diane discusses the fine art of doing one's nails.
The quote of the day:
The Rock Experience.
Running news:
Slept in. More sleep does not equal a happier Di, though. Gah.
- My nails look fabulous--did I just have them done? and
- The color is amazing--what is it?
I do my own nails these days. Mostly because I'm too lazy to go get a manicure. Also, I can do my nails as I sit at the 'puter, which is 14 hours out of any day, and any time I can do anything in front of the computer rather than go somewhere else, I'm likely to be there doing it.
I scrub my nails with a nail brush and soap, then I push back the cuticles a little. I rarely snip my cuticles, mostly because I usually dig too deep. Also, I guess I have non-intrusive cuticles, because I've never felt the need to snip them back, except when I'm bored.
Then I paint my nails in 4 coats:
- bottom coat of Nailtiques, the nail protein that is pretty much responsible for the reconstruction of my nails. It's expensive--something like $17 for .5 fl. oz.--but totally worth it.
- a coat of color.
- another coat of color.
- a top coat of a glossy clear polish. Usually this is Sally Hansen's Tough as Nails, another nail hardening product that's pretty cheap and seals very nicely.
I wait a long time between coats, because otherwise the polish remains wet and I get little streaks of polish all over my keyboard.
I went back to using color instead of using clear polish only because during the fated trip to Baltimore I started picking and nibbling at my nails again (who wouldn't have? I ask you), which ruined 5 out of 10 nails. The only truly effective way I've found to keep myself from ripping at my nails is to use color. My mother thinks it's because the color reminds me of blood; I think it's just because the color catches my eye and reminds me that I shouldn't do that.
Also, colored nail polish tastes really icky, much ickier than clear polish.
Going back to color has helped me regrow the 5 nails that I attacked. The other 5 are getting so long--my left pinky keeps hitting the Caps Lock key--I'll have to clip them again. I cannot tell you what a remarkable statement that is for me, because I bit my nails nonstop for something akin to 15 years, usually down to the quick and even beyond. My cuticles would bleed I bit so far down. I remember the tips of my fingers hurting because I'd bit the nails down so far.
The color polish I use is MAC Vino. It's a deep red, pretty much what I'd call "the color of dried blood," not that I've ever seen much dried blood around. Actually, I saw quite a bit of it on Greg two and a half years ago, and dried blood is quite a bit darker than this color. So this nail polish is the color of blood from the vein, not arterial blood, which tends to bright red, and I'll stop discussing this right now.
I love MAC cosmetics, which is a strong statement from someone who rarely uses cosmetics. I first read about MAC in Vanity Fair, in an article about cosmetics of the stars because I am, after all, easily influenced by what those in Hollywood do, say, and wear. I decided to check MAC out, hoping that using these cosmetics would instantaneously turn me into a beautiful, glamorous Hollywood bunny.
Well, that didn't happen (obviously), but I did like the cosmetics anyhow. The lipstick is wonderful--it stays on for a long time and it doesn't have that overpowering, cloying scent so many lipsticks do. I can't say anything definitive about their powder and blush, other than they stay on and they look pretty nice. (I don't wear powder and blush often, so I can't really make any comparisons for you on that one.)
And their nail polish--well, I get compliments all the time on it. And I've been recommending MAC vino so often these days I feel the company owes me a kickback.
I'll take it in more nail polish, please.
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Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com