I never understood how women could keep a manicure for more than a day. Within hours mine is chipped, smudged, peeling, sad. Even though in L.A. there are so many places that give a mani-pedi for $20 (I include this detail because an out-of-towner was shocked to hear this was the going rate), it feels like a waste of money.
So I let myself go. The cuticles curling up at the edges and snagging. Nails rippling in strange unshaped directions. My nails are soft, and when they get too long some of them start to bend over the tips of my fingers. It is inelegant.
I always notice a manicure, which makes me certain that other people notice my unkept hands. Faced with an impromptu high school reunion last weekend, I decided that something had to be done. In fact, I’ve been so busy that the only time I left myself for beautification was during the 90-minute drive to my home town. I gave myself a manicure in the car, while the husband drove. And lo, it was beautiful.
And lo, it has lasted. The trick to keeping the paint pristine is three-fold.
1. Refuse to do dishes.
2. Or clean the tub.
3. Follow the tips in this Petit Elefant tutorial on how to do a manicure at home.
I only recalled one thing she says to do, the key step. I was in the passenger seat of a car hurtling through space at 72 miles per hour on California’s stretch of bumpy infrastructure called the 10 Freeway. I moisturized, clipped cuticles, hastily filed an emery board back and forth, stopped at In-N-Out for a cheeseburger, washed my hands, twice, and here it is the beauty truc: I swabbed nail polish remover over each nail before painting to strip the nail of natural oils. I did not have rubbing alcohol, but since nail polish remover is mostly alcohol it was a fine substitute. I am convinced that is the reason my manicure still looks beautiful many days later. After that it was two coats of this stunning Navy Baby lacquer from Sally Hansen, a clear top coat, and trying not to be a maniac for at least 15 minutes while it dried. I cleaned the smurf marks off my skin with an orange stick and cotton dipped in nail polish remover.
Also, this brand features a flat applicator brush, crescent-shaped at the ends like the shape of nail beds. Smart. I am hooked on the deep blue color. It makes wearing nail polish feel less girly and more badass. If you are a person who knows me in everyday life, expect to see these navy babies for a while.
P.S. After writing this, I went to dinner with a friend. Somehow I came home with a chipped manicure. So there it is, a few days and done. Time to repaint.
P.P.S. Many of you thought that my New Years post sounded confident and ambitious, that was the idea. However, I have given myself more work than I can gracefully accomplish while maintaining three, soon to be four, blogs. I have not had time for creative cooking or gardening or anything that merits being described here. I have a few more posts to try to write while I catch up on life. Alicia, I promised a chicken liver pate recipe. It takes 10 minutes to make, so hopefully you will see that here soon! In the meantime, follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks!
