I used to paint my nails quite frequently for posts on here when I was in high school (I do hate the process of painting and waiting for each layer to dry) and getting gel or dipped nails done was a bimonthly occurrence in college. I went to Elegant Nail Spa in Waco with Lo and sometimes Jonathan as often as I could afford because our nail tech Jade gave the best long-lasting manicures (here’s my favorite one I’ve ever gotten). I haven’t gotten my nails done since Lo and I were groomsmen in Jonathan’s wedding back in January 2020, so I wanted to try an easy gel sticker nail pack like the Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Nails. I picked up the Dashing Diva kit in After Glow at Target as a more affordable alternative to the more popular sticker brands like Mani Me (though theirs will be my next purchase) and the pack boasts a 14-day long manicure. I’ve never used sticker polishes before but my last attempt at fake at-home nails came in the form of the KISS Gel Fantasy Nails I tried back in September 2019 when I started working at Legal Aid. Those plastic acrylics were a little longer than I’m used to so they popped off anytime I got my hands caught in a door or book or any other slightly painful situations. These Dashing Diva nails, however, sit right on top of my natural nail length so they look incredibly natural and painted on. I simply prepped my nails by pushing back and trimming all of the cuticles, filing each nail to a similar length, and wiping them down with the one-use prep pad to remove any oil or dirt. I selected the gels that looked like they’d cover my nailbeds fully and sat them atop each nail. After trimming the excess polish, I filed the rest of the hang-over gel and I’m all pau! I’ll see how long the gel actually lasts, but these $6 nails look pretty salon-quality for under 30 minutes!
