So we all know another shutdown is on the horizon and we’re going to have beauty problems again.  For me, feeling like a diva goddess when I’m stuck at home helps my psyche, so if my hair is going to look like a bird’s nest, I’m not letting my nails look like I was stuck under a rock for three months.  If you’re planning ahead like me, I’ve got you covered.

I’ve tried some options to keep my nails from looking like Shrek and this is what I’ve come up with.  If you’re a polish type of gal, I suggest the Dazzle Dry System. What I love the most is that Dazzle Dry is free of harsh chemicals, it’s hypoallergenic, non-toxic, and cruelty free.  If that doesn’t impress you, how about the 7 days of chip free nails?  I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve purchased nail polish after hearing it was chip free for 7 days but after day 4 was a total disastrous ugly little lie! I’m happy to report that this one lived up to my expectations and continues to make me very happy.

There are 4 steps to this nail system, all clearly marked on the bottles with a 1, 2, 3, and 4.  Bottle number 1 is the nail prep, which is a simple swipe of the nails with a cotton ball.  While I was doing the swiping, I was getting the number 2 ready by dunking the closed bottle in a glass of very hot water until the foggy substance inside melted. I’m not sure what that’s all about, but I’m going to assume everything works together to make it stay on for 7 days.

After number 2 was done in the hot water, I applied one coat to each nail.  Next was  bottle 3, which is the color coat.  With over 130 colors to choose from, there’s something for everyone, so I went with a grayish taupe. I used two coats as instructed, the color was very matte and dried pretty quickly.  The last step is the top coat, bottle 4, and that’s when the magic happens!  The matte turns to a high shine and the polish dries to the touch in under 3 minutes.  If you paint inside the lines correctly, which is hard for me to do, it looks like you’ve got on gel nails.  The only drawback is that Dazzle Dry is a little pricey.  The starter pack, which is called the system, is $65 and the colors are $18, but I compared that with the cost of gel nails and it’s actually cheaper in the long run.

If you aren’t into polish, I have a great alternative; nail decals.  There are several brands but my favorite are Dashing Diva brand and you can find them at Ulta, Sally’s, or their website under the tab “gloss”  (I did a post on nail decals a few years back with the brand Incoco, and while I still like those, I love this brand better, they’re much easier to work with because they’re thicker so they don’t rip.)

The reason I love them is because if you apply them correctly, your nails look perfectly manicured as if you went to the salon and had them professionally done.  I also love that they have sassy accent nails in each pack so you can play around with the different patterns and place them wherever you want.  I tend to have about 6 or 7 packs at a time and when they are all picked through, I create my own masterpiece with all the leftover colors and patterns for even extra value.

Let’s start with the application.  I’ve played with these for months and the best way to apply them is to pick a decal that is slightly smaller than the actual nail.  The reason for this is because when you file them down, it’s easier to file the overhang at the tip of the nail, if the decal starts creeping over to the sides and cuticles it can get tricky.  Trust me on this, if it’s bigger than the nail or even the same size it’s a nightmare to file.  After you find the size you need, start at the nail bed and eyeball it by placing it on the nail as close to the nail bed as possible (you can stick, pull off, and reapply if it’s not in the right spot) once you get it in the right spot, firmly press down on the decal from the nail bed to the tip of your nail with your thumb. Repeat that motion (Pushing down and sliding your thumb from the bed to the tip) a few times to ensure you have a proper stick.

Next, fold the edge over the nail so it sticks to your finger a little and then it’s ready to be filed off.  File the edge of the nail in a downward motion so that it doesn’t flip up. Once the overhang is detached, you’re good to go.  After I apply all the decals, I top it with a clear coat and viola, it’s done!  I use Seche Vive Gel Effect Top Coat from Amazon and that seems to be the one I find works best.  If you want to play around with different top coats, make sure it doesn’t cause the edges to come up around the cuticle.  I found that to be the case with the fast drying ones, even the Dazzle Dry top coat wasn’t a good fit.

One thing I want to mention, if they aren’t filed precisely, they can flip up at the tip. This happened to me last week; I was putting on my yoga pants and one of the decals stuck to the fabric and came up. When I pushed the decal down, I noticed it was slightly longer than my nail but I had to look really hard to see it (I refuse to wear readers, I’m not ready to open that can of smelly worms yet!) so my advice on that is this:  Usually after I’ve applied them, at the end of my night when I’m winding down, I’ll sit with my file and lightly file down the edges. I eyeball the nail on the side at eye level to see if there are any overhangs or tiny parts that I didn’t file off correctly the first time.  8 times out of 10, I’ll find something to file off that I thought was perfect about 5 hours prior.  They’ll work the best and stay on the longest if you have no overhang.

My pro tip: the first few days, if anything looks or feels like it’s coming up, rub it back down very firmly and it should stay.  This works because of the heat from your finger when you rub so don’t give up!  If you’ve put them on properly, I promise this works so don’t ruin all of your hard work because they’re being little devils and not sticking!  Lastly, since there are extra decals in the pack, it’s easy to replace one or two if you need to, this makes the manicure last even longer!

♥