Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[RGbrown]

A quick deal at Orly! Their Futurism collection is now $35, and code CP10 will take another $10 off. Shipping is $4.99 (or free at $40, I believe, but I read this deal is limited to 50 sets, so I didn't bother wasting time to fill my cart up 😋 )

orlybeauty dot com/pages/deal-drops-2022

[Saradestin]

Thank you for always keeping us informed about all sales out there @RGbrown ! I am being very targeted now trying to reduce my purchases as much as possible. Let’s see how well I behave 😂

[RGbrown]

@Saradestin 

I hear that! I thought I had a "take it easy" plan in place for this year, I've got most of my purchases planned out, at least in a rudimentary way, but whoops, didn't even consider that Orly might pop up with something I'd want (this set was on my "will grab with a nice deal" list, but I didn't think that would happen til after xmas lol), and I'm sure there are still tons of surprise deals that will easily send me way off course 😬

[WinglessOne]

I was going to file all 10 nails short a few days ago. But then my left index nail had a run-in with The Mangler (aka a zipper on a certain purse) and escaped with a 1/3 nail-width split far below my fingertip. I stripped that nail bare, patched and ridge-filled it, and then applied a simple plain jelly polish—without touching the other 9 nails because “eh, I’ll do ‘em later,” which didn't happen til most of the old mani finally chipped and peeled away yesterday. 

Laziness has still kept me from shortening any nails. Yesterday a friend asked how long I can grow my nails out* before they tick me off enough to shorten them. Let's find out! 😄 Gotta say though, I'm almost there with these right hand claws. They’re SO in my way. I can’t even accurately tap small targets on my phone now. Your time will end soon, claws. Bleepin’ soon. 

Til then, I’ve gone full mani with the simple plain jelly theme: 

Right after doing my left hand, I realized I should've used Zoya Frida (a plain teal jelly) on one of those nails to bridge the green and blues. D'oh.

Everything’s either 2 or 3 total coats. I lost track of which nails were 2- vs. 3-coaters. 

Left - the Cirque Colors hand: 

Spoiler

Thumb & index: Cirque Colors Kelly Jelly. This index nail’s the mangled one and was painted a few days before all the others. I used a bit too much nail glue while patching the split, resulting in a weird ridge filler gap that shows through the polish near the tip. 

Middle: Cirque Colors Navy Jelly. Kinda streaky patchy, and this nail’s barely ridged. Also caught an air bubble. 

Ring: Cirque Colors Navy Jelly + Cirque Colors Morningtide. As close to cornflower blue as I could get with these 2 shades. The end result’s quite streaky. To be fair, this is one of my most vertically ridged nails and I should’ve used a ridge filler here. 

Pinky: Cirque Colors Morningtide. Got more coverage than I expected from this pale wispy blue, but there are still too many bare patches for a jelly. Pretty sure this is 3 coats. 

Right - the (mostly) Zoya hand: 

Spoiler

Thumb & index: Loud Lacquer Jelly With A Baseball Bat. An interesting matte jelly formula in a lovely fuchsia shade. (I topped it with KBShimmer’s quick dry glossy top coat.) This is the first Loud Lacquer polish I’ve ever used. It streaked out on the prominent vertical ridge along my thumb (again, shoulda used ridge filler on certain nails since these are all plain jellies). It did better on my smooth index nail. And I do like Loud’s dense paddle brush. 

Middle: Zoya Alia. A dependable red violet berry jammy jelly. 

Ring:  Zoya Alia + Zoya Molly. I wanted to see if Molly could lift Alia a bit. Eh, got me closer to a raspberry shade. 

Pinky: Zoya Molly. A bold rosy pink jelly I hadn’t used before on its own. I added a bit more coverage at the tip to prevent a bald patch and, like all my other Zoya jellies, Molly self-leveled like a champ. 

I prefer Zoya’s plain jelly formula to Cirque’s. It’s not just bias (Cirque’s is much newer to me than Zoya’s): Zoya’s jellies are much better self-levelers and rarely throw air bubbles. Cirque’s plain jelly formula dries shinier but is also more watery during application. I need more time to figure out how to get the best out of it. Meanwhile, Zoya’s jelly formula remains easy and reliable. Need more fun plain jelly shades, Zoya! Make this layering fanatic's dreams come true! 

*This isn't the longest my nails have ever been. One year, I let them grow out enough to shape into long pointy claws as part of a Halloween costume. I'll never do that again. I literally could not type via fingertips and had to use my knuckles. 😂 Didn't take long for them to break off on their own afterward. Back then, keeping them that long til 10/31 was a huge chore. 

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne Pretty polishes. Sorry to hear about your run in with the zipper. 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Mellmars1185 ! 

[CynthieLu]

Lol the way you write is the best 😂 

Lovely nails @WinglessOne I can't even tell one was patched. Your very skilled. 

I know what you mean about nail clippers damaging your nails from the stress they put on them. Mine are fine thin nails and they chip sooo easily, and clipping them usually results in more dastardly chips.

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @CynthieLu ! 🙂 Making a teabag patch invisible under a plain jelly isn't always easy, so I appreciate the compliment. 

Ugh, frequent chips are obnoxious and I'm sorry you're dealing with them. When I was in my 30s, my nails were prone to chipping (in addition to deep splits) because they were too brittle. A consistent daily regimen of nail oil followed by a moisturizer helped fix that. So did quitting nail clippers. None of this stops The Mangler from trying to steal a chunk of keratin once in a while, but at least the damage is usually a split instead of a chip. 

[CynthieLu]

I've been oiling my nails ever since you gave me that tid bit of advice @WinglessOne *thank you so much!* and I can't always wear a protective coating with my job, so finding an oil heavy in jojoba is something I'm always on the look out for, I have one that has jojoba in the mix and it's good for now. 

My nails are thin so I feel the struggle but a good diet and the oiling has been very helpful 🙂 they're chipping more now as the weather is getting snowy and dry but I'll find a balance 💙

[Cissy63]

@WinglessOne  Oh your poor fingernail 😢.  I hope it did not hurt 😞.   The repair looks really good.  I like the jelly colors on both hands.  Be sure you text us how long they reach.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Cissy63 ! This one wasn't painful, not physically anyway. I swear that one zipper's always hungry for keratin. 😄 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

It's a bit out of the ordinary to see a no-sparkle mani on you 😋 'Tis a lovely change of pace!

I stuck a couple of Cirque jellies on my xmas wish list since I doubt I'd get around to ordering them myself (unless they show up on sale at Beyond polish or some other place where I can add them to a larger order); if any actually show up in my stocking, I'll be keeping your issues in mind! I too wish Zoya would come out with more plain jellies...I was kinda annoyed when I realized they're nearly all some variation of pink. Not that pink is bad, but I crave more colors 🌈

I know you hate the length, but it looks lovely! I'd love to see you with long pointy claws 👀😅

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @RGbrown ! One fun part of a plain jelly mani is adding to it as the days (and my nail-shortening laziness) stretch on. I see added sparkles in the very near future. 🙂 Also a good time to test some newly acquired thermals as toppers. 

If you do get some Cirque jellies, I highly recommend swapping out the round slim brushes + caps before application. I know some folks like Cirque's brush, but I'm deep in the nope camp. I still need to replace Kelly Jelly's brush, once I get a few more brushes and caps—and this is me reminding myself to do that soon. 

And haha, I don't think I have any photos where you can clearly see my Halloween claws... they're all print photos from The Time Before Digital Cameras. Might have to take a look through 'em though. 😂 

[Saradestin]

Such a colorful mani @WinglessOne ! I love it! I have very little creams and I am getting a few more from Zoya’s trio bundles sale, arriving in three days. So excited! 😃 but even with those I won’t be able to create a mani as beautiful as yours.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Saradestin ! I wish Zoya had at least one plain jelly bundle for that sale. They really need to create more jellies. I am considering some of their existing trios though... trying to weed out shades I already own or can easily dupe. Can't wait to see what you picked up! 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  ooooo these are getting pretty long. I had mine pretty long up till shortly when I had to file them. I broke one and it wasn’t getting better. How long will your nail fox last before it will force you to shorten it? Usually my nail fix only lasts a week and I use a hard gel to cover it. I really like the colour Molly it’s so pretty and even prettier with the topper. A trick with long nails that I learned is that I use the side of my finger on my phone. I never thought about my knuckles lol. It’s almost a relief when they are short!! 

[WinglessOne]

@ather  Aw, sorry about your broken nail. 😞 

If a nail splits above my fingertip, I don't bother patching it: I shorten that nail asap. My splits usually happen 1/3 - 1/2 way down my nail bed. In that case, I keep re-patching the nail (with each mani) until the split grows out past my fingertip where I can remove the damage. And now I realize I've never tracked how long that takes. Huh. The split on my left index nail might be ready to remove 2-3 manis from now. My patches—if I've done them well—last until I use acetone again, which can be 5-10 days between manis. I also have a much narrower split on my left thumbnail that I didn't patch (I just put ridge filler over it); I should track how long it takes that one to grow out. 

I just tried using the side of a finger on my phone. Looks like I'll have to use my pinky for that. Or you know, I could just file these nails down already. 🤣 The longer they grow, the longer they'll take to file down. (I don't use nail clippers on my fingernails.) Yet here I am, not shortening them. I drive myself nuts sometimes. I do look forward to that "aaaahhh, I can finally [type, play piano, efficiently use my phone, accurately play mobile games, do skin/body care without gouging myself, cook without constantly scraping food out from under my nails because who remembers to wear gloves, etc.] again" feeling! 

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  I'm curious, why do you not use fingernail clippers?

[WinglessOne]

@Shosh85  I stopped using clippers (after decades of use) because I'm certain they're one of the reasons I kept getting splits in my nails. Clippers—even the curved ones—always bent my nails. The stress on the nail might look like it only affects the tip, but it travels down/across the nail resulting in damage. I used to frequently get splits in all 10 of my nails below the fingertips. And if I didn't get splits there, eventually the unseen clipper-caused stress would appear as splits right at or just below my fingertip. 

Ever since I quit clipping my fingernails, only my thumbs get those deep splits, and they happen less often nowadays. (Well, unless something—like a certain purse zipper 😡—mauls a nail.) Etched glass nail files make a huge difference in how quickly I can file down and shape a nail without lots of edge damage. 

I still clip my toenails, but sometimes it's easier to file them down instead.  

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne I am with you on this! My thumbs get the split on the side always. If i catch it quick enough sometimes I can file it away. I think when my nails get too long that causes them to split. Great tip!

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  Oh, I just got a glass file and have really been liking it! I'm just super afraid I'll break it, so I keep that one at home and a regular one in my purse, just in case 😉