I’ve said often that nail polish isn’t a forte nor interest of mine. It seems somewhat sacrilegious to admit this especially when it seems like every one who owns a beauty blog or who are in the beauty industry sports perfectly polished and buffed tips in person and in photos, and I discreetly hide my plain nails when I’m in such company.
Quite often, most people have perfected the art of painting their nails by themselves and for this, you have a myriad of tools to hand, including quick drying top coats or quick drying oils, both of which are lifesavers for the impatient (moi!) but more often also, I know of many women who would rather just get it professionally done at a nail salon.
I know too that going to a nail salon is supposed to be a fun, girly afternoon activity but you know what? I don’t enjoy it and I never have. I don’t know if that doesn’t make me very girly or if it makes me odd (you’re going to have to tell me if I am!) but it’s a case of been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and didn’t enjoy it one bit.
Do you enjoy going for manicures and/or pedicures and is it something you enjoy? Please feel free to say yes (or no) because you know how it is here at Casa MWS, no one judges (nope, not even if you don’t shower in the mornings!) :D
When I started earning my own keep, one of the pampering things I used to treat myself with was a manicure or pedicure at a nail salon. It used to be quite an expensive treat (no group deals back then!) and I used to do it because it was perceived to be the thing to do when you’re a working girl. You go out and get yourself a manicure and pedicure, spend an afternoon gossiping with your sister or girlfriends and sport some pretty talons.
Thing is, I never really enjoyed it. I found the hand or foot wash ticklish and awkward, I’d cringe every time they clipped my nails or horrors! cut my cuticles (didn’t know back then to tell them not to do it), I’d get bored to death waiting for nail polish to dry and at the end of it all, I’d always end up smudging a nail because I have to take my wallet out to pay.
To add insult to injury, I have a bad habit of chipping my nail polish because I had to work a lot with paper and staples and you know how that story ends. Basically, I found it to be a vicious cycle.
But the icing on the cake was after I realised that a pedicure session had left me with an infected nail. My nail was growing weirdly and had what I believed to be a fungal infection. The nail looked thick and uneven and my nail bed felt tender. It was a very long time before my nails started growing normally again but I’ve never ever gone back for a manicure nor pedicure after that incident which was at an established nail salon back then (now closed).
Do you go for manicures and pedicures often? Is it something you enjoy doing?
As I got older, I threw off the shackles of perception and started doing my own thing. Started saving for bigger things instead of spending and that put paid to my days of frivolous spending on an activity I didn’t enjoy. These days, if I have a girly afternoon out, I’m mostly found stuffing my face with food instead and if I want some pampering, it’s either a facial or massage, all of which I enjoy A LOT! :D
Paris B
I have the same problem with you. The waiting time bores me, and i got fungal infection once ewww… I used to go for manicure and pedicure monthly. Back then i dont know how to paint my nail evenly, always with streaks and smudges. Eventually i got tired of going to the salon and decide to make myself learn how to do it myself, buy all the equipment and slowly learn. Now i can make my own manicure and pedicure effortlessly. I still go to the salon if i want to do gel manicure for important events like wedding(until i found a DIY gel polish set that works)
Whew! I’m not alone, Peggy and from all the other responses, it looks like neither are you! :D I don’t really play a lot with nail polish because it feels like my nails are suffocating but it’s great that you taught yourself how to apply polish nicely which saves you the costs and hassle of going to a salon! :D I think there are a lot of new DIY gel nail kits that actually work, even if they may not be available locally so the day is near when you can even do gel nails at home :)
While I enjoy getting a mani / pedy sometimes, I can’t bring myself to go there every month as a routine, like some of my friends. Actually, I prefer a pedicure compared to a manicure because I can still read while waiting. AND my feet need more care than my hands. LOL!
Oh same here! If I really have to, I’d do a pedicure. At least it’s just my feet (unless I suddenly have to go to the loo – oops! :P ) And the other thing is that if the nail polish is grown out, I don’t have to bother, because it’s too far away to notice anyway! Haha :P
I do enjoy getting a mani/pedi once in a blue moon especially when I need my grotty feet scrubbed. But I’ll never let them use those potato peeler things no matter how thick my calluses are. I know it sounds quite gross.
Anyhow, painting my nails is a rather rare occasion now. I just keep them short, neat and clean and will call it a day. After I get my new condo (and all the cleaning that goes with it) done, I may pop out a favorite Chanel polish and paint my nails.
Oh yucks! I’m always SO SCARED of anything that they bring near my feet because you just don’t know what they’re going to do or how badly they’ll do it! I just keep my nails short too. Too much hassle otherwise although I have to admit that nice, shiny, coloured nails do look very pretty!
I love them! Only mani, though. I hate getting pedis because it means I have to trek about in flipflops after. Yuck. Flipflops are not for trekking about the city, I don’t care what people say about casual dressing and what (I draw the exception at my hippy Birks). My favourite is Miss Fox in the city for the whole experience. Lovely herbal teas, classical music, classy decor, nail technicians who know what they’re doing and they serve half bottles of French champagne that I usually indulge in if I were getting my nails done :P So, not just for pretty nails but the entire experience. It’s pricey, not somethign I’d do every month but I don’t see the harm in it every now and then to catch upw ith the girls :)
LOL Oh man, the first time I went for a mani-pedi right? I didn’t know I had to wear flip flops after (or rather I wasn’t thinking) so after everything was over, I stuck my feet back into my closed toe shoes and erm… the rest is history. So clever right?! :P Like everything, a good manicure/pedicure is a whole package. After all, it’s about pampering, so pamper me!
I don’t particularly enjoy them too… although i love the end result (beautifully polished and groomed – I can’t for the life of me apply polish nicely! :P ). I once contracted a fungal infection after a session and like yours, my nails grew out all kinky and weird and took forever to heal! :( That kind of scared me and I never had another session since.
I know right? I love how it looks after, but not the process itself, or when it chips :P I didn’t even know I had a fungal infection. Just wondered why my nails were all ridged and weird. Ugh! Horrible experience.
I’ve only had one manicure and based on the experience there won’t be a second. I had a gel manicure and the nail tech cut my cuticles off, which started bleeding after I left. The next day 2 nails needed to be redone because the gel was lifting and for the next 2 weeks the skin around my nails was peeling off due to lack of cuticles. In the end the manicure only lasted a little over a week. I like gel manicures though so I bought a DIY kit (cheaper than salon manicure) and have had pretty good results and no risk of catching anything from dubiously cleaned salon tools.
Ouch! Sounds like you had a horrible experience Melanie! I’d heard so much about gel manicures and how low maintenance they are, but I never got round to trying because I was also told that they weakened nails very badly. A friend had her nails peel and peel after the gel nails were taken off, and they were so weak after that!
I find that gel can be a little damaging when you remove it so I give my nails a couple of weeks to recover before doing another manicure. I also try not to be too aggressive whith removing it. If pieces don’t come easily I’ll just leave them alone to fall off naturally and make sure to use rich creams and oils on my nails to keep them moist. My nails are soft so they damage easily but they grow pretty fast so all the damage is gone in a month. My coworkers have new gel nails every two weeks and I’ve never seen their bare nails so I don’t know what kind of damage they have going on.
Ooh maybe the gel manicures keep going so no one sees the damage :P But I think at the end of it, care of nails is key so it’s good to know you’ve found something that works for you and lucky you to have quickly growing nails! :)
I only been to once session and urgh, so terrible! I felt like paying my own torture – the way they filed and buff my nails and crazy boring coz I hate to stay still :( Besides, my hands are always busy doing something so in less an hour after the session, my nails get scratched again LOL
Much prefer to cut my own nails, file and buff if I want to :D And for nail polish, I don’t do that, all au naturel :D
If I want pampering session, go to hairdresser, get hair wash and hair cut, much more enjoyable!
LOL! Yes! Paying to be tortured is exactly how I feel to :P I used to paint my own nails once, but I later realised that my nails were so badly stained after that because I was too lazy to use a base coat (and didn’t know earlier that I should) so I eventually gave up. I’m happier spending the money in the hair salon too! Ahhh, head and shoulder massages are the best
I am more like Fatin here… I dont enjoy somebody else touching or doing my nails… I am more salon kinda girl…
Hair salons are wonderful! I love when they give you a good head and shoulder massage. Some places are good for hair cuts, but I don’t go back if they don’t give good massages :D
Hi Paris, I have been going to the same lady for my Mani and Pedi for the last ten years. She is really good at her job (she has very strong opinion on everything so I usually keep quiet when I am there otherwise she is unstoppable). I like the final result of walking away with beautifully painted nails but I don’t enjoy it while she is doing the mani and pedi. I only go to her Pedi now as I don’t have the time to do both anymore.
Yikes, that sounds like quite a trial – the experience I mean. Maybe you could ask LeGeeque where she goes for her manis in Melbourne (I THINK you’re in Melbourne?). It sounds like a lovely relaxing place to be :D
I actually love going for pedicures and manicures but since I do work around the house like washing clothes and plates, my manicures usually do not last that long. I have also gotten really lazy over the years to go for these things but I do know that I need a pedicure soon. LOL. Like Lyn, I just keep my nails short and neat and if they get dry, I will use scrub and apply cuticle oil :-)
Haha the perils of not having a maid ;) Yes, I feel you because I’m the same. Anyone who has to do housework and work, won’t be able to keep a manicure very well! ;)
I love manicures and pedicures simply because I *need* my nail polish to be gel. Anything else on my fingers chips very, very fast. I got hard gel extensions when I was on holiday recently, but I’ll be removing them soon and go back to regular soak off gel on shorter nails because I need to do housework as well as play my piano. I really enjoy having pretty nails though =) makes me feel happy (vain as it sounds)
I’ve heard about how wonderful gel manicures are and how long lasting too! A friend showed me hers after 3 weeks and it looked perfect! But I’m told that it weakens nails a lot as well so it’s not too advisable to do it too often. Do you find that to be the case? Ooh and piano! When I used to play (years and years ago) I hated the clicking sound of nails on the keys. It was a sure sign I needed my nails clipped! haha And no, you’re not vain – everyone deserves to feel pretty and happy :D
Thank you for ‘coming out’ and saying that you don’t enjoy a mani/ pedi.
I felt so alone with this skeleton in my closet so it means so much to hear that someone else is on the same team as I am about this. And, Paris B, no less!
I don’t know what it is but I really, really not keen on people fiddling with my fingers and toes. It’s worse with feet. I CANNOT be touched there at all! I once had to tolerate a doctor for a minor surgical procedure and I can tell you, I’d prefer going to the dentist.
The other thing is that I am often working with my hands. I work in a creative field and am hands-on and I also like to bake so the thought of getting a fungal infection and the subsequent downtime is horrifying.
And, I hear you on the part where you’ve come into your own and are choosing to do things because you enjoy them and not because everyone else is doing it. Yes, we should live our lives the way we want!
Oh whew! I’m so glad I’m finding so many likeminded souls in here *group hug!* I don’t mind people fiddling with my digits (erm, that came out weird) but I suppose it bugs me when I have no control over what’s happening. Yes, realising that it was unnecessary to pay money to torture myself, as Fathin says, was the biggest realisation ever. We should all do what we want and what makes us comfortable and if that means unpainted nails, so be it! (At least we’ll have money for good hair haha!) :D
as much as i love polishes, i don’t like them done at the salons :S i can’t stand the ticklish sensation when i scrub my feet, and also the way the cut my nails. it just gives me goosebumps each time! i much prefer managing my own nails for sure ;)
Eee you reminded me of that ticklish feeling! I’ve had my nails shaped oval and square at the same salon and every time thereafter, I just cut them any way I want LOL I guess nails aren’t just my forte :P
I thought I was the only one who hates getting my nails done at a salon. I squirm in my seat and pull my feet away each time the manicurist attempt to scrub my feet. I hate it when they accidentally nip me and I absolutely fine the drying time boring. And yes, I end up smudging my nails, just like you too (“,)
Haha I love how we all think we’re alone and then we realise that we actually aren’t! There are more people like us yay! :D I live in fear of being nipped or cut. Ugh! Made me wonder why I paid good money to suffer back in the day! Oh and smudging nails when paying – it’s just a disaster waiting to happen right?!
Oh boy. I’m with you all the way Paris! I used to love manicure and pedicure. To me it was somewhat a sign of lady hood, a luxurious pampering that is until group discount sites allowed us to hop from one nail parlour to another. I was not blessed with healthy and strong nail to begin with. Still, I admired the shiny nail polish and enjoyed the pampering session until I came home with a nasty fungal infection. Horror story I would say. I realized I’ve become paranoid thereafter not to mention the crippling feeling post the manicure and pedicure visit. I had to be extra careful so that I won’t chip my nail. For all the time and trouble and money invested, it struck me that money could be better saved and spent elsewhere like on clothes, spa and skincare. From then on I stopped all together. I’m better off saving my nail from the nail polish and fungal hazard. If I purchase a bottle of nail polish, chances are it’ll outlive my interest and attention span. Money saved! Best feeling on earth and getting to keep my toes and fingers too haha.
Haha someone who gets what I think! Yes, it was the “thing” to do as they say. It’s like all working girls and ladies of leisure get a manicure and pedicure right? Well I guess we’re just the minority judging by the growing number of nail salons out there! I do enjoy the look of a beautifully polished nail but the process getting there isn’t something I enjoy so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s just one of those things, and I’m just not girly enough (not that I’m complaining!) :D
I go for mani-pedi only when there are special occasions e.g. weddings. I’ve never thought about fungal infection until I read this…..
Then you’re a lucky girl Cece! It’s important that nail salons sanitize their tools properly and clean their basins and tubs because it’s easy to spread infections from one person to another especially in a busy salon!
suddenly I am “alone”. I LOVE mani n pedi.. given a chance (and if I don’t have to pay) I will do it weekly. I’m crazy like that. I really did that, I was on some coupon then. And the place is 5 mins from my office. So I spend lunch there (it was a 3 months unlimited visit for RM50 I think). I am lucky, only 1 experience of bleeding due to cuticle cutting. *touchwood* no infection. I am really anal about them sterilizing the tools before using it on me. But now with a full time work n having to take care of my kid on weekends, it become a once in a blue moon thing. Plus, that nail salon moved, I moved job too. So no more lunch manicure :(
oh.. I will only do Gel nail once a year, for CNY. It weakens the nail so much. But vainpot wanted lasting manicure, so live with it ;p
Haha Off to the corner wiht you Shannen! ;) But no, there are a few others who are keen on manis and pedis as well so you’re not alone :D And you’re not crazy either – we all have our poisons and hey, if you enjoy a good relaxing mani/pedi why not? :) It’s the same way not everyone enjoys going for a facial because some people feel that it’s pointless and a waste of time :D
I don’t enjoy them. I also don’t have the money right now to go out and get a manicure. Well for a few reasons really. I use my hands a lot, and so my nails are ALWAYS short. I can never go for a long while with long nails. They either break, or I get stressed and bite them (horrible habit I know).
Another, is that my feet are incredibly ticklish. I don’t think I could enjoy a pedicure at all.
I’ve also heard the horror stories of someone cutting the cuticles and bleeding. I don’t think my cuticles are that bad, so I never bother to go.
Though I do want to try nail are eventually. When my nails are strong and long enough. But that’s another story.
You know, I’d read somewhere that wearing polish is a “cure” for nail biters since it’ll ruin the polish and you’d poison yourself in the process :P Ticklish feet aside, I actually prefer pedicures because I don’t have to upkeep the polish on my toes since they’re further away LOL!
i don’t get manicures. i figure for the price of a manicure, i can actually own the bottle of polish and get more use. nail polish has made great advancements over the years so it’s now easier to apply evenly. i do enjoy a pedicure once in a blue moon but i am a little bit nervous during the trimming/exfoliating part of the process. my mom has a hard time cutting her toe nails, so it’s some extra hang out time for us to get pedicures together.
I guess it’s for those who’d rather have someone pamper their hands and feet and paint their nails nicely? I don’t know, I never got them myself despite going for them LOL! :D