
4 MINUTE READ
It’s shallow I know, but don’t you just feel better when your nails are done. Having nice, shiny, un-
chipped nails makes me feel like a proper lady. My hands look like someone else’s when I am gell-ed up and for the first day or two I fiddle with paper clips and drum my fingers, just to get a quick swatch of them. They are somehow thinner, younger, and look like they might be able to dash off a piano concerto during the lunch break.

Fiddling with a paperclip with my lovely nails
It’s not getting gel nails on that’s the problem – that’s a pretty relaxing experience – it’s keeping them on. There’s something about my genetic make-up (perhaps medical science would have a look at this, when they’ve sorted out the more pressing issues) that makes nails gel nails ping off after just a few days, or worse still, half peel off (generally on the second day of a holiday to a nail-bar-free part of the world), so I end up with six perfect looking nails, a couple of stripy ones and a couple of dried out, ridged ones – the sort of nails that make beautiful young nailtician (not sure that’s right) smile gorgeously and say, oh don’t worry that’s just age.
So then I trot off back to the salon where the nailitician (really not sure that’s right) takes a horrible metal implement and starts scrapping off the gel while I involuntary grimace and over-salivate, as I picture layers of my actual nails being scraped off.

Manicure for the long sighted
These days I limit gels to holidays, birthdays and Christmas. But when you only get gel nails a few times a year picking the colour becomes one of life’s major life decisions. I try to be grown up and go red for Christmas, nude for spring and coral for holidays but I can’t help but be side-tracked by the sparkly one you can stick stars on or the lovely new chalky-lime one….I’ve had nailticians standing out in the street painting on a rainbow of colours and sticking various spots and glittery bits on my nails, so I can check in daylight if the colours work with my skin tone. They rarely do.
Between gels, I occasionally give myself a DIY manicure but it’s really boring and I need my reading specs on, which I can never find, and I don’t have patience to sit for an hour and a half while the polish dries s-l-o-w-l-y. So most of the time I give them a quick file, then paint on Opi Nail Envy which is an inoffensive pale pink nail strengthener, which even if you smudge or splodge onto your skin, doesn’t look too bad – or maybe that’s because I can’t find my reading specs.
THE END
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Jill,
I’m hardly ever without gel nails!!! Dark colours in winter (hide the dirt from gardening 😂) greys in spring and autumn and orange in summer!!
Loving your blog. Lx
Author
Hey Lynn lovely to hear from you and thanks for your feedback. Delighted to know you’re enjoying the blog. Gels do my nails in but I love them. LIke the sound of your colour combo!! JX
Love getting my nails done!
Author
Well you can’t beat a Pauline Pedi x