Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Confessing: Can't Nail It

There's a boat that I missed when I was younger that makes me feel like I missed an essential part of learning how to be a woman. 

Through sports and studying and tomboy behaviors, I never cared to paint my nails, or care for my nails, or worry about my nails. My only concern was not feeling the dirt from the softball field caked up underneath them. And that was really only 30% of the time.

Since becoming and adult and trying to at least appear more feminine, I do conscious things like wear my hair down every day, don't wear athletic apparel to work even though I work for an athletic company, do my makeup before leaving the house and shave my legs more than most females probably do. 

One feminine thing I haven't yet adopted for myself is Nailing It. 

And by nailing it I mean the art of the self-manicure. 

It's spring and you ladies keep talking about your favorite polish colors. You give these amazing tutorials about how easy it is, what tools you need, what colors are so hot right now and all the reasons why doing your nails makes you feel relaxed, confident, even accomplished! 

Like this, look at how pretty and whimsical MacKensie made nails. 


Essie this, Essie that. Here's how, look it's so damn easy and you're a talentless shaky-handed nub if you can't do something this simple/petite/pretty. 

It's awesome and beautiful, but I suck at it. 

I've followed your tips and I've done all the tricks and I have all the pretty colors, but when if gets down to the application I'm the worst! Buff, file, base coat, two coats, top coat. I do it all and somewhere in between coat #1, coat #2 and the final everything-is-finally-dry stage I screw something up. I smudge, I over-apply, I get polish on my skin, I try to fix it and in the process I mess up another nail. 

Is life really this hard or am I just beyond help?

One last question, are you confessing anything with Melissa today?

Making Melissa




22 comments

Kathy@MoreCoffeeLessTalky said...

i'm way lazy when it comes to anything fancy or nails or hair or even makeup. i will do my toes during the summer but that's about it! my hands get too grossed up from working out or cooking and i'm always afraid of getting polish chips in my food and eating it!

i wish i could do nails like that!

Amy's Fashion Blog said...

never would thought to use a flat head nail as a dotting tool.

www.amysfashionblog.com

P!nky said...

I can't do fancy, but I've gotten the plain jane polish down. Try nail drops for drying, they help me.

Sara Beth said...

I'm SO lazy with nails, I can't usually bother to do a second coat much less a second coat and a design!! The inspiration looks lovely though, even if it is unattainable :)

Julia said...

Oh my gosh, this is so me! I hardly ever paint my nails, and if I do they pretty much look horrible and/or if I do get them to look decent I smudge or chip one almost immediately!

Tami Brehse said...

Haha! Girl I almost never have anything on I nails. If I do it's for 24 hours and then it's chipped. If I had an endless budget I would get a manicure every week, but even those I mess up in a couple days.

Helene in Between said...

I NEVER cared about painting my nails until recently. I'm still really bad at it but it's fun to still try!

Melissa Nicole said...

girl i only started painting my nails in the last two or three years and i was SO BAD AT IT. still am but definitely better! it's all about patience :)

and essie. i am an essie whore.

MacKensie said...

hahaha love you. Thanks for the shout out, lady. I had to practice a lot when I spent 7 months as a professional beauty blogger (my right hand always looks terrible but I got damn good at doing my left!)

Anonymous said...

hahaha. It takes practice. I didn't "nail it" myself until after college. Now I do my nails constantly because I only wash my hair like twice, maaaaaybe three times a week. (Not really related, but kinda.) Anyway, practice. Practice with light colors and the sequence of events should always be nails -> shower (after they're dry, duh) -> people seeing your hands.
Also, tip: One coat at a time. Do one thin coat to start and let them dry. Do something else. One thin coat dries SO much faster than two thick. Let coat one fully dry (~20 minutes to be totally sure) and then do the second. Put a fast-drying top coat on 10-20 minutes after that. Be slightly careful (no showers or sheets) for like an hour. You got this.

Nadine said...

I am this way with hair! I suck at doing my own hair!! It is either down and stringy and up in a pony tail. those are my looks. My hair is so fine and I haven't quite mastered how to curl it and make it look awesome.

I have tons of nail polish and dotting tools and all that jazz...and yet my nails are bare 80% of the time. Well fingers anyways, the toes are always painted!

Brittany said...

There is no rhyme nor reason to my nail painting skills. Some days it looks like a professional made my digits beautiful other days it looks like a 3 year old with caffeine shakes took a paint brush to my hand... I've just learnt to go with it.

BLovedBoston said...

Whats funny is that sometimes I can really do a great at home mani and other times I totally botch it!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

Kristen said...

seriously.. this.
i've given up. i don't care about my nails enough. i smudge every damn time, and when i fix it, they've chipped and peeled the following day. eff that. guess i'm still that awkward tomboy.

Tracy said...

Hahaha yes, this is one of those things I've never gotten the hang of either. A few years ago I got one of those DIY gel kits (with the lamp and everything), and something about the gel polish plus the fact that it takes like 30 seconds to dry made it so much easier. I've since gotten rid of it though, so now I just deal with bare nails 95% of the time...

Rachel @ Love, Rachel said...

Im pretty sure your nails look great! I can't get Essie Fiji to look right on my nails to save my life.

Maddie said...

I feel the exact same way! man, I'm glad I'm not the only one! If I could do nails like this, my nails would ALWAYS be painted (instead of chiped..)

Sarah :: Plucky in Love said...

My nail polish strategy is to get most of my nail covered and then shower before I got out in public to get the residual polish washed off all surrounding nail-skin. Because I basically paint the entire end of my hand and hope the skin oils kick in. It's sort of like a stenciling trick or something, right?? o.O

Myra said...

Hahaha. It took me years to figure out how to care for my nails, but damnit, those suckers STILL get the best of me...too often. We need robots who can do our nails from now on. Yes?

Kay R. said...

I love my nails and do them all the time but patterns and all that jazz?? I suck at that. If I did that style my dots would be everywhere!

Erin LFF said...

I LOVE the look of painted nails but I am seriously terrible at it. Right there with you girl... It takes forever and I try so hard, and inevitably I still end up smudging them and ruining like 3 at once. Sigh- I guess I should practice more. Or just fork over money for a mani once in awhile?! ;)

Kenzie Smith said...

I really want to try to do that to my nails -- I will have to let you know how it goes. I didn't really get the girly girl gene either.