Consider me the Goldilocks of manicure assessment. For a long time, I didn’t get them because I bit my nails, and I didn’t think I deserved the royal treatment until I quit the nasty habit. Then, I didn’t because my nails were brittle and flaky and I didn’t want to draw any extra attention to my hands. Then, once I treated myself… I loved it. Of course. But I haaaaaaaated walking to the car afterward, because I knew when I put my hands on the steering wheel, there it would be: a smudge, a chip, an imprint of the fuzz that touched my nail on the way out the door. Maddening. Manicures: just too impermanent.
I passed on the Shellac trend (a gel polish, cured by a UV light) because word on the street was that it makes even tough nails brittle. And you need a pro to remove the polish correctly—I knew I’d never make the time. They were just too much investment.
But now along comes Vinylux. The service is a manicure like any other: scrub, moisturize, file, paint, dry—but the secret is in the sauce. The polish goes on and dries like any other polish, but two coats of this stuff has staying power. I did seven full days of dishes, bathing a baby, digging around in my purse, and sundry other hazardous tasks with only a teensy bit of pulling away at the edges until on day eight, I felt the need to get out the remover. (Chipped nail polish is a pet peeve.) Removal was easy as pie, and there was no discernible damage to my nails. Some people report up to three weeks of wear!
Now that’s just right.
Vinylux is available at Thomas Charles Salon
4008 Minnetonka Blvd.
St. Louis Park, 952-925-4277
thomascharlessalon.com
