Ally Saetta : Review: Nails

Manicure/Pedicure

Okay, so what you will need to know about me before you continue is that i was born into my mothers arms with manicured nails and since then i have devoted my life to keeping my nails in perfect condition. HOKAY slight exaggeration, but since around year 8 i have been going to the nail salon to get my nails done. Ridiculous. In fact, if i have a daughter and at the age of 13 she tells me she spends >£20 per month on her nails, i will point her to the boots section of "Nail Varnishes" and tell her to STFU. I have without a doubt spent too much money on the upkeep of my nails (and, less frequently, my toes), but it's now something that is the norm. I dont think of my nail appointments as "pamper sessions", i think of them as normal activities i must do. Maybe that makes me spoilt, and maybe that has contributed to my perfectionist- mentality that has been ingrained, but either way it makes me one hell of a knowledgable person when it comes to nails.

-Bio Sculpture

-Acrylics

-Powdered gel

-Gel from a run down shop in Mile End/Bow that wasn't even Gel but it was something thick and plastic that ran on the end of my nails, destroying whatever excuse of a nail i had underneath

- OPI, China Glaze nail varnishes

-Stick on nails for fancy dress

- Shellac (current)

- Gellish (like shellac, but in my opinion not as good)

YUP MY NAILS ARE WHORES when it comes to being around the world that is a "Manicure".

Here is a brief review on my experiences

Biosculpture : This is very natural. Almost so natural you think, why did i pay around £30 for something that looks just like nail varnish, that i have to GO BACK TO THE SALON to either get infilled or taken off (requires special nail stuff to remove) AND PAY MONEY for that to happen. Still, i stuck with it for a number of years because it was all i knew, and i was at school so i needed something that wasn't going to get me sent to the headmasters office (even though i was a frequent visitor due to the length of my school skirt and makeup). This does, however, start to peel/lift after about a week, so this "lasts 3 week" thing perhaps applies to people who walk around with gloves on all day and never wash/use their hands.

Acrylics: Ah man, i loved my acrylics. I loved that if you wanted them to look plasticy you could get them thick, and if you didn't you could get them thinner and shorter. I knew every time i had them done my nails were dying, but i didn't care. they LASTED 4 weeks, so i didn't have to deal with the guilt of destroying my innocent nails often, and they looked damn good. To be honest, the time nowadays have become much more into promoting the natural look. There was a time when the Barbie look was in, and almost every girl was orange with peroxide hair, but now natural beauty is much more appreciated (to probably every man's relief). So, like i said i would get them infilled once a month, and then after about 4 months i would get them taken off and redone as a fresh set. This went on for about 5 years. It cost me £22 each time i got it done. On 2 occasions the tears of my nails got to my conscience, and i did try to go back to biosculpture but then went straight back to acrylics. This was because my nails were very short and very thin and bendy from the acrylic-damage, so the biosculpture looked sh*t on them. I also may aswell add, i always liked the square shape and not the pointy look that celebrities like Rihanna wear (i like it on other people, just not on me)

Acrylics

My stuck on nails from Boots for fancy dress: last less than 4 hours.

Gellish: This is glossy nail paint that lasts - in my case- 10 days. I only tried it because i wanted a red glittery colour for christmas and the Shellac range my nail salon didn't have glitter. I wasn't impressed. I was told it was the equivalent of Shellac, but it was most definitely not. It may look similar, but it doesn't last as long. You pay the same, but for a lower quality. I gave it 2 chances, and returned to Shellac.

Gellish Range

Shellac: OH I LOVE MY SHELLAC. I have so much appreciation for whoever invented Shellac. These saved my nails. They were damaged from acrylics and i couldn't realistically go from nice, polished acrylics to weak, short, flimsy nails. I had to remove my acrylics because of my Uni degree, but i was very tempted after i saw my natural nails to just go back to acrylics because Nails > Uni (i am joking but also kind of not). These are fairly thick and glossy and with these on your nails do not break. The ONE bad thing i will say, however, is when they chip a little, which they do after 8 days (EVEN JUST A TINY LITTLE), the nail that isn't protected by the Shellac does chip along with it. Nevertheless, it does exactly what it says on the tin. The colours are very cute and there is a very big range in colour choice. I found that some people find it only lasts a week, which shocks me, and makes me think that maybe it depends on the person doing it aswell. For me, i will get MILD chipping after the 1st week, but usually i get them redone between 2-3 weeks. I don't mind this because i enjoy the half hour relaxation it takes. My appointments are usually over and done with in half an hour, whereas acrylics took around 50 minutes which i found boring as hell, mainly because you have to sit and wait for the nail polish to dry over the acrylics. With Shellac you use a lamp (10 seconds- 1st coat- 120 seconds- 2nd coat- 120 seconds) and vwala they are dry. Perfect for impatient people like myself. After about 8 months i feel my nails are back to their pre-acrylic state, due to the help of Shellac, and now i am a commited shellac user, i.e. im not really looking for the "next best thing"- if it aint broke don't fix it, and my nails aint broken ;).