449 - Dress to Impress

I've posted about several small items in my blog over the years — coins, crystals, and other things. Sometimes I hold them, mostly for size-comparison, so the reader knows exactly how small/large they are. Occasionally, I hold them to get them turned so the light hits them just right for a nice shot. Many people have complimented my nails and I appreciate that, even though that wasn't the purpose of putting them in the photos!

So, let's talk about nails!

I try to keep my nails looking nice, although the upkeep has been a challenge, at times. My nails have always been rather prone to splits and breaks. Starting in my younger days, I tried to ensure that my diet was just right for healthy nails and it helped, but there were still some problems. So, I often put a coat of "nail hardener" on them and that did the trick — to a point.

When my career path changed from working on factory assembly-lines and warehouses to full-time office work, my nails needed to look better for business meetings. Fortunately, the salary was better than the former work, too, and I was able to afford professional nail care at a salon. It was then that I started getting a layer of acrylic brushed onto the tops of my nails, and that made them much stronger! They could still chip and break if one wasn't careful, but usually the routine daily tasks of cooking, cleaning, and typing on the computer did them no harm.

Then, something better than a layer of acrylic appeared on the scene: powder dip! The Nail Tech brushes a thin layer of a bonding agent to the nail, then dips the nail into a colored, powdered nail lacquer. This process is repeated to get the desired depth-of-color. Mine are done with two dips of the colored powder, followed by two dips of a whitish/clear top coat which softens the bright pink of the colored powder and makes the color match closer to the chosen liquid color for my toes — I like fingers and toes to match. The powder dip is much stronger and more chip-resistant than acrylic, is easier to apply, lighter weight, and probably a better option for nail health. Powder Dip for the win!

Now, on to the color...

Back in my younger days, nail polish colors changed frequently. I often opted for darker colors in the winter (deep reds, burgundy, plum, and so forth) and brighter colors in the summer (pinks, tans, ochre, powder blue, and the like). Circa 2008–2010, I found a pinky color I really like and have hardly deviated from it ever since.

On the bottoms of each bottle of nail polish, many manufacturers place a number as well as a fun "name" to identify the color. Such names are: "Azure Skies," "Egyptian Goddess," "Plum It Up," and "Caliente!" For a while, I wore ORLY™'s "Choreographed Chaos" which was strangely appropriate to what I was going through in my life at the time. But, I finally settled on 449: "Dress to Impress" by Kiara Sky™.

Some years ago when I latched onto this particular color, I couldn't find it one day when I went into the nail salon. I spent quite a few minutes looking thru the racks of hundreds of bottles with no luck. One of the Nail Techs offered to help and asked me what I was looking for, and I told her KiaraSky™ 449 — thankfully, I remembered the color number! Finally, the errant bottle turned-up on another rack behind the counter. For a while after that, a couple of the employees called me "Four-Four-Nine" instead of my real name. 😂

Some salons have "nail drying" stations, which consist of a table equipped with fans and UV lights that help dry and harden the nail polish. I'm not sure what kind of lights they use under the table for the feet, but my pinky-pink polish color looks white under that light (see below)! Another benefit of the Powder Dip is that it cures/hardens quickly and easily without having to sit under the UV-light & fans before leaving the salon. I only get the Powder Dip on my fingers, not my toes, but it's easier being careful with just the toes after leaving the salon.

And then one time when I was riding in someone's SUV, there was a subtle blue light under the dashboard, like "mood" lighting that made my feet look blue, like the cartoon character Smurfette, but my nail polish still looked pink... 🤣

nail-drying station

Smurfette™ toes

Although this was a lucky happenstance and not planned, I have a pair of shoes that are the same color as my nails! How fun is that...?!?!? 😁 LOL!

Have you ever tried the powder dip?
Do you try to keep your nails looking nice, or just let them be?