♥ The Ugliest Mani = EVER !!!♥

~ These nails have held on for almost 18 days.......~

5 TO 7 DAYS IS GOOD FOR ME with false nails, I love changing things up. This false nail application lasted a long time .....I will be doing these new techniques, below, for the next several times I apply false nails to see if this wasnt just a fluke.

This mani, which I call the "Ugliest Mani EVER" - is a combination of what I think are the "ugliest nail polish's" that I currently own. These false nails, 'Nailene So Natural' have held on for an unprecedented 18 days...... that's a long a** time for me. My INDEX on my Left hand popped off setting up my X-mas tree, as well as my RIGHT thumb, twice, and my RIGHT RING finger. The glue has the same ingredients as always and I did find that I got a great adhesion to my natural nails due to the curvature of these false nails. I am surprised that these nails have stayed on this long!!!! With the exception of gluing the nails that came off,- back on, I haven't had to add any glue or fix any lifting.... The area of growth at the base of my nail bothered me greatly the 2nd week~ but now I feel pretty good about it, it makes me feel like my nails are growing at a super fast rate.

I tried out some new techniques for false nail application on my LEFT hand, and the wear has surpassed my expectations.

Things I do regularly for false nail application;

♥ Wash my hands and be sure there is no moisturizer/oil/ residue ANYWHERE on my or hands, nails or TOOLS.

♥ Gently buff the surface of my natural nail with a fine/medium nail file.

♥ Gently buff the underside surface of the false nail with my fine grinding stone.

♥ Apply glue to surface of nail bed, wait for 3-ish seconds, then press false nail into nail bed.

NEW STUFF I TRIED OUT THIS TIME; In addition to all the things I normally do....

♥ Swiped a Q-tip with Acetone ALL OVER MY NAILS BED several minutes before applying false nails
{ check for q-tip fluff before painting nails, if painting nails }This is certain to remove ANY oil or other products which may be on your nail surface.

♥ Used Acetone underneath the false nail where the false nail overlaps my natural nail = SPARINGLY & GENTLY, I believe this helps to create a better seal where the false nail meets the natural nails. I did not do this until the 10th day, when I filed down these nails a little.

♥ Applied a clear polish or Clear Top Coat to my underside of my natural nails. All areas of your natural nail ABSORB WATER - wrap the tip & paint underneath, too. This prevents curving & polish chips~

♥ When these nails began to grow out, and there was a definite ridge at the base of my nails, I gently filed this ridge down to create a beveled edge, then used acetone to further smoothe this area out.

I think extra use of acetone is the one factor which has greatly helped these nails stay on so long. I believe that the acetone has helped in further adhering the false nails to the nail bed...... By 'melting' the false nails and creating a good bond between the false nails and my natural nails.

Part of me wants to see how long I can stand having that' new growth' area as well as how long these nails will stay on before they begin lifting/separating, but I am in need of some looooong trophy wife nails....

Also I must add = After using acetone for the directly above things, I immediately wash my hands and get a moisturizer on them STAT! Acetone is a strong chemical which is very drying to your cuticles and hands. Acetone SHOULD BE USED IN WELL VENTILATED AREAS. I use acetone and a tiny brush to remove any nail polish 'mistakes' = however in addition to this, I apply Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive cream to the area around my nails, cuticles ( and beneath ) to aid in the ease of removal of nail polish mistakes.

I should also add, that I have been sleeping with a regular moisturizer as well as Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive cream on my hands and around my cuticles with gloves on.

♥

The length of time these nails have stayed on reminded me of this T.V. show/book. I am not unhappy about this.... I AM VERY HAPPY that these nails have managed to stay on for soooooooo long. While this T.V. Show scared me immensely when I was young - this is actually a really nice story about the power of love, being yourself, etc.... here is the link = Goosebumps 'The Haunted Mask' from wikipedia

♥

I picked out what I think are the ugliest colors I have and tried to do a mani with them. I started with 2 coats of a franken I made in summertime from my 'Army themed' franken collection, "Franken Lite-Green". I then sponged on Sally Hansen 'Cappuccino', followed by Maybelline 'Bronze Beam' a very pretty but a real p.i.t.a. polish. I made sure it was dry and applied 2 coats of Nailene Acrylic Strong Top Coat.

I suppose this ties into this show, because I really, really wanted to find a way for false nails to stay on for an extensive amounts of time..... but now I want them off, because it has been so long with these 'shorties'.....

After looking at this mani for a few hours... I don't find it so 'ugly' and I plan on a mani with Maybelline 'Bronze Beam' in the future. I have recently seen 'Bronze Beam' on MUA, as well as noticing that a few people picked this up at "The Great Dollar Tree Hauls" of 2009. Although this polish is very beautiful...... it has alot of texture and not just due to the sponging. It looks cool in this sponge mani, but on it's own it needs like 3 good thick coats of T.C.

~ Indoor Fluorescent Lighting ~