DIY Wins Again!

I’ve gotten pretty good at coloring my hair at home – or I guess I should say my husband has. I cannot tell the difference between when he colors my hair and when the salon does. He watched a couple YouTube videos and we buy good color, so it comes out consistently great. I’ve had a couple DIY successes lately, so I keep trying new things that have been too expensive to have done professionally.

One of the big ones? I love the look of acrylic nails (or I guess it’s gel/powder these days?). I love the shiny color that lasts for weeks but going to a nail salon isn’t in the budget. Those gel manicures run $40-$50 every other week and there are just too many other things I need in my life than nice nails. At best, I get a $20 express manicure twice a year.

A friend posted on Instagram that she had tried nail dip powder at home for the first time. Her nails were gorgeous! I messaged her and she suggested a cheap $25 dip set and sent a couple how-to YouTube links.

Friends. Holy moly. I tried it out and it’s so darn awesome. I tried it a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to see if they result was beginners’ luck or if it was really that easy. The first time was a cake walk and the nails looked great. I kept them on a little over a week, removed them, then tried to apply a different color. Uh. Yeah. Just as easy the second time.

I am no photographer, so my photos don’t do them justice, but they look amazing. It takes me less time to apply dip powder than to paint my nails with traditional polish since the dip powder doesn’t require long dry times and it’s actually pretty fun. Don’t judge my ‘old lady hands’. We’re in the middle of a dry Texas winter and I’ve been forgetting lotion lately.