This year I needed to have Christmas themed nails for several weeks. Being an assistant to the Jolly Man In The Red Velvet Suit comes with a special set of expectations, even if they are only in my mind and not enforced by anyone specific. I got matching toes but my toes are never seen at work, so that was just for me. ;)

Christmas Earrings, Christmas T-shirts, a good Christmas “stocking cap”, and Christmas Nails have been my work uniform recently. This sequinned version from Spotlight was not the one I chose but it was up there in the top three options.

My first set of Christmas Nails were done on November the 21st. This is exactly what I saw in my mind though the gold line might have been more solid gold. I asked her to exaggerate the tips, make them larger/taller than usual because I knew it would be 3 weeks before I could go back. My second set I’m thinking will have 5 different shades of glitter – green, gold, red, silver, and sparkly white like snow.

If these nails could talk, the stories they would tell you of the past few weeks! The checklists of “things that must be done before Santa sits in the chair”. The time I missed one of the vital steps and thus set off the fire alarm as a surprise to everyone. You can bet I’ll not make that mistake a second time.

The screaming children. The happy children. The screaming parents. The happy parents. The levels of skill of our photographer who is able with just a few words to get children to sit up straight and smile. You can visibly see them follow his instructions, and every single time it amazes me.

The outfits worn by families to see Santa are generally of a sparkly, sequin covered and often tulle-skirted nature. I wanted a tulle skirt for me. I did nearly buy this tutu, also from Spotlight, but decided it would be a step too far. Three weeks in, I actually think I was wrong on this particular call. It would have fit right in. Anything you can do to get smiles out of the folks or divert the attention of a crying child is worth ten times the $$$ you pay for it. Next year, especially if I can snag it on clearance prices after Christmas.

That is why this toy was an incredible godsend. I am not hip to the latest in toys, it has been a few years since I needed to buy any, but the how to survive Santa info pack was clear – get a toy that makes noise so the photographer can get the attention of the younger ones and they will look towards the camera. When you squeeze the head of this toy, it makes a loud funny noise that never fails to get *me* to laugh, and it always works with the kids.

One young gentleman appeared wearing this t-shirt. I LOVE THIS. I love everything about it, especially the silver foil text and the font they used. I loved it so much I had to ask where they got it. You too can purchase Gangster Wrapper at Target. Sadly it is not available in my size but you can bet if it were, I would have ordered it on the spot for next weeks Christmas T-shirts.

This one I found quite hilarious and it appeared in my queue of people at the exact moment I needed that laugh to get me back to the happy jolly frame of mind required. This one is just $8 at Kmart.

Just over three weeks later, my ready to be replaced Christmas nails were super long but still almost perfect. I’ve been having the Dip Nails AKA SNS done since March now and I am a believer. These babies never let me down, and I am constantly surprised at how strong they are. Some of the tasks I have to do are not particularly nail friendly but it has been months since I had so much as a crack appear, let alone any kind of breakage.

I think a mix of things = why these nails work better for me now. The nail artists have just got better and better at the SNS procedure, I started having them done right when they started learning how to do it and I believe that is what led to the occasional problem. I have also learned what tasks are likely to spell trouble – eg opening a box – and I am a lot more careful when doing those tasks.

On Wednesday the 28th of March I got my first set of dip nails, also known as SNS nails. It was an interesting experience. This is an acrylic powder which bonds to the nail. It is not acrylic nails as you know them, though. They feel a lot lighter and you don’t do infills, the powder is removed and completely replaced on your next visit, similar to how gel nails are removed.

First of all the manicure overall is less “invasive” – they do not do all the filing, buffing and cuticle paring they normally would. This may be better for the natural nails underneath long term.

After the previous nail polish is removed, a base coat is put on but not your normal base coat, then the nails are dipped into a container full of powder. Surprisingly the powder does not stick to the finger, just to the nails. The finger is tapped gently to remove excess powder. The powder may be coloured and even in some cases sparkly.

Because I chose to have french tips, the white you see here is also powder in a different colour. Only the tips of the nail are dipped in the white powder. Underneath the powder are my own natural nails.

Some thoughts on this manicure –

Thursday 29th – After 24 hours – My nails are a LOT stronger with dip powder on them. Over time having gel nails I have identified times of the day where I have to be more careful – number one being after getting out of the shower. Time in the water does tend to soften both my real nails and the gel polish. That is not the case for dip nails.

Saturday 31st – I am loving this manicure. The one possible downside is if you look very closely you can see dots in the clear area of the nails – so you can actually see the powder. But that is far outweighed by the strength of the nails.

On Sunday the 1st of April planned life changed somewhat with the illness of BeeGee. This actually changed how I live life for the next two weeks. Anytime I touched the chicken, there was a handwashing. I’m a bit more handwashing orientated than your normal person but even I do not usually wash my hands several times an hour unless I am cooking.

Dip nails may work great for people who have their hands in water a lot.

I thought this would be an excellent test of the dip nails and I was right. The best thing about them – during the BeeGee time, I did not even have to think about them, or be concerned that I would break one. I did not baby them at all like I usually might with a normal gel manicure.

They grow out just like the normal gel nails do. This pic is the day before I got them redone, so you can see the gap of regular nail between the dip manicure and the cuticle. This photo does show the dots a little bit better than the previous pic too. You can also see that the white tips have grown out and you can see the normal nail underneath.

When we usually do a french tip manicure, my nail artist will paint the tips artificially a lot lower than they really are, so as the nail grows out you don’t see as much of the normal nail underneath.

I did manage to crack one approximately two weeks into the mani but unlike a regular manicure, this did not mean I had to run off and get it fixed right away. It was only the dip coating that I cracked and not the nail underneath, and the crack did not seem to have any effect on the strength of the nail at all..

After this great experience I decided to get another dip manicure and this time I decided to keep all the length my nails had grown in the past 3 weeks. Removal is done exactly the same way as gel nails – cotton wool soaked in nail polish remover is placed on top of the nail and aluminium foil placed over the top. I found that the powder comes off a lot easier than the gel does, so there is a lot less grinding and scraping.

Two days after having this done I am still on the fence about whether the length is a good decision for me. A week after having this done I am having some trouble doing some things with this length of nail. I’m worried I might not get my full 3-4 weeks out of this manicure due to the length – lesson learned for next time.

I am not especially worried that I will break one – dip nails are pretty incredible strength wise. I’m starting to wonder if it is possible to break them. I think if it could be done I would have managed it by now. I am wondering if one may be more likely to rip ones own nail out of the nail bed rather than break one of these.

I chose to go with a full colour rather than just tips this time. I’m still on the fence about the length of this mani, but we will see how it goes. :)