There’s just something I love about having my nails done. It makes me feel so… feminine? Put together? I don’t know exactly how it makes me feel, but I love it. Pre-kid, I would go and get my nails done every two weeks. Now I’m a full-time single mom who works two jobs, and there’s not a whole lot of extra money for bimonthly nail appointments and even less time. Even though I have so much going on, I still love having my nails done. It makes me feel good about myself – and honestly, we could all use a little more of that. A manicure might be a superficial way to boost my self-esteem, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.
I was scrolling Facebook one day about a year and a half ago and came across a Facebook ad for “dipping your nails” at home. I clicked on the ad and was instantly hooked. I loved the idea of having pretty nails that could hold up to #momlife. So even though I was very interested in trying this out at home, I wasn’t ready to make a purchase right away. So I liked the company’s Facebook page and joined their Facebook group. And before bed, I would scroll through the group and check out other women’s “nailfies” (yes, that’s what they’re called), and read all of the tips and tricks I could find.
Finally, after about a month of “research,” I got a starter kit from Sparkle and Co. My starter kit came with the three liquids you needed to do a dip manicure and one colored powder. I got to choose my color and went with a very safe pink since this was going to be my first time. Now I am going to be honest; I don’t even have pictures of my first dip manicure I did at home – cause it was THAT bad. But two weeks later, I tried again, and this second mani turned out a little better. And now 18 months later, I can pull off a pretty good dip manicure at home.
There’s definitely a learning curve, and you can’t expect to look like you got it done at the salon your first time. And honestly – I’m still jealous of some of the “nailfies” women post in the multiple Facebook dip groups I am now in. Like how do they get such perfect cuticle lines? And how do they get their top coat to be so shiny? So even though I’m not the best at it, I still love it. Dipping my nails at home has become a hobby. I told myself that I was mostly dipping at home to save money – and I love that I was naive enough to think that that would be the case. I won’t publicly admit how many powder colors I currently have – but let’s just say it’s a lot. Most of my dip powders, liquids, and supplies are still from Sparkle and Co – but I have also branched out and tried another brand called Revel.
Have you tried dipping your nails at home yet? If you love a dip manicure as much as I do, you might want to give it a try! I might be addicted, it might be a problem, and I might have recently gotten my best friend addicted, too. But hey, we could be addicted to worse things, right? And even though our lives aren’t perfect, our nails almost are.
