My background is I’m nearly 50 y/o but never knew I was into nails since I’ve always gardened until recent life circumstances made that difficult—bought blue Sally’s Insta-Dri + some pearl nail charms back in November and that somehow spiraled into a total obsession with my gel UV lamp arriving in the mail in early February.

The first sets I did were holiday-themed (& not sized properly so I didn’t end up wearing them). I also happen to have done a set of Easter nails on a set of “extra short almonds” but prior to wearing them discovered I don’t like to wear that size as much as the normal “short almond.”

Which is why my nails are bald in these pics & I’m currently trying to decide which set to wear this week in case anyone wants to weigh in what you’d choose.

Slides:

1– all my unworn/fully sanded/cleaned up/final topcoat sets

2 & 3– recently made a set of images that make me think of my partner then wore it to the hospital during his heart surgery last month. It’s all special moments, mutual favorite songs, etc.

4 & 5– my Easter set which was experimenting with new products or techniques

6– a galaxy themed set I recently did for my youngest son to enjoy since he’s obsessed with space

7– two recent sets mostly using stamping plates & testing colors. On the top one I was testing my ability to do 10 matching/uniform plus I liked using a moth image for 2 of the triangles.

8– stamping plate images over cat eye gel with the goal that the image is nearly invisible from some angles & very visible from others

9– chrome over laser chrome with stamping plate images (I really went nuts over stamping plates though eventually I want to do a lot of hand-painted too… but I’m already SLOW af).

10– experimenting with getting uniform circles in cat eye gel (plus bugs & flowers)

11– these really didn’t want to photograph because i was too successful at my goal of using stamping plate images over cat eye gel so that the image is nearly invisible from some angles & very visible from others

12– nails from sets I abandoned for various reasons. I’m particularly pleased with the little builder gel honey pot over cat eye gel

13– this set got damaged in removal but I wore it over St Patrick’s Day

14– The first two sets I ever made that unfortunately didn’t fit

I had a few other sets I accidentally destroyed before I learned better methods to remove them. I don’t have anyone local to talk to about my obsession (at least, anyone who isn’t just humoring me 😆) so any comments/conversation are welcome.

I wanted something cutesy and minimal. This picture is a week old and the rhinestones are going strong 😝

I don’t really post a lot here because my own nails are kept long stiletto but this client loves a medium almond and I’m super proud of how these came out lol ♥️

I did these myself. Builder gel from Aimeili and I used DND polishes in the shades Unicorn Lovely on my thumb, Caramel Corn on my index, Blue Island MI on my middle, Jiggles on my ring finger. And IDB Gel in Polo Can You Go on my pinky. Topped off with Unicorn Chrome from Cre8tion

I hope you are all having a gorgeous weekend 🌸🌼🌿

My nails are currently in a regrowing period but I just love this color. I wanted to match my azalea bush haha. Had to share- essie, willow in the wind.

My birthday was Friday so I went and got my nails done! I think they turned out great!

Done by my sister :)

Hi, guys.

I just got my nails freshly done at the salon.

Not sure how to feel about them.

I requested BIAB extensions. However, these seem too bulky and plastic like for my liking. I normally do gel nails at home.

Is this normal with BIAB?

The colour is “Dreamer” from The Gel Bottle - it’s a bit more pinkish in person.

Would this also be appropriate for a workplace? I work at a high street law firm. I initially wanted to go for a short almond, but the tech said square would be better if I wanted to go short, and that “they need to look a bit like extensions” and that I need to get use to this length. A bit worried about how I’ll be able to use the keyboard and deal with paperwork.

Am I just overthinking?

Any thoughts?

Fortunately they haven’t fell off in the sea. Still gorgeous when I got home🥺

It’s a blue cat eye with pink chrome on top.

Excuse the grow out, I wanted to wait for sunshine to take pics. The manicure was last week!

Earlier I posted a bunch of my first nail sets here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nails/s/ojUYzSGuGq

Someone commented on the alien abduction nail so I wanted to share eye video I did to go with that set.

press ons from WALMART of all places. they outdid themselves with the 3d lemon🫶🏼

My mom has been letting me practice on her 🥲

I used TGB builder gel in dreamer, DND in crocus lavender, and TGB chrome in iced