NewThing #59--21st Century Manicure

I have NEVER had any luck with fingernail polish. Usually it's chipped within an hour of the time I apply it. I've tried cheap polish and expensive polish, retail-store brands and home party brands; nothing lasts. I've decided that as long as my nails are relatively the same length, and don't catch on anything, that's good enough. The only polish I currently have on hand is clear, and that's for stopping runs in nylons and dabbing on the occasional chigger bite in the summer.

However, today I was fascinated by a product I saw at my local Walgreens. I bought and applied dry nail appliqué to my fingernails.

There was a range of colors. I decided to go with "Yellow Bikini" (a bright yellow), both for the "wow" factor, and the fact that today seemed almost springlike. The package pretty much had everything I needed--in addition to the color strips, there was a small nail file, a small cuticle stick, and even remover for taking the appliqués off. The directions seemed easy enough--pick out the strip that's closest to your nail size, remove it from its backing and plastic cover, place on your nail and rub till it's attached, then file off the extra at the tip of the nail. However, the actual application didn't go as easily. I have really fat fingers (with wide nails on them), and there weren't enough wide strips in the package. I was forced to "cut and paste" the strips on my thumbs, which looked really tacky. The other thing I noticed was that the strips tended to be really bumpy down at my cuticle. As much care as I give the cuticles, they're never completely pushed back and smooth.

Here's a picture of my newly-appliquéd nails:


I accessorized my yellow nails with jeans, a stylin' blue blazer, blue shoes and earrings that had yellow, blue, and red beads. The appliqués are supposed to last for 14 days. I made it to work and back home without any chips. That's probably a new record for me!