Right, new challenge: for the foreseeable future my goal is to write (at least) one blog post each day. It doesn’t have to be a long one, and it can be about anything at all.

So without further ado: let’s talk nail polish.

I recently had my nails done – not once, but twice! This is a new experience for me: I generally do my own manicures, and the sole purpose of these is to keep my nails short and healthy. Longer nails don’t really work for me, nor would they be practical; as it is, they would get damaged too quickly, since my hands have a pretty rough go of it on a daily basis during my DIY projects and household chores.

But I digress. Every so often I will indulge in the urge to put on some polish: a nice shiny blue or, if I’m feeling extravagant, a lush red. Usually, though, I just apply a coat of transparent polish, like this one by KOH, to make my nails look a touch more elegant. What is true of long nails, though, is equally true for the polish on my short nails: it doesn’t survive my daily activities for longer than half a day.

Now, I have a cousin who has pretty much the same problem and who had heard some good things about gel nail polish – primarily that it is long lasting, which is precisely what we were both looking for. So she got her nails done and was happy with the results. Well, if she was happy, chances are I will be too. Emboldened by her experiences, I took the leap and went to see my friend Brigitta, who happens to be a beauty specialist and who has her own beauty salon: Mooi & Zo. I don’t entrust my nails to just anyone, you know.

Now, before I continue, I should mention that the other reason I don’t get manicures or pedicures is that I don’t have the patience for them, and besides: I am perfectly capable of doing my own nails, thank you very much. But I have to admit that the treatment wasn’t at all excruciating, quite the opposite in fact, thanks to my friend’s excellent skills .

For my first foray into professionally applied polish, I decided to go bold right off, and ended up sporting a gel polish manicure in Orly’s It’s up to Blue. I was going to be a chicken about it at first, and choose something just slightly more understated, like this one, or this one but if you’re going to do something, you might as well go all out. (Yes, this is “all out” for me, okay?)

True to its reputation, the polish held in perfect condition for a good two weeks. Very impressive, considering the amount of punishment I put my nails through, including but not limited to scouring pots and pans, car detailing, and some DIY involving screwdrivers and fastening and loosening nuts and bolts. After two weeks, though, the polish began to peel off a little, and – me being me – I peeled off a good bit of it myself after that.

Peeling polish makes for a rather tattered look, especially if the polish is in a distinctive and flamboyant shade, so I went back to Brigitta and asked her to remove the remaining polish. Now, I wasn’t going to have another coat applied, but my nails were a rather fancy length now, what with the polish also having protected them from the usual wear and tear (a happy side-effect), and I figured: let’s just have one more. And so now I am sporting Orly’s Kiss the Bride. Once this comes off, though, I’ll leave my nails unvarnished for a while, and keep them short again. This gel mani is fun, but I’m kind of looking forward to seeing my own nails again for a bit.

Feeling inspired by the experience and the results, I gave my daughter a manicure as well the other day, as she was home sick and could do with a little cheering up. I used the Galaxy Effects Kit by KISS and, if I do say so myself, it turned out quite well. My daughter was happy with it, at any rate.

I’ll let you be the judge.