Barbie Would be Jealous: My Experience With Gel Nails

As a 21st birthday present my sister and mum took me for a treat at a local salon called Lasting Touch, and I decided to give fake nails a go. What harm could it be? 

I've worn tacky fake nails that you stick on for a night out a few times in the past. Throughout the night they ping off in people's faces, then by the morning you're left with three which fall off as you drag yourself out of bed. You'll later find these wastes of a pound strewn across your room, probably for weeks to come in fact. I stopped wearing them because I thought I was wasting money, and I suppose fake nails applied at a salon are a bit too...

For starters, can I just say a huge thanks to all the lovely ladies at Lasting Touch. I've been there before and my sister's been a few times and they are all just the most lovely and welcoming women. My sister and mum had wonderful back massages whilst I got my nails done and my niece had a mini-mani involving glitter and gemstones!

I was bemused by how much went into a gel manicure. Obviously being a fake nail virgin I hadn't realised the effort and time it takes. My sister thought I'd be hanging around whilst they were still getting massages but it was quite the opposite. I sat chatting away with everyone whilst layer upon layer was applied, moving my hands alternatively out and back under UV lights. I immediately considered that I probably should have researched it more.

I went for French tips because I've always quite liked them, and the end result of my fake nails was brilliant. I was really pleased with them and my sister and mum said they looked great, but as soon as I had them on I considered that I probably wouldn't be getting them again in the future. I realised fake nails are just not me. Some people look amazing and entirely normal with their fake nails on all the time, but I just feel, I guess, fake. And here was the finished result:

So, here are the pros and cons I discovered over the two and a half weeks I had them on...

Pros:
- I can get toast out the toaster like a pro
- I have an excuse not to wash up if there's no rubber gloves about
- I'm also a pro at getting cupcakes out the cake tins
- I'm every cats favourite scratcher - especially behind the ears. Got kitties purring for more.
- These bad boys really won't ping off in anyone's face

Cons:

- My first thought was 'I hope I can get a nail technicians note to get me extenuating circumstances for my dissertation, 'cause damn these are hard to type with' It took me about 4 days to get used to the nails and stop typing like a 70 year old
- Apparently, the fact that every computer has a different sized keyboard means that the learning process of typing with nails begins again each time you have a different keyboard in front of you
- THE PAIN. Oh my gosh, the pain when you catch your nail on something is intense. One of my fingers felt bruised
- By day 16 my hair was taking a bit of a beating. The nails had begun to peel off and every time I ran my fingers through my hair a few strands would get caught under them
- When the nails come off your fingers immediately look like chubby little sausages
- When your nails start to grow they look a bit weird. I'm glad I went for French tips because it wasn't all that noticeable!
- I was a little naughty and removed my nails myself...and this has caused my nails to look pretty battered and beaten. It got to the point where my nails were catching my hair too often and one nail had managed to ping off itself (the one I'd really bashed against something in the first week). Wondering round with a nail missing wasn't the best of looks, and removing them myself possibly wasn't the best idea!

In all honesty, as each day went by I liked my nails more and more. They made my fingers look long and slender, even when I looked slobby at least my hands looked glam and they gave me that extra bit of sass (okay I don't have any sass so they just plain gave me a lil' sass).

Whilst initially I felt they weren't me at all, they really grew on me and I came to like them, though I have to say that I do still stand by the original thought I had when I first got them. They are beautiful, BUT they do damage your nails, they cost more money than I can afford and if you have lots of essays and a dissertation to write, they seriously affect your typing speed - which with deadlines approaching, I really need.

MissIsGoode

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