm brown.. I’m more of a cool yellow-brown. Alas.
sephora.com isn’t her skin gorgeous!
but! A gal can come close. My new color (which is replicated at least 6 times in my basket) is Nina Ultra Pro ‘A Touch of Creme’, a coolish café au lait which gives that same nail look on my cooler, slightly lighter skin. . I chose Nina because it cost about 1/4 of O.P.I. and I am NOT going beyond that price point. Gardener, remember? Rocks don’t care if you’re wearing Chanel or Wet n’ Wild. But. Ew. It STINKS! Once my Summer color fades I’ll go back to my O.P.I. standby (for the past 10+ years) Hopelessly in Love.
Jeebus, I’m Boring With the Colors.
I know there are some serious Nailies out there – is this (following thing) a ‘thing’? I have had stronger nails for a couple of months, now – but I just realized that when I polish them I hold my hands differently. I can actually feel the weight of the polish on my fingertips. It is a bit of a louche/luxe feel and after I finish planting 8 grasses today I’ll probably take it off and go back to the Nail Guardian until Saturday when I have to do myself up for a Gala. `Perhaps because I so seldom wear it, but I equate this feeling with wearing wide sleeves and heavy, dangly earrings – gorgeous and very luxe, but unsuited to my daily life. They are fun to look at, though.
Crikey! This is more Nail Thought than I’ve ever had in my collective life! LOL! You Posse are SO patient, to read my nail ramblings. So ImmadoaGiveaway! No, not nail polish, perfume!!! (of which I haz a LOT!)
Tell me a nail story? Do you gotz nails? No Nails? Polish? No polish? What’s your go-to for strengthening? I’ll have The Girl poke a Very Strong PawNail and pull a winner or two.
All I have is a nail fungus– for which my doctor recommended treatment with tea tree or oregano oil and/ or vape with Vicks at night. All the prescription stuff is bad for your liver (potentially) and who wants that? The topicals are nice and organic and kind and sweet but they don’t do jack to/ for the fungus. Maybe Round-Up? ( I’m a man who will wear perfume but nail polish? Nah.)
So I love having my toenails done, I’d prefer to have them pretty all the time. Right now I’m wearing one called Go With the Glow which is a pretty bronze with a hint of peach, perfect for fall. But my fingers, as much as I LOVE a good French manicure, usually stay bare because i use my hands too much. Thanks for another giveaway Musette and I hope your back returns to blissful comfort soon.
Not nail related, but has El O been to a doctor? Not trying to scare you you, but back in February, a local firefighter had a small cut on his arm and his daughter had strep. Somehow the cut got infected with the strep and he ended up with sepsis and nearly died. He’s lost his right arm from the elbow down and all of his toes. Don’t mess with strep! And your nails look lovely! ?
I have gorgeous nails and toenails right now, thanks to you! XOXO
LOL~ you weirdo. You had that One Crappy Nail. The rest are like honey badger claws!
xoxox your hellajelly friend
My nails also peel – try Essie Love Treat Color – two coats and it’s magic! Minimally Modest is my YNBB color but there are lots to choose from!
glad that is working for you! I was just looking at all the Nude/YNBB at Sally – WOW! Nude is the New Black! 😉
xoxoxo
I need to try your Organica product. My fingernails are also weak and tear easily. I am not gentle with my hands though. I go for a manicure and pedicure once per month; my toes look good and my finger polish chips quickly. I use an Essie Love and Treat polish in light pink for the remainder of the month until my next manicure.
I treat my hands like claws, Kathleen – I have to weed commando because so much stuff is intensively planted that I have to weed by touch. NG got me through ALLADAT!
I think that’s why I like YNBB so much – you can have a little chip and it’s not that noticeable, unlike if you have a darker color.
xoxoxo
I have just finished 6 months of chemotherapy for breast cancer. I had no idea that losing one’s nails as well as one’s hair was a side effect of chemotherapy. They are starting to grow back but break and peel REALLY easily and look HORRIBLE, so this is definitely something I should look into. Thanks for recommending.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Yucky, I know. It took a few months for my finger (& toe) nails to grow back after BC chemo 10 years ago. Toes seemed to take forever. (Taxotere, herceptin, carboplatin.) The good news is that my nails came back in great shape & are strong again.
I do keep them shorter than I did 20+ years ago and instead of often having a corner needing glue or a patch, the sides never tear anymore. Looking at old pictures, it’s a shock to see my long nails, but that was the ’80s.
Luanne, I hope you feel well. Your nails will grow back. Chemo is weird-my hair came back pure white instead of light brown with a some gray but my eyebrows came back darker than before. Best of luck to you as you recover.
Wishing you complete return to health, Luanne. And I think NG would work for you – check out the ingredients, first, of course – but I didn’t see anything horrible in there. In fact, the first 6(?) ingredients are EOs.
xoxoxo
Howdy, darling!! Hope both you and El O are feeling back to normal very soon! I have to keep my nails moderately short, because, oddly enough, when they get too long, they start turning up, almost like trumpets. Maybe in one of my childhood scrapes I damaged them? Anyhoo, when I do paint them, it’s usually a pearlized taupe or lightly frosted lavender, although I will stretch for a bit of red at the holidays. But I’m typing and working with my hands so much with the bags now, they really get much more abuse than when I was pushing a pencil as a proofreader. Hugs to you, dear!
hey, sweetie! I saw that photo of you rockin’ that burnt orange metallic – gorgeous!!!
I’m not a fan of overlong nails – about the length of mine (and that model’s) is about right for me.
we’re both mending, though mine will probably be with me until the Killing Frost because of Harvest, which exacerbates this thing. In the meantime, lots of Claritin.
xoxoxo
My nails are so awful — brittle, ridged, weak, plus both big toenails are infected. I’ve given up! I only polish them maybe once or twice a year, because why?
I hope U no have plague. 🙁
you should try the NG, H. Serious! World Serious. I dunno HOW this ended up in my life – but I am damb glad it did. The EOs in there will help with the toenail infection, too! It’s 90% EOs, starting with Tea Tree.
I hope I no haz the plague, too! Luckily I had this last year (not on the back but on my shoulder and left armpit) right about now – Harvest Season.
So. More Seasonal Plague. 😉
xoxoxo
My nails are almost always polished and usually in bright colors/multichromes/thermals. I would bet I only have about 25 pinks and reds total in my entire collection and the ones I actually wear tend to be neons or a few creams from Cirque Colors. I work in a vet clinic so you can imagine all the hand washing and chemicals, plus my gardening and car restoration on the weekends. My nails seem to benefit from having polish on to protect them. I do use a strengthener (original Nail Envy) beneath my polish primer, and always wrap my tips with every layer as I polish to be sure of longer wear. I tend to get 5 days wear on average and usually want a change by then anyway.
wow! Just. WOW! Mine would look like ragged dogs! Or…maybe not! I garden with the NG and it seems to hold up.
xoxoxoxo
but ‘only’ 25? I can’t imagine! I don’t think of mine as a collection – more a hodgepodge of stuff I buy that I already have 😉
My nails have ridges which makes polish a definite no. I also pick at them so they grow a bit, I pick at them and it all goes round and round! I don’t like them but boy is it a hard habit to break. I will paint toes in the summer though!
I need to find some helpful nail products.
March used the NG because she had both a ridge AND a split nail. I dunno what/how/why – but it works!
(and no affiliation, sweatergawd. Just a PSA)
xoxoxo
I swear that I have a million nail polishes, mostly from OPI. My nails are weak and they peel as well but doesn’t stop me from trying to do my nails. My staples are An Affair in Red Square and Danakey Red from OPI. Current favorites are Icelanded a bottle of OPI and a Little Guilt Under the Kilt.
try the Nail Guardian – sweatergawd, it works!
xoxoxo
I almost never do polish on my finger nails because it draws my attention to them too much, and I start picking at it the moment it’s not perfect. Ugh! Love doing my toenails though. Our hot weather means many months of sandal weather. I stick with the classics: hot fuchsia pink, red, silver metallic, maybe a bubblegum pink. However, this Saturday I’m going to a wedding, and I’m thinking of painting my finger nails. Love those YNBB colors on your nails Anita, they look super!
thanks! I love YNBB because it’s very forgiving! xoxoxoxo
My dream is to go where “Diane” went in Twin Peaks The Return….chevron pattern nails al the the Mauve Room. I want to be a Tulpa, but I have neuropathy in my right hand from chemotherapy and do not have the coordination to replicate those nails! I do indulge in a great product to keep them in great condition oil ~ CMD Solar Oil. At least they look neat and in great condition!!
that’s all that matters, imo – that they look great and are in great condition. AND that you are post-chemo!!!
xoxoxo
I love that your dad sent you that postcard. Very funny XX
Before my nails were very messy, just from the use of this thing, it is a big difference, you can look at my nails now
http://systore.ebcoo.net/product/korean-fancy-chic/
String nails, no polish ever. Annoying. Plus I am not allowed to wear it as I spend most of my waking hours making cookie dough. However my toes and feet are very cared for and I always have the nails polished. Always. xxx
*strong ?
I envy you! And yes, on the no-polish because baking – always wondered about serious baking contestants who have long, painted nails…..kinda weird.
xoxoxoA
Loved your father’s card and remark! I have had strong nails that grow like weeds all my life. Then recently I started to get hooked on gel manicures and my nails started to weaken. I decided to go back to my old standby Essie Limo-scene, which is a whitish pale pink color that I have worn for years and lasts a full week on me despite my typing long documents on the computer every day at work. To me the base coat is what counts to keep regular nail polish lasting. I use Nail Hardener by Quimica Alemana LTDA. I am only getting a gel when I need it to last for two weeks for practical reasons.
My bfffe was a gel-girl, but it practically ruined her nails. So she’s off gel, on Nail Guardian…. and we eagerly await the results!
xoxoxo
My nails get fairly long and then they crack, right below the skin line. I like polish on my toes. I just can’t make it on my hands. Never seems to last and chips.
try the Nail Guardian – March and I both had a continually split nail , with the nail growing but the split staying- I jammed a bit of it into the nail bed (it’s all essential oils, so I could do that). Took a while but the split healed. xoxoxo
I usually do my own nails because I’m so very picky about shaping & the local gals don’t understand “rounded ovals.” Best thing to keep a mani looking good is a great topcoat – Seche Vite. Glob it on lavishly while the “paint” is still wet. My at-home manis go chip-free for about 5-7 days. I work, forget to use gloves when I wash dishes, and type a lot. Gel manis last too long – my nails grow fast & I don’t like the bare-around-the-cuticle look. MNBB, pastel colors & jewel tones are all good.
As a child, I was a serious biter. Away at school when I was 13, my father sent me a card with a pic of the Venus de Milo, The inside greeting? “I kept telling you. Stop biting your nails!”
what a great card!!! and I have a bottle of Seche Vite – need to try it! xoxoxo
No nails, here….I bit them terribly as a child and as a result, even though I no longer bite them, they look stumpy and will forever. Soooo, instead I chew on my cuticles, making them look even worse. And I’ve Given up ever changing, at this point…but! I now realize that my life wouldn’t have been one whit ‘better’ had I been able to grow long, lovely nails. C’est la vie…
To change the subject slightly…I love your writing style…the perfect dry wit! Thanks for sharing, in all ways!
LOL! You’re right about life not being one whit better – I am still beset on the daily – but now I’m beset with beautiful nails!
xoxoxo (and thanks for the compliment on my writing – means a lot!)
I wore nail polish for years, loved it, had a huge collection, then my nails got damaged and weak from all the chemicals so I stopped and then just never started again. My nails have always been super strong and thick and grow like weeds. I actually cut them off with nail clippers every few weeks because I like them short. My mother sighs in exasperation because I cut them down to the quick. She wishes she had my nails. Hers are soft and break. Wish I could give them to her!
Oh, hersh! 😉 you sound like March, with the talons! 😉
xoxoxoA
I don’t even bother. I love it. I love color and glitter. But it lasts a day on me. I have a horse and chip it off at the barn working. I also bite my nails and usually have none. And, now in perimenopause with low iron, they break. I tried vitamins. I tried strengtheners. Nothing worked. Maybe I will try this.
Gina – see my comment above – this is AMAZING stuff (and no affiliation here – just …dayum, it works!)
xoxoxo
I cannot keep nail polish on my fingernails. I don’t know how people do it. Mine are quite soft, but still. Within hours it has started to chip. In a day it looks bad enough it MUST come off. Not for me (I do garden, ride horses, and wrangle dogs along with typing all day so this may not help).
Toenails now that I can do. I love anything with sparkle in it, the more sparkle the better. 😉 Love wiggling my toes in the summer and watching the light dance.
I had the persack same issues (minus the horses) – which is why I’m so STUNNED at the results of that Nail Guardian.
You should try it – it’s an non-oily oil, so it absorbs into the nail quickly.
Btw – NO affiliation. This is a PSA Posse Service Announcement
xoxoxo