When I was younger, I enjoyed having my nails painted. I guess I was too rough because the polish was perfect for about an hour. Because of this, I was never one to pay for manicures because I knew I was wasting my money. I would occasionally paint my own nails, but as a right-handed person, my left hand looked decent. My right hand looked pretty bad since I had to paint it with my left hand. Pretty bad is being a little generous. It was a hot mess!
Enter the gel polish manicure.
I discovered this miracle when I moved to Atlanta a few years ago. One of my favorite stores is The Limited. Three stores down from The Limited at Perimeter Mall is Nail Premier. While they don't have great reviews online, I've always had good experiences. For the last five or six months, I've gotten the same guy when I get my nails done. He does a good job and seems very interested in how long my polish lasts. He'll call over other employees so he can show off his work.
Back to The Limited...
One day after completing a shopping excursion, I decided to stop by Nail Premier and get a manicure. They had a special for a gel manicure, so I told them to go for it! I got a French manicure the first time because I figured that was pretty safe. I don't remember exactly how long it lasted, but I think it was at least two weeks. At that point, I was hooked.
I like for my fingers and toes to match, so I was introduced to Lechat's Perfect Match line of gel polish.
My favorite Perfect Match color is Fizzy Apple. It's a classic red and looks nice on my hands. I have very pale skin and this color works well with it.
I like it so much that I ordered my own Fizzy Apple set from Amazon.com.
While ordering Fizzy Apple, I discovered Jack Rose. It's a peachy, coral color. It's a great color for spring and summer. I always have either Fizzy Apple or Jack Rose on my nails.
Prior to Sunday, my last manicure was four weeks ago. Gel polish is supposed to last two weeks. I can get mine to last three, but that's because "the gap" doesn't bother me. As your nails grow, a gap develops between the polish and your cuticle. Depending on how fast your nails grow and the polish color, the gap can be very noticeable after a couple of weeks.
The four week gap was awful. I don't have any photos of the gap, but it was big. I even had to trim my nails because they were getting so long. Oddly enough, there were no chips in the polish. This stuff is awesome!
This is what my nails look like when they are freshly manicured:
This makes me smile.
Time wise, I don't have a lot of spare time these days, but my manicures are something I will work in. Pretty nails make me happy, so it's worth it to me. The cost is also something to consider. I pay $66 including tip each time I get my nails done. This includes a pedicure with regular polish and a manicure with gel polish. This is about $15 to $20 more than a regular main/pedi combo. It's still worth it in my opinion since my nails are flawless for two to three weeks.
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