I love me a secure man!

I love me a secure man!

Nail polish is for everyone. ❤️

Since I am particular about my nails...

Since I am particular about my nails I try to avoid using them as tools. It helps a lot to prevent damage and breakage if I don't use them that way.

I saw a smaller version of the Tab Buddy recommended on reddit, but it was made more for drink cans, not soup cans or cans of cat food. I bought another device from Amazon for lids with larger tabs, but it's clunky to use so I find that I just don't.

I emailed the team at Tab Buddy asking for a larger version for different types of cans and they actually made them! They emailed me once some were available for purchase, so I snagged 2.

These XL ones have been amazing. I didn't even realize that they were magnetic until Shaun stuck it to the fridge. That's great because it's always right within reach.

I think these are a wonderful idea. Even if I wasn't super picky about my nails there have definitely been times that my hands have been sore and uncooperative when my PSA flares up. I know this might seem like a dull thing to be excited about, but I don't care. I love things that make my life easier and our cats get wet food 2x daily as a treat (not to mention that I'm a fan of soup), so I am using this thing daily.

They have some super cute designs. I'm linking them below because they really earned my business by taking my suggestion seriously. ❤️

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TabBuddies

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment.

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment. It's not beautiful or interesting, but I do think it's a pretty neutral and looks nice with my skin tone. I could do nail art over it with gel or regular polish. I just haven't had time.

So this is just structure gel, which could possibly be considered an overlay. But it's not as thick as polygel and (in my opinion) much easier to apply. It takes a fraction of the time to create an apex in the correct position and get a nice glossy finish. With polygel I was using pop-its to get my apex and smooth finish, but there was always an issue of shaping/filing the free edge and creating a smooth transition at the cuticle. By the time I was done with that process I was no longer interested in doing any sort of nail art, which is the whole reason I ever want to do my nails.

This gel also removes faster and easier than polygel. You can buff the surface and soak off with acetone. To make it faster you can use an e-file to take down the bulk of the product. This is similar to removing polygel with an e-file, but takes a lot less time. My polygel overlays were always on the thick side.

Here's hoping this is a good solution for growing out the damage I did to my natural nails. It would also be nice if it worked as a reinforcement for them once they grow out. I don't like to grow my nails super long, but I really hate it when they break. Who doesn't, I guess. 😂

So far they feel nice. Not thick or heavy, but somehow strong. They aren't bending at all. Hopefully, my application was good and I won't get any lifting for a couple of weeks. We shall see!

Structure Cover Pink by Gelish