Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fierce fingertips from OPI, Gelish, and Perfect Match

Long nails that last the longest

Jennifer achieves fierce and sparkly fingertips with dip powder; Right: Justine’s pristine gel manicure send bride vibes
Jennifer achieves fierce and sparkly fingertips with dip powder; Right: Justine’s pristine gel manicure send bride vibes

Attempting to blend in with the football fans during a Sunday game, I started chatting with the couple next to me. I met 30-year-old Justine, who had pristine nails pressed against her pint of beer. I thought white was a curious choice of color, until she told me she recently got engaged. “I was going for bride vibe!”

I realized I knew even less about nail trends than I do about football. Justine was happy to inform me. Her first tip: be assertive and clear. “People get tripped up when they go into the nail salons and they’re like, ‘Oh, would you like this pedicure?’ No, you have to tell them. If you want to get a deal and go in there knowing what you’re doing, just say ‘I want a gel mani, spa pedi.’”

She likes the gel style best and sticks to three brands she thinks last the longest: OPI, Gelish, and Perfect Match. “There’s a lot of other ones, tried ’em all, they peel,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Another life hack — put sunscreen on your hands, because you’re putting it under the UV light.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The seasoned nail vet goes once a month and closes out at $62, with tip. “And don’t waste your time on any kind of salon that doesn’t have spa massages,” she says, insisting on getting the most for her money. “Mine has champagne, that’s why I like to go there!”

Later in the week, I spotted sparkling nails reaching for a salad at Trader Joe’s. I pulled 25-year-old Jennifer aside to ask about her fierce fingertips and she explained her dip powder manicure.

“So it’s kind of like acrylic, but you just have to get this gel on them first and then the nail tech dips them into the powder three times. By the third time, it’s really hardened so then it’s practically impossible for your nails to break.”

Jennifer says this method takes longer but lasts longer and is all about being more gentle on your nails. “I just feel like my nails are so weak, that they never stay without chipping or cracking, so I had to resort to that.”

In total, she said the whole process takes an hour to 45 minutes and costs about $40. When asked what inspired the silver glitter, she smiled, saying “I wanted to be festive for the holidays!”

Usually, when she goes to the nail salon, Jennifer brings pictures of ideas or things she’s seen on Instagram. “Next, I’ll probably get a French tip design, I saw that they’re kind of coming back in. I want to do that!”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Jennifer achieves fierce and sparkly fingertips with dip powder; Right: Justine’s pristine gel manicure send bride vibes
Jennifer achieves fierce and sparkly fingertips with dip powder; Right: Justine’s pristine gel manicure send bride vibes

Attempting to blend in with the football fans during a Sunday game, I started chatting with the couple next to me. I met 30-year-old Justine, who had pristine nails pressed against her pint of beer. I thought white was a curious choice of color, until she told me she recently got engaged. “I was going for bride vibe!”

I realized I knew even less about nail trends than I do about football. Justine was happy to inform me. Her first tip: be assertive and clear. “People get tripped up when they go into the nail salons and they’re like, ‘Oh, would you like this pedicure?’ No, you have to tell them. If you want to get a deal and go in there knowing what you’re doing, just say ‘I want a gel mani, spa pedi.’”

She likes the gel style best and sticks to three brands she thinks last the longest: OPI, Gelish, and Perfect Match. “There’s a lot of other ones, tried ’em all, they peel,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Another life hack — put sunscreen on your hands, because you’re putting it under the UV light.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The seasoned nail vet goes once a month and closes out at $62, with tip. “And don’t waste your time on any kind of salon that doesn’t have spa massages,” she says, insisting on getting the most for her money. “Mine has champagne, that’s why I like to go there!”

Later in the week, I spotted sparkling nails reaching for a salad at Trader Joe’s. I pulled 25-year-old Jennifer aside to ask about her fierce fingertips and she explained her dip powder manicure.

“So it’s kind of like acrylic, but you just have to get this gel on them first and then the nail tech dips them into the powder three times. By the third time, it’s really hardened so then it’s practically impossible for your nails to break.”

Jennifer says this method takes longer but lasts longer and is all about being more gentle on your nails. “I just feel like my nails are so weak, that they never stay without chipping or cracking, so I had to resort to that.”

In total, she said the whole process takes an hour to 45 minutes and costs about $40. When asked what inspired the silver glitter, she smiled, saying “I wanted to be festive for the holidays!”

Usually, when she goes to the nail salon, Jennifer brings pictures of ideas or things she’s seen on Instagram. “Next, I’ll probably get a French tip design, I saw that they’re kind of coming back in. I want to do that!”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Next Article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 6, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Feb. 10, 2021
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.