Life as Leah

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Does a topcoat of clear polish really help your manicure last?

Ok, so I have been working on this post for almost two weeks! I get so frustrated that it takes me over an hour to give myself a decent looking manicure, and it seems to chip the very next day! I have used topcoats before, but they were always the cheap ones. They didn't seem to do anything, which led me to wonder...is it because I didn't splurge for the brand name one, or because top coats are just pointless? So, I decided to try a little experiment.

I bought Sally Hansen No Chip Acrylic Top Coat, for 5.95 at my local drugstore-which is way more than I would normally pay for regular nail polish.
I gave myself a manicure using one of my favorite nail polishes by Revlon, without using a topcoat.

Looks good!!!

But by the end of the day, it looked like this:

You can see a little chipping at the top of my middle finger, and at the left side of my ring finger. Definitely not too bad, but once it starts chipping off, it goes fast!

By the end of the NEXT day, it looked like this:

Uggh. Time for a new manicure.

Then, a few days later, I gave myself a manicure using the same nail polish, but this time I applied the Sally Hansen topcoat.

Looking good again!!

By the end of the day, it had started to chip just a little. It pretty much looked the same as the end of the non-topcoat day did.

And, again, by the end of the second day...

Pretty serious chipping. Basically just as bad as the non-topcoat second day.
So, my verdict is that the topcoat didn't help my manicure last any longer. BUST!! I also tried as hard as I could to keep dishwashing, etc. at a minimum on these days so that the results could be as accurate as possible.

American Apparel Convertible Bandeau Pencil dress-one dress, one thousand looks!

I got this American Apparel dress a couple years ago for Christmas from my husband. I would definitely recommend this dress for everyone-you can wear it quite a few different ways, so the possibilities are endless. It's a comfy, stretchy jersey knit, that is super-sexy. It comes in literally, over twenty colors, and the models on the site are all different sizes-and it looks great on all of them! The dress is only $41, and it's like getting five different dresses AND a pencil skirt for that price-what! what! Here's a few of my favorite looks with this dress-I literally could have done a lot more but I can only take so many pictures on a camera timer without going crazy.

Sweetheart neckline strapless dress-pair with pearls and nude heels for a wedding or special event!

Retro squareneck halter dress-paired with t-straps, bracelet cuff, and vintage earrings for a pin-up feel

One shoulder for a date!!

I think this look is the sexiest-A cross neck halter dress with SUPER high heels!!

And yes, you can wear it as a pencil skirt, and adjust the length however you want-I love the pencil skirt for a casual daytime look : )

I did want to show you a side-view...because this dress is tight...so therefore not for the faint of heart. But you can really do so much with it that you can find ways to disguise your midsection if you are worried about that.

Here are a few pictures of the models on the site wearing them:

property of American Apparel

I am dying to get a couple more colors of this dress...they also have a convertible tube dress that is not pencil-shaped, so therefore not as form-fitting. But it works the same in every other way. To check this dress out at American Apparel, click here!

To check out their other convertible dress, click here.
Here is a picture of it,