While I’m enjoying Asian Beauty, there’s something about me you should know. I love nails. I love gel nails in particular, as they saved my nails from harsh lab life. There was no way I would have survived 4 years working in labs, assembling and disassembling equipment if I hadn’t learned how to do my own soak-off gel polish. I remember getting into nails and manicures in 2010 when I read an article in a beauty magazine that said a woman should never even open a can of Coca Cola if she’s got a new manicure and wants to stop from chipping her expensive new manicure.
Are
You
KIDDING ME?!?!!!
I work for a living, no way in all 9 circles of Dante’s hell would my boss ever let me stop doing my job because it might damage my $40 manicure. That sort of attitude towards beauty that stopped women from having normal lives drove me up the bleeping wall. Gel polishes were my saving grace. I could use gel polishes and have nail art that survived a 12 hour lab day – heck they’ll last 2 whole weeks or more. My favorite brand is Gelish, but I’ll give out some love to LeChat and Sensationail. But, I’m rambling.
Gelish came out with the Urban Cowgirl collection for Spring 2015. I’m not one to always jump on trends but, the polish was for sale at 2 bottles of minis for $20 at my local Sally’s Beauty Store. Now, normally the tiny bottles go for $12-14 a pop, so it was a decent sale. It was the names on the bottles that stole my Texas heart.
“Texas me later” is a deep, rosy pink that’s got a lovely shimmer to it. I can see this color fast becoming one of my favorite staple colors. My only quibble against this color is that the pigment doesn’t set until you put top coat on it, so some of the dark pink pigments bled onto my other brushes while I did my manicure. I noticed little swirls of pink on both my top coat brush and the brush I used for the “Tan my hide.” “Tan my hide” is anything but tan with its tiny hint of shimmer. I know against my tan skin, it actually looks white but it is a much rosier tint compared to Gelish’s “Sheek White.” Really, it’s more of a warm, rosy-tinted white that is much more natural looking for a french manicure. Which is exactly what I did this past weekend. These are my nails about 3 days out, and I am loving this manicure! It’s two coats of “Texas me Later” followed by free- handed curve of “Tan my Hide” with 2 coats. I followed up with 2 coats of top coat, because I find that 2 coats lasts better than 1. I feel like this is the perfect professional or adult manicure for those times you need to look like you have your stuff together and need neutral nails. I’ll check in with my next mani in 2 weeks!
The Quest for the Golden Nautilus 