I found myself thinking about a significant question as I settled in for a celebratory birthday manicure, fully prepared to treat myself to an elaborate gel manicure. As someone constantly using my hands, I routinely choose a gel manicure to ensure longevity. However, as my hands went under the UV lamp, a worrying thought crossed my mind, sparked by a flurry of social media posts and a recent study making rounds.

Could my cherished manicure sessions be raising my risk of cancer?

It goes without saying that 2020 was a challenging period of adjustment for everyone. For the first half of last year, I was so completely resigned to staying in that I pretty much dropped most of my beauty habits, save for my nightly skincare routine. But as the months went by, I slowly began to miss my old self-care rituals. So much so that I’ve started them back up even whilst I remain stuck indoors.

Inspired by the nail polish queen and Preview’s former beauty editor, Agoo Bengzon, I began wearing nail polish when I was in college. Since I couldn’t afford going to the salon for a manicure back then, I decided it would be more practical to spend on a bottle and apply the polish myself.

After many years of practice, I can confidently say that I’m good at applying nail polish. I couldn’t take all of the credit, of course. Ease of application also has to do with what brand I use. Having tried many brands, I already know what bottles to reach for whenever I want an easy manicure.

Since lockdown started, I can proudly say that I was able to put in a lot more effort into skincare. When restrictions eased up, I was even able to gradually go back to wearing makeup. But a manicure - self-applied, of course - only happened exactly once in the last eight months. The housework scattered throughout the day and all the frequent hand-washing didn’t exactly leave me with a lot of downtime to painstakingly wait for each layer to set and dry. But Luxx Lash is giving my used and abused nails some hope.

If makeup is a form of wearable art, nail polish is the longer lasting option. You (should!) take off your makeup at the end of the day but the right products and proper care can make your painted tips last for 3 weeks. I love being able to enjoy my vanity project for a little longer, and contrary to what some people think, short nails can rock nail art designs, too!

Do you like painted nails but find manicures to be a chore? Or have you ever wanted to try having long nails, but couldn’t commit to growing them out? You should check out press-on nails!

Nine and I were supposed to try press-on nails with Den before, but chickened out at the last minute. So when Girlstuff’s Press-On Gel Nails arrived at the PV HQ, we volunteered to test them for the special events we were attending that weekend!

If you’ve been a long-time reader of Project Vanity, you might still recall when Liz used to do #ManiMondays. As a nail polish fan, I used to look forward to those posts because I didn’t know much about other brands besides local ones like Caronia, Bobbie, and Chic. Nowadays though, it’s rare to see Liz wearing any kind of nail color, and I get it. Manicures take time to do and need to be properly cared for - sporting chipped nail polish is the equivalent of having smudged mascara or eyeliner and not fixing it.

What do you do to perk up when you’re feeling down? Maybe take extra time with your skincare, put on a cute outfit, or swipe on your favorite lipstick? If you need a visual reminder that you can constantly see, though, I think that manicures are the way to go!

As a smol person with smol hands and even smoller fingernails, manicures make me feel more grown-up and elegant. Extending a perfectly polished hand to someone I’ve just met is my way of saying “I’m a detail-oriented person” and “I’ve got my life together”. I do a pretty decent job of painting my own nails (I can even do some simple nail art!) but it takes me a lot of time to make it look presentable. So when I found rave reviews for stick-on nails in one of my beauty groups, I thought I had found the perfect solution!

Before I got into makeup and skincare, my first foray into beauty was actually nail polish. I grew up accompanying my mom to her weekly manicure appointments, and one of my first beauty purchases was an iridescent blue-purple polish. These days, I don’t wear polish as much as I’d like because it seems impractical with all the household chores I do, but when Thai brand Tenten sent over their limited edition holiday collection, I just could not resist playing around and giving myself an extra special mani!

We at PV are big fans of Happy Skin’s nail polishes! Made with nourishing ingredients like hydrolyzed keratin and almond oil, the chip-resistant gel formula delivers long wear without the need for UV lamps. They always hit the right spot when it comes to color selection, as well! Time and again, we were wowed from the initial release, to the collabs with Sanrio, Havaianas, and KC Concepcion.

You’ve said “yes” to the dress, blinged out your shoes, scheduled your facials, and decided on whether to book a makeup artist or do your own makeup for the big day. A must-add to your wedding prep list: get your nails did! Aside from being a great way to relax from all the stress of wedding planning (and I KNOW that there are many!), your digits are actually going to be photographed to show off your new bling so you want to make sure that they look every inch as polished as the rest of you!

One of my major beauty pet peeves is chipped nail polish. I hate seeing it on people, most of all on myself! There are only a few things more shabby than sporting chipped nails. The whole point of a manicure is to, well, look manicured and tattered nail polish makes the point entirely moot. Either you wear it neatly or you don't.

You’d think that celebrities get everything they want, or at least the exact shade of nail polish for their mani-pedi. That wasn’t the case for KC Concepcion, though, that fateful day she got her nails done at the exact same nail salon as Happy Skin co-founder Rissa Mananquil-Trillo. KC wanted a specific shade of coral that she’d previously tried before in Korea but nothing in the salon’s extensive collection even came close as a dupe. After hearing KC’s story and description of the hard-to-find hue, Rissa offered to make it with Happy Skin! Thus, the idea for  #HappySkinxKC Express Gel Polish Collection was born!

When Happy Skin first launched their Express Gel Polish line last year, it was quite a hit as many swooned over the flattering nude polish that seemed especially picked for Filipina skin. This summer, Happy Skin expanded their shade offerings and teamed up with Havaianas to ensure that our vacays are made better with fashionable sandals and chic nail polish! 

While I love all kinds of cosmetics, I confess that one item in particular still intimidates me: nail polish. I can wing my liner and draw on a sharp red lip with practiced precision but having to paint on polish reveals my lack of left-hand coordination (odd for a guitarist). Having someone else do it helps, but only so much: I inevitably get into an accident with my still-wet nails and end up either having to redo the whole thing or just giving up. And if my manicure manages to last all the way until the “dry” stage, my lifestyle (which includes handbag-digging, keyboard-smashing, and guitar string-plucking, among other things) means that they often chip and crack within a day, if not - and this is no exaggeration - within a few hours.

I've been writing about beauty products for close to ten years now. I have what may be a surprising confession though: I give no fucks about my nails. Sure I have moods when I want to put on nail polish and get a ~gasp~ mani-pedi, but that's once in a blue moon. Nails aren't my thing. Most of the time they are half-bitten and my cuticles are dead wastelands of despair.