Are you gelish?

Gelish not of my man-hands (thanks, Dad), but of my day 5 DIY gel manicure?  Yes!  Happy early birthday to me!  One of the things my Grandma Ruth always said was "Keep your nails looking nice, girls!".  Ugh!  Any woman without mucho domestic assistance--we're talking maid, cook & laundry wench--knows the impracticality of a nice manicure on natural nails lasting more than 1 day.

So for the last year or so, whenever the time came for me to be a lady of leisure...aka vacation...I went to the salon and plunked down some change for a gel mani.  Since that practice is also not practical for everyday-life, I was excited when my friend told me about the DIY kits.  I saved up some fun money and treated myself last week with a trip to Sally's sans kiddos.

The only option they had was the Gelish Basix Kit, so that made my decision easy.  I also purchased the mini UV light and one color:  Exhale.  The color is significantly lighter/more neutral than it looks below, and I'm very pleased with it.  Looks like there are several other colors available online that my Sally's didn't have in stock.  They run about $13/bottle, so if you just happen to want to buy me something...

On Monday, after using my sister as a guinea pig, I stayed up another hour to do my own and then fell into bed around midnight.  Yes, you can go to bed as soon as it's done and not worry about hair and sheet imprints in your polish...I used to try to sleep with my hands gently folded hanging them over the side of the bed...not practical and didn't work either!  Anyway, my quest for consistently lovely nails is over for now.  I guess we'll chalk that up to one more thing technology has helped check off my bucket list!  And I hereby give you permission to give me much grief if you see me with bad nails.