19.7.20

REWIND : NAILS


skin
      



It doesn't come as a complete surprise that I had a thing for painting my nails. My friends were doing it, my sisters where do it... ergo? The only time I had my nails professionally done was in Hong Kong. The salon charged me more because I was a guy. Not sure why... to the day I am yet to grow large Man Hands. 

Nailcare is important to me. Cutting the nails, filing, pushing cuticles. It is a weekly routine. It freaks me out when you see guys with a half a centimetre of the nail and a large cuticle. It's like so much of that nail is hidden from the world! Weird observation but it gets me every time. I have quite skinny fingers so my nails have never been swallowed up by my hands... well not yet. My entire nail care ritual is a great way to decompress and you get clean healthy nails out of it. I stopped painting my nails around the time I left working in retail and moved into stock/logistics. As lame as it sounds it wasn't the look at the time. Not to mention the types of ingredients used in said nail polishes and the way it affects your nails. With lockdown, I'm tempted to buy a bottle and have some fun. So until I do here's a bit of a rewind on some of my past looks. 


SHATTERED NAILS

Who remembers OPI Shatter Polish? 

To preface, I was not a minimalist at the time I played with nails. There was something GaGa and dare I say masculine that came with having black shatter nails. Plain black nails were too boring, but a black shatter was my jam. I remember layering the crackle on top of other colours for fun. I don't think you can buy OPI shatter polish anymore... the youth are missing out.



TWO TONE

There's nothing I couldn't do with a bit of tape

I wasn't about colours per se, I preferred interesting designs. I didn't buy expensive polishes (other than black shatter) I used to work at a clothing store and they sold nail polishes, so after my 50% discount, I had enough to play with. My sisters had shades of red and pink which at the time I detested. I didn't want the token red 'auntie' nail, so I opted for blues, silver and black. I played around with toothpicks and tape to make different patterns. Triangle two tones to a black nail with a different coloured tip. 




TOP COATS 

A unicorn could never 

There are those topcoats for trying and hardening. I liked the glittery ones... my inner Unicorn Mardi Gras was dying to be seen. It was the closest way to a rainbow you'd catch me wearing. It made plain black nails that bit more fun, especially when I was giving the black shatter a rest. I wouldn't wear it alone. I always had to be on top of black or blue polish.