Nail Talk

The offending candy pink.

After a long year and a half, my nails have fully recovered from its 10-year long trauma with acrylic, shellac and gellish/gelish coats. Imagine, to my horror, when over a month, every nail broke even with its coat of acrylic 'protection'. It was time to do something about it. That 'perfect manicured look' had to go.

For some reason, the appearance and health of my nails are terribly important in the scheme of girlie things. Back to basics it is. So begun the long process of healing. Never again will I slap on the artificial tops to deprive the natural nails of breathing.

Nails have been chopped short. They've been naked for a long while now. Practical for parkour. I've almost forgotten how strong my natural nails are. And really, they don't need the gloss coats. For the longest while, I felt odd without painted nails. But now, I've gotten used to seeing them naked. Regular varnish will do the job if colors are necessary. Bought a stash of nail polish for the days between salon visits to  brush on coats on my own, if I can be bothered. I still don't own a nail clipper.

The other day, from some unconscious stream of stress, I nearly threw a fit when I realized the sales executive packed one wrong color of varnish among the bottles. Instead of stuffing them away in the drawer like I usually do, a particular bottle was opened to try it on. But it was dark, and I was in a hurry, so I didn't really notice the shade. I flipped when daylight revealed the actual shade to be a CANDY PINK. Tried to convince myself that it was okay. But it wasn't. The more I stared at it in sunlight, the more annoying it became. I was really puzzled. I'd never have picked this 'Mica Rose' on my own accord. But the name of the other color escaped me. Hate all these stupid names. I only knew that it wasn't possible for me to have chosen this shade. It must have been another. Back at the store, discovered it was supposed to have been 'Jade Rose' I had picked out. GRRRRRR. Yes, that's the color.

See the vast difference in colors even in yellow lighting? 'Mica Rose' is to the left.

But I did no such thing like yelling at the sales executive. Luckily, the error was discovered fast, the price labels and receipts were still intact, and it wasn't too inconvenient to head back for an exchange. The sales executive was mortified and promptly swopped it for me, but not without making me fill up 2 silly forms as "part of their exchange policy".

I like my nails to be in brown, beige, rose smoke and neutral. Other hues simply make me squirm. Rouge noir is fine. Even a deep metallic red is okay. Electric blue and dark blues are awesome. Perhaps even olive and ultra marine green. Shimmery varnish is ideal for home painting when steady hands are lacking. Leave the matte finishes to the practised hands. So 3 bottles of nail polish at home are more than enough to last the year; for quick fixes and emergency touch-ups. My nail technician holds the identical colors (and more) at the shop. :P  Nowadays, I've no qualms ripping a fresh manicure on an uneven wall and a better grip during parkour.

The dependable trio, even if it's a tad boring.