Gels

Well, if you follow me on Twitter you know I became an advocate of the new "no chip" manicure (aka gels) overnight. I have NEVER, ever had any desire to get acrylic nails. They look WONDERFUL on others, they are just not for me. However, as soon as I started reading about gels I became intrigued as they seemed much more similar to a normal manicure. I inquired when getting my weekly manicure some time ago and to my excitement my manicurist informed me she was trying to get our salon to order gels. Lo and behold they arrived just before my Greenbrier trip! I choose Hawaiian Orchid the first time around, and while I loved the shade of pink I was hoping for something a tad brighter. So, this past week I decided on Strawberry Margarita (a classic OPI that mother and I have LOVED for years) even before arriving at the salon on Monday. Here is the end result:

I could not be any more happy with my choice. Taffi did a fabulous job! The best part about gels is that they last for 2 to 3 weeks. Yes, you read that correctly- I only have to go in once, sometimes twice, a month now. In fact, I will post a photo every six or seven days so you can see for yourself... we will flashback to 4th grade and this can be a Monograms and Manicures "science" experiment!

The actual manicure takes a bit longer as the gel has to "set" on your nails, but after an hour you leave the salon with rock hard nails. Now, I do have to say I would NOT recommend gels for anyone that does not want to go to the salon continuously. They are extremely difficult to take off in my opinion, even though it only requires soaking and filing (it is just somewhat time consuming). I have heard that they might also weaken some nails so that is also something to consider when thinking about switching. However, I am a HUGE fan and am not sure I will ever be switching back. The extra 30 minute add-on is worth the wait and you cannot beat having perfect nails for 20 days! Three cheers for gels!