I believe that beauty is about more than buying products - it’s also about why and how we use them. That’s why this week marks a new, longer column offering a great deal more flexibility.
If just one product blows me away, I can now tell you about it without running out of room. If a technique is life-changing, and yet requires not a penny’s financial outlay, then you’ll be able to read about it here.
The pictures are changing, too - becoming smaller so you get more information, less intimate knowledge of my pores. And, because I won’t be modelling, I can write about teen, older and darker skin types.
Many brands claim to have released polishes that bridge the gap between salon gel colour and traditional DIY lacquers.
As someone who loves the shine and longevity of gels, but can only bear to inflict the brutality on my fingertips twice a year, I represent the marketeers’ dream demographic. (And I do mean brutality: the nail surface is filed to make gels grip, and colours have to be soaked off. The upshot is thin, tragic-looking nails for about three months.)
Irritatingly, gel-inspired polishes have until now failed to deliver anything more than increased shine. Finally, two brands are doing things properly. OPI’s Infinite Shine adopts a three-step application method, minus the LED lamp, which gives you smart nails for the best part of a week (OPI claims 10 days’ wear, I got six). The texture is a little gloopier, so go light over two coats before applying the top coat.
Even better (and cheaper) is Revlon’s new ColorStay Gel Envy. These delivered incredible longevity: an entire chip-free week, during which I spent three finger-bruising hours creating a cafe menu peg-board (don’t ask). The downside is the colours are less exciting than OPI’s, with too many frosted shades. I suspect they’re testing the water before releasing a full spectrum.
If you’re too easily bored for gels, I evangelically endorse Little Ondine , a brilliant range of (very) temporary polishes in gorgeous colours. They’re chemical- and odour-free, and exceptionally easy to use. Just slap on a coat, wait 30 seconds or so (really), and they’re dry. They last a day, then are simply - and satisfyingly - peeled off whole, with zero damage to the nail.
I’ve become a person of extremes - long-lasting or short-lived, according to my plans. Both are way more interesting than those in the middle.
Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2015
