Hi Goddesses
So, yesterday we were talking about why I started blogging, and how at heart, I am really a frustrated writer. So have I also always been a frustrated polisher? No. And I guess that is where I differ from most bloggers. For me, writing is the passion, and polish is the medium; for almost every other blogger out there, the blog is the medium for discussing their passion.
So when and how did I get into nail polish? Well, I’ve always liked it, just never full-on-polishaholic liked it until about a year ago. I remember my mum having 3 polishes when I was little, and how glamorous she seemed every time she put red nails on. I remember becoming a teenager and having a variety of pink polishes, and I remember being a 20 something with a decent stash (30 ish) and that when I turned 30 and Urban Decay launched in the UK I pretty much bought their entire line (even though most of them looked ridiculous on me). So pretty much I bought polishes that I liked, that were good brands, and paid little attention to whether they matched my skin tone.
Oh and I was messy. Boy was I messy. Crumpets are, by nature, messy things, and I was born with mess in my genes. Seriously, I could create mess in a padded cell. So my technique was to slap it on, splosh it around, and usually, there would be big thick streaks on the side of each nail which I would then enjoy picking and peeling off. Oh and then I’d nibble that skin too.
And my polish always chipped. I’ve learnt through following so many blogs, that chemistry can affect a lot of things, and I think my natural body chemistry is to repel nail polish, or at least it did in those days. I tried various brands and Clinique Daily Nail Saver, but I could rarely go past half a day without a chip.
And then I had Beth and I remember time evaporating and whizzing off like a deflating balloon, and I distinctly remember myself saying to people “huh, nail varnish was invented for women who don’t have children”, and I remember, I vividly remember looking at women with polished hands with envy, loathing and disgust.
Then there was a day when Beth was 4 or 5 where I had to put polish on for some reason, and I remembered how much I used to love that Sunday night ritual of painting my nails ready for the week ahead, and slowly, I started doing them again. Not all the time, but doing them. And of course, if the polish chipped during the week, I didn’t really care about that, mainly because I have no vanity, but also because, well chipped nail varnish proved I was a busy mother.
Then I started lusting after Jo’s nails. Jo was on my team at work. Jo always had gorgeous nails that never chipped, and always looked sooooo pretty (this is now about December 2010). She told me all about OPI and me, being the ultimate ebay whore, went click crazy and ended up with about 14 polishes overnight. Which chipped on me. Use base coat and top coat, Jo said (she is, actually, quite bossy), but I can’t be arsed, I said. Well, don’t whinge then, said Jo. Ggggrrrrrr.
So I bought some OPI base coat and top coat and … oh … less chipping .... it didn’t stop it all together, but it did slow it down, and oh these OPI colours are LOVELY. Typically, I made my old mistake and bought pretty colours, rather than colours which suited me, so I ended up with quite a few I didn’t want. So I sold them on ebay, and used the pennies to buy more.
And that, I think, is where it all really started. This is about Feb / March last year. As I was selling my unwanted OPIs on ebay, I noticed that some sold for really good prices, and that if I was clever, I could buy cheaply and sell high. So over a few months I bought quite a lot of OPI (mainly from salons which were closing) and kept some and sold some.
I think it was the day Parlez Vous OPI arrived that my world stopped. I remember gasping and looking at its sheer beauty and wondering if there were more pretties like this in the world. So I think I came to polish and blogs via Google images. I think that through searching for pretties I kept finding blog photos, and of course you just have to click on other links on that blog page, and at some point the penny must have dropped – I love writing, I enjoy taking photos, I can do this!
And that is what happened in August 2011. And tomorrow, we'll revisit the hideousness of my first manis. Be warned, you may need a vomit bucket! xxx
