This past weekend, I was home while Coach Patrick (aka my hubby dubby) was hanging out with our son Mason. Now, I spend a lot of time with Patrick—as you can imagine 🤪—and I really do enjoy it. But this little window of alone time had me excited for an afternoon to myself!
Lately, I’ve been focusing on self-care and healthy habits—like improving my nails, which have been getting stronger and longer. With all this focus on wellness, I had an impulse: Why not give myself a DIY manicure? Just like how we tackle fitness goals or work on our nutrition plans, I thought I could handle this on my own.
While I considered going to a salon, I decided to DIY it—just like how some people try to get fit at home without a coach. But here’s the thing: just like with losing weight or getting stronger, sometimes it’s better to rely on a professional coach than to go it alone.
Enter TikTok. So many ideas, hacks, and how-to’s. I just knew I could find the answer to a blissful DIY nail afternoon. And I did! Found a great tutorial on getting perfect white tips with a nice, straight line.
Off to Walgreens with my list!
I wanted to do this right—so I got it all! (Please bookmark this “wanted to do it right” part for later.)
Here’s my shopping list:
- Nail File
- Nail Buffer
- Cuticle Pusher Thingy (???)
- Cuticle Trimmer
- White Polish
- Top Coat
- Base Coat
- Pink Polish
- Nail Polish Remover
- Cotton Balls
- Nail Strengthener
Total spend so far: $90. But it’s all reusable, right? I skipped the drying machine because, hey, air drying is free!
Back home, I set myself up in the living room, put on “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” and started my DIY adventure. Cuticles? Check. Buffing? Check. Wash hands, apply polish—easy peasy.
Until it wasn’t.
I filed pretty well. I buffed pretty well. I was so proud.
Then came the polish.
Let’s just say, the base coat looked good. 😶
I won’t bore you with more details, but let’s just skip to the photos—see blog post. It’s not pretty.
$90. Two hours. Yes, two hours – at least. Because I had to restart after realizing how critical it is to properly deal with those cuticles. And who knew how long it takes for these layers to dry?
At some point, Patrick mentioned he was running out to take care of a friend’s dog who was out of town. Sure! I thought I’d finish this waiting game in the car.
While waiting for him to walk the dog, I tried to perfect the white tips in his car—the car he loves more than just about anything. The car he meticulously cares for. The trick on TikTok was working “ok” but not to a standard I would actually have paid for. So I tried to free hand it. That turned out much, much worse.
I was just about to say screw it and go find him on the walk when he called.
We had a deposit to make and he had the check in his wallet that was in the car with me.
Cool, bank is just around the corner, I’ll get that done. Smart, so smart – more “time saving”.
Let’s just say, the car now has a new feature: white nail polish on the steering wheel. HELP.
It was like a 3-year-old got hold of her mom’s makeup—it was a scene, man. Absolute terror as I tried to wipe it off, only to smear it more.
There’s a reason I don’t do my own manicures. There’s a reason even I hire a coach, even before I owned the best women’s personal training gym in Northglenn, I hired a coach to help with my fitness. If I’m not the expert, I’m wasting time.
Beyond the $90, my time is worth so much more than wasting it on a fruitless effort with minimal results.
To the client I shared this story with earlier this week—thanks for being kind and telling me “they don’t look that bad.” I’ll be over later to start your manicure. It’ll take over two hours and cost you $90 in supplies plus $50 an hour. For the same quality as mine. $240 to save $30. No? I didn’t think so!
Now, what about losing weight, getting stronger, or just not feeling like sh!t anymore? What are you willing to do yourself, and will it work? Is it worth it?
Or would a fitness coach or nutrition coach actually save you time, money, and stress?
You know where to find me! I’ll be the one googling “best manicurist near me!”
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