Mani Monday: Why I Never Go To Nail Spas

Okay, lovelies. What looks wrong about that above photograph? Could it be the uneven coverage of polish? The unclean lines at the cuticles? The polish all over my cuticles? The fact that the clear polish doesn't fully cover all of the color polish? Or how about the whole dang job? 

So here's the story of how I learned a big lesson. A very, very BIG lesson on how trying to do something besides be yourself is probably not going to work out. Yesterday I had a super fun photoshoot set up with photographer Justin Barr. He decided to big or go home, and rented out the studios at Fresh Art Photography in Webster Groves, which gave us the ability to do multiple styles and types of photos. We had talked about doing a sort of modern/my style pinup session, and I spent some time thinking about how to round out a pinup look. I enlisted the help of Megan Gad for makeup, and thought, "Well, my nails need to reflect the theme!" I tend to get a pedicure in the spring to help prep my toes for being seen a lot, and figured I might as well just let the ladies at the salon do my fingernails to match. I'm so terribly picky about how my nails are done, I pretty much never ever go to nail spas anymore. However, I thought that the professionals should know what they were doing, and that I could trust them for the sake of a Saturday spa day. And that's where I went wrong.

I chose to go to Bahama Spa & Nails because I have been there before in the past and have always had a great experience, even with my first pair of acrylic nails. I made an appointment for myself (Vinylux on toes and fingers for me) and also one for my darling friend Vi. We were sat immediately for our pedicures and all went well with those. My toes look great. My nail tech lady for some reason decided to paint my fingers while I still sat in the chair, and I think it's because I forgot my own flip flops and she didn't want to make me try to move right away. From what I could tell, everything was off to a fine start, but honestly, I was trusting her skills and didn't really bother checking my nails as she painted them. After she finished with a clear top coat, she moved me to the station to dry my nails under the fans and lights. While sitting there, I noticed some bubbling on a couple of my right fingernails. Upon closer inspection, I noticed polish all over my cuticles, and some even dangly bits of my cuticles left. My right hand also featured some seriously uneven filing, which is just bizarre because she should have only needed to barely clean up the shape. 

If I were a true diva, and had been on my way to some type of ball, or gala, or some other type of fancy a$$ business that I cannot afford to be at/do not yet get invited to, I would have been just plain furious. I would have likely requested for her to come back and fix all of the edges, or actually start over. That day had already been fraught with setbacks and weirdness (see: flat tire, late to my hair appointment, rain, goofed plan, next tattoo appointment being rescheduled, yadda yadda), so with the crazy nail jazz, I had just about had enough. I won't even sugarcoat it - I definitely went home and pity cried for my lame self for a few minutes. And then I got my act together and repainted my own nails a weird funky, very non-pinupy shade. Because who am I kidding? I'm not really a pinup model. And I'm not going to change myself even to fit classic representations of a style unless it still represents ME.

So here's my lesson: Stick to the things you trust and know to be true. Only put yourself in the hands of others if you have seen their previous work. If you are good at something, do it so well that it is obviously part of who you are. Be known for it. Showcase it. Flaunt it, but stay humble. 

Polish Colors:
Red: Vinylux in "Some Red I Can't Even Remember After Being So Annoyed"