Thursday, October 18, 2012

A strange post from me



If you have read more than this post here in my blog, you will probably realize I never wrote about ‘women’s products’ (not meaning sanitary towels or tampons here) before. I’m not what you would call vain and I have no problem at all going out without makeup of any kind. However, I have a certain obsession: Nail Polish.

It all started during my teens, when I started doing my own nails (first with my mum’s nail polish, later with some I bought myself). At that time I experimented with a lot of makeup, though. And yes, sometimes (make that often, from today’s POV) I looked like a clown had run amok in the bathroom while I was in it. I’ve never really mastered the art of doing a good makeup, may it be foundation, eye shadow, lipstick, blush, mascara, or anything else you can name. And, if you are female, chances are high you can name more makeup products than I can. Nail polish was the only thing that stayed. I do have a collection of makeup products in my bathroom, but most of it stems from my teens. I have a couple of lip glosses I wear whenever the weather is terrible in winter and I remember them in time (i.e. before I leave my flat). I have a concealing pencil, but I rarely remember using that, either. And I have a big and varied collection of nail polish.

Why the nails? Well, first of all, I had a bad habit of chewing on my nails as a kid. Sometimes, when I’m immersed in reading a story or watching a movie, it might still happen today (usually with my left thumb nail). I don’t chew when my nails are lacquered. So a regular nail polish was enough to put me off chewing, much less expensive than that specialized polish with the very bad taste. However, I have mostly conquered my habit (except for a high dose of suspense), so why do I still have that much nail polish these days?

Well, I love the texture of lacquered nails. I even like that slightly chemical smell they have. I like the way my fingers look, especially with a dark polish. I don’t really mind whether it’s glossy or creamy polish and I usually don’t do anything too special with my nails, such as French Manicure. I just like my nails covered by nail polish. During my late teens and early twenties, I experimented with a lot of colours, from regular red, rose, pink, or white to (then) less regular colours like deep velvet, blue, or green. Some weeks, I like a pale nail polish, just a sheen on my nails. Other weeks, I’m in the mood for a strong red. Then there are weeks when I pull out my old blue polish, because I’m in mood for something more unusual.

Length usually isn’t a problem, though. My nails aren’t as tough as my mum’s (I pity the fool who wants to attack her, they’re in for a painful surprise), but I type a lot and that makes them grow more quickly than normal. I love keeping my thumb nails long, for reasons even I can’t explain. And I don’t like those overly square nails you see today … I want the edges a bit more rounded, so I do my own unprofessional manicure. And even though the shape of my nails isn’t ideal, I still like having lacquered nails. They fascinate and amuse me for relatively little money.

I doubt there’s a nail polish user anonymous group out there and I’m not ashamed of my nails, either. Yet, this was a highly unusual post for me.

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