Hi Ladies,

This isn’t the newsy-est of news but I live for manicures. I indulge my handy senses at Pinky in Upper Montclair or Coco in East Midtown Manhattan every Saturday. As of late, I keep my pointers polished candy apple or fruit punch red. And when I’m feeling extra spunky: a coral-like cinnamon shade. I love admiring my freshly painted nails while I cook, drive, type, lift my blackberry to my ear, read…

Speaking of reading…I live for the New York Times style section, printed version.

On Thursday mornings, Abdul (my Jack Russell) and I stroll to the local convenience store. I purchase The Times, open it slowly, unfolding the style section from the rest of the paper. Then I fan it neatly between my fingers. With Abdul’s leash in one hand, the bulk of the paper tucked underneath one arm, style in front of my face, I read as we walk back to the loft.

Every Sunday, regardless of the world’s most pressing news, I coolly and delicately (usually at my dining room table) thumb and point my way through the encyclopedia-thick edition – sifting, searching, shamelessly for “style.” (I return to the front page only after studying “Style”, perusing “Real Estate”, fawning over “Travel”, circling and highlighting to-dos in “Arts”, and raising or furrowing a brow or two at “New Jersey.” Yes, in that order!)

So imagine how I felt once I read the following words in my favorite news section of The Times:

“…having streaked, chipped or just plain grotty nail polish no longer suggests drug addiction, manual labor or pure laziness. Like untied high-tops, thread-worn jeans and bedhead, it’s now part of a deliberate look.”

Uhh?? Chipped nails deliberate? A matter of convenience or busy-ness? Certainly. (It happens to me far too soon and often then I’d like.) But stylish or intentional? Not for me!

Since I type on not one but two blackberries, my mani chips by day three. By day four, I usually keep my hands balled into fists. And when they’re not knotted, I hide them in my sleeves, or worse still, I file, pick, or rip at my already nail-bed length nails. I’d like to preserve my $15 investment for as long as possible without being chip-is-in cool. Call me old school, but it’s just not my style (by choice).

So, I asked two skin and nail-care experts for pointers on how to make a mani last. Here’s what they said:

·         Nails that are dry, split or have ridges chip more easily. Keep your nails healthy by keeping your hands, nails, and cuticles moisturized, says Dr. Fran E. Cook-Bolden, a New York City-based dermatologist.

·         Consider taking a vitamin supplement like biotin to help strengthen nails. Topical ingredients don’t work as well as oral supplements, says Cook-Bolden. (I started taking Biotin five months ago and my nails are visibly stronger.)

·         Before applying the base coat, “dehydrate” the nail bed, says Skyy Hadley, owner and founder of As U Wish Nail Spa in Hoboken, New Jersey. Remove natural oils from your nail with a nail polish remover. A clean nail bed helps “the polish adhere more to the nail,” says Hadley making it less likely to chip.

·         Apply a base, two thin coats of color, and then a thin topcoat says Dr. Cook-Bolden. Hadley maintains a second topcoat helps.

·         “Then apply another top coat on the third day,” says Hadley.

Olsen twin trend or not…busy professional or stay at home mom…if you’re nail bed is hosting a color that is half empty (or half full for that matter), I agree with Hadley.  “Always carry nail polish remover pads,” she says, to remove the old and let your blank pointers live in solitude…point blank.

Check out my summer nail favorites. And don’t forget to share whether you let your nails chip freely or prefer they remain perfectly painted. If so, what’s your trick to making your mani go the distance? What polish colors are you wearing?

Tai

 

With the sun ablaze, in addition to my daily hand moisturizer, I apply, Sally Hansen Vitamin E Cuticle and Hand Oil, $6.59, www.drugstore.com at least once every two days.

 

 

 

 

As I said, I’m in really into fiery reds this season. I like the sophisticated, yet bright and smooth finish of OPI’s Monsooner of Later, $8, www.opi.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When in doubt, be ready to wipe the slate clean on a moment’s notice with Lippman Collection The Stripper to Go, $8, www.lippmancollection.com.