Things We Love :: Nails that last

We’ve only done a few of these “Things We Love” posts, and we figured today was a good day to get back to them. One day last month we both looked down at our fingers and cringed. After a busy weekend our nails were toast. They’d had it. The long wear, drug store nail polish did it’s best, and we gave it a run for it’s money, but our nails looked like they belonged to a nervous teenager. The paint was chipping and a few nails were starting to crack. Not good!

There’s a level of professionalism that comes into play with one’s appearance. When we arrive to photograph a wedding day, the way we present ourselves is very important. This is a wedding after all, so we must be dressed formally enough, yet professionally enough to do our jobs. So we wear appropriate dresses, shoes, and have our hair and makeup done as if we were attending this wedding as guests. In our opinion, how we arrive to work for our couples is very important and shows that we respect the wedding at hand. Too often though, we neglect to look down at our hands, and our chipping un-manicured nails are on display. We use our hands so much when we work, and they are constantly near our face for the world to see. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal, but with our hands at our face almost all day long, holding up our cameras as we direct family formals and bridal party portraits… we want this small detail to be taken care of, and we want our hands to also portray a level of professionalism.

So we decided to finally give shellac nail polish a try. There are plenty of home application systems we are interested in trying one day soon (because springing for a professional manicure once every 3 weeks is crazy expensive). But for now, we gave the salon a go at it and we loved it! The polish goes on thick but not too thick. Your nails feel like your nails, but they feel strong and protected. The colors are gorgeous, and there are enough options to find something you’ll enjoy wearing for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Neutrals, we’ve learned, are the way to go. The best part about this polish/manicure is how long it lasts! Our manicures lasted two full weeks allowing us to get through two weddings, two engagement sessions, and several consultations without having to worry about how our hands looked. It’s awesome!

We’re not sure how often we’ll be treating ourselves to this expensive manicure treatment, but we gotta say the price just might be worth the pay off. If you haven’t tried it (and we are probably the last women on earth to try shellac manicures) give it a shot!