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I’m saving about $2,000 a year on buying my press-on nails from Etsy instead of getting them professionally done anymore. Let that number sink in. And I’m having so much more fun this way, too! Some women have knitting. Others scrapbook. The hobby that enriches my silly little life with arts and crafts is gluing the most beautifully painted bits of plastic onto my fingertips. I’d suggest you buy two sets in the same sizes so that if one nail falls off, you can replace it. Two sets of the same design will create a manicure that lasts just under a month—I shit you fucking not. And here’s the kicker! After you decide to take them off you can still use them again someday. To sand off the dried glue from previously worn nail sets, you’ll need this $10 electric nail file from Amazon. I also like to organize my nail sets in this clear, $8 bead organizer, also from Amazon, so get that, too. To find great nail sets just type into the search bar on Etsy “press on nails…” and then whatever else you’re looking for. “Press on nails y2k.” “Press on nails French tip.” “Press on nails floral…” Etc.
Jun 22, 2023
Related Recs
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For years I dutifully visited the salon every two weeks to paint and fill long acrylic nails that were difficult to type with, expensive and prone to fungus. Then, COVID hit. I started going to pool parties at my friend Jamie Nelson’s house, saw her luxe red talons, impervious to salon closures, and learned the secret: press on nails. They look like a full set but are cheap, long lasting, easy to apply and easy to remove when you want to do human things like type your novel or pick up a penny. I’ve tried some fun ones on Etsy but find the best quality nails are made by the brand Kiss and are widely available anywhere basic self-care sundries are sold.
Nov 16, 2022
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it’s fun! it’s an artsy, creative outlet; you get to create your own designs and stare at them once you wear them. feels so satisfying 🫶🏼 now that i have more nail supplies, i feel like i’m able to make nail designs that i actually want to wear without booking an appt or trying to buy press ons in store/online. it’s a hobby that i can see myself continuing.
Apr 24, 2024
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I’m definitely not about that 24/7 Cunty Claw life, but I do live for a good ✨moment✨.
If you want the look of acrylics that you had to sit 3 hrs in an uncomfortable chair and sterile lighting for WITHOUT actually having to do that, get yourself a few reusable custom sets of press ons & your life will be Anew.
I specifically recommend with the adhesive tabs because they’re even less commitment than using nail glue, so I can truly take them off so easily when the ✨moment✨ has swiftly passed.
Nail glue‘s still a great option but if you want to get more than one wear out of the set, you just have to be more gentle and more patient with how you remove the set (boooo)
Jan 9, 2024
Top Recs from @carolinecalloway
Ever heard of it?! You need it more than you think you do! Start with spools of 1.5 inch “double-faced” satin (I’ve linked my favorite Amazon brand) in the specific colors of: black, crimson, turquoise, goldenrod/marigold, and sort of a icy, slate-gray, periwinkle blue. A deep, wine-red burgundy in .5 inch velvet and an Easter-y, baby pink (or blue or yellow or lilac!) in .25 inch satin will also come in surprisingly handy. Use for beautifying hairstyles, presents, and bouquets of all kinds. Giving someone a single flower is made a thousand times fancier just by tying a bow on it.
Apr 8, 2021
Go type ‘mobiles’ into the search bar on Etsy. The results dazzle. And this kind of art takes up zero floor or wall space in an apartment! Matte, metallic, felted, wood, stained glass, sea glass, origami, Calder riffs… Mobiles have it all and Etsy has all the mobiles—good ones start as low as $35. Technically their correct term is “kinetic sculptures,” but I call my own collection my house’s “hanging gardens.”
Apr 8, 2021
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When I finally got on antidepressants and stopped self-medicating my depression with an life-consuming addiction to amphetamines, I bought, like, 200 bottles of perfume. It wasn’t that before I got on proper medication, I couldn’t smell. It was just that when I was in the thick my depression, smelling something lovely just didn’t bring me any joy. It was too slight a pleasure—like listening to rain or baking cakes—to affect me. The only way I was able to afford 200 bottles of perfume was Dossier. They make dupes of iconic scents at price points of $29, $39 and $49. Their candles are great, too! My favorites are the Diptyque Do Son dupe, the Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe, the Love, Don’t Be Shy dupe (it’s Rihanna’s signature scent!) and, since I live in Florida now, I also love the Le Labo Santal 33 dupe because people chase me down the street to ask me what it is. It’s so sweet and heartwarming watching Floridians smell Santal 33 for the first time. But obviously I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that perfume back in New York. Being seen as an offbeat and eccentric weird is too essential my fragile sense of self.
Jun 22, 2023