Perfect Pink Gel Coat

Perfect Pink Gel Coat
$30 

The only time I ever had gorgeous, glossy, chip free nails, is when I broke down and got a "gel manicure". Oh, how I loved not fretting over spending the time and money on  a fresh manicure, only to look like a street urchin, within a day or two.

Sadly, the process wreaked havoc on  my nails.  After a few months, my once granite hard nails, were as thin and slight as rice paper.  It took a year for them to return to normal.

Last week, after 6 months of wearing barely there pinks, like Essie's Sugar Daddy, I thought it would be nice to switch it up and go for a little cuh-lah.  They were glorious for a few hours...What I want to know is how they could possible have chipped while I was sleeping.

Really???  Ugggghhh!!!!

I tried to patch them with a coat of sheer and a similar shade that had emulsified into a goopy mess in the 3 years it has resided in my medicine cabinet.  Honestly, they looked like awful. I removed all the polish and did the unthinkable and polished them myself with Salma Hayek Blush Peony Nail Lacquer... suffice to say, at least they looked tidy.

Today while doing a Sephora run, I stumbled upon a product in the checkout aisle that I never heard of, Perfect Pink Gel Coat.  I wasn't crazy about the price point, 30 bucks seemed steep, but I loved the promise of what it might be able to do for my nails.

Back to Basics: Salma Hayek Blush Peony Nail Lacquer

Salma Hayek Blush Peony Nail Lacquer
$5.99 Exclusively at CVS

When I was kid, I bit my nails. It drove my Mother batty.  She begged, pleaded and bribed.  The latter, naturally was the ticket to my giving up my first vice. When they did grow I was blessed with nails that grew quickly and were hard as granite.

Mostly, they are still, but they are always at their best when I faithfully use Nailtiques #2 as a base coat and several times a week as a top coat.

I once dabbled with a "permanent French manicure", a look I loved, but  that ultimately left my nails as thin as rice paper. Gel Manicures also left my nails weaker, so I've stuck with a traditional once a week manicure, which sadly, begins looking tattered by day three.

Not pretty.