Every day
Office nails
The colours that ask for no attention and survive typing: light pink, french, white. You apply them in a quarter of an hour, wear them for three weeks and do not think about them.
What "office" means
A colour that competes with nothing you wear, that forgives nail growth (because at the office there is no time to redo it after a week) and that survives typing, files and washing your hands ten times a day. Three things, and each rules something out: glitter on all ten, very dark colours, very long nails.
The choices
- Light Pink — almost nude, on any undertone, with any clothes. Nail growth does not show even at three weeks. If you have one choice, this is it.
- French White — the classic, with the line already drawn. It looks groomed from across the room and nobody notices it up close.
- French Pink — quieter still; good on short nails, which at the office are preferable anyway.
- White — clean and deliberate; it asks for a little more care at application, because it shows everything.
- Deep Pink — if you want colour. It works at the office and in the evening without changing anything.
- White–Pink Ombré — for anyone who wants the pink without a hard line at the base.
As press-ons, Black and White and Gold French are the two sets with nothing raised — the stones and the little bears stay for the weekend.
Typing
Typing does not ruin a manicure — unsealed tips do. After the lamp, fold the wrap over the tip and file downwards: that way the free edge of the nail stays covered and does not catch on the keys. Short or medium nails filed round or squoval are the ones that survive a day of writing; long square ones catch the corners of the keys.
The lunch break
A full manicure with wraps takes about fifteen minutes for both hands, with no drying time — you go straight back to the laptop. The routine, minute by minute. If you want to do it at the office, all you need is a socket for the lamp and an alcohol pad.
Three weeks without a thought
Cuticle oil in the evening, gloves for dishes, and that is it. When the line of grown nail appears at the cuticle — at two to three weeks — you take the wraps off with oil in ten minutes and put on the next. No appointment, no salon, no acetone.
Other pages: pink nails · white nails · occasion nails · summer nails.
Discreet, nine to five
Gel wraps and two press-on sets with nothing raised.
Light Pink
Solid colours · 20 gel wraps
Classic White French
French · 20 gel wraps
Pink French
French · 20 gel wraps
White
Solid colours · 20 gel wraps
Hot Pink
Solid colours · 20 gel wraps
White–Pink Ombré
Ombré · 20 gel wraps
Office questions
Do they survive a full day of typing?
Yes, if the tips are sealed — folded over the tip and filed downwards after the lamp. Typing itself does nothing to the gel; a free edge at the tip does.
Does nail growth show after two weeks?
On light pink, french and ombré, barely. On white and deep pink, a fine line at the cuticle. If you want to forget about the manicure for three weeks, choose from the first group.
Can I apply them at the office?
Yes — you need a socket for the lamp, an alcohol pad and a quarter of an hour. No acetone smell, no drying time; you are back at the keyboard straight away.
The manicure that asks for nothing
A quarter of an hour, three weeks, no appointment.