July 11th

I got acrylic nails done for my calendar shoot and now I’m wishing I never bothered! I hate them. I don’t know why I always go back and get them done.

I don’t like really long nails because I think they can look a bit cheap so I had them filed right down so they looked natural. My normal nails are really thin and although I don’t bite my nails, I can’t help myself but to pick at them if they start to peel a bit, and I end up ripping the whole thing off. I like acrylics because they look neat but that only lasts for about a week, then something usually happens and one gets ripped off. Ouch. Every time this happens I swear I’ll never get them done again but I always go back. This time I mean it, though! Never again. The last time I got them about a year ago I was training in the gym with my then boyfriend, I picked up a big weight to put on the leg press and accidentally dropped it. As it dropped it, it ripped off my acrylic nail taking my real nail with it. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t in the body building section of the gym with all the sexy men! I was crying my eyes out (sad but true), my boyfriend told me to put my finger under the water fountain. As the freezing water hit my finger I screamed as pain shot up my arm. So embarassing. I am a bit of a baby sometimes but I’m telling you it reeeeeeally hurt! This time my dog went to chase a dog across a road and when I grabbed him I ripped my nail off AGAIN. It didn’t take so much of my nail off this time though, so it wasn’t quite so painful. I spent yesterday ripping all the other nails off. I know you shouldn’t because you damage your own nails but after being filed down so much before the nails were put on I can’t imagine it could have got much worse. The bits I couldn’t pull off I had to soak off. You can use pure acetone that you can get from most chemists. It takes a while though so I did it while watching Jeremy Kyle ☺ Every few minutes you have to wipe them with cotton wool to remove the melted acrylic.

My advice: don’t get them! Luckily what’s ‘in’ has changed and everyone’s having short, neat nails, I think it looks much nicer. Next time I might get bio sculpture gel put on top of my natural nails to stop me messing with them. It’s quite a new gel used for manicures, you effectively have false nails painted onto your nails and because you don’t have to have your nails filed down on top they’re much better for your poor nails. It looks really natural and you can even have it put on in a coloured form like nail varnish but that won’t chip. The gel will last for ages but you will need a refill after a couple of weeks. I’ll let you know how it looks. Another range I like is Sally Hansen. I love the ‘miracle cure’ clear varnish for problem nails. It really strengthens your nails and prevents them peeling and breaking. I suffer from hangnails, those bits of torn skin on the edge of your nails. I can never help myself but to pick at them and make them bleed. Great look, eh? Sally Hansen have a product that’s meant to be brilliant for nail growth, strengthening nails and preventing hangnails. What more can you want from a nail product? It’s called maximum growth cuticle pen and the reviews I checked out on the internet are hugely positive. Everyone loved it and couldn’t believe how well it worked. Isn’t it great when you get a product that actually does what it says on the packaging! I’ll have to try it out. It comes in a handy pen and is meant to be really easy to use.