Painting your nails is one of the simplest ways to look and feel more feminine, and yet before last week I had never gone into a nail shop to get a polish change. Oh sure, I’ve attempted to paint my nails a couple of times and my wife has painted them once or twice, but for the most part my fingernails have remained bare.
The thing about it is that nail polish stays on even after you wash off your makeup, take off your wig, and disrobe. You can wipe it off but it seems like such a crime, so I think that is one of the biggest reasons that I hadn’t done it much.
Finally, things changed when I decided to get my first professional nail polish.
A part of me had always been scared of what the employees might say, what the other customers might think, and how the rest of the world would react to a regular dude walking around with his nails painted. I suppose it landed on my “don’t push the envelope” list, but I’m getting tired of limiting myself in this world.
I want to live every day to the fullest and that is exactly what I preach, so why should I hold back anymore? With this in mind, I took a solo trip down to the mall, marched into the nail shop and demanded (just kidding, I asked politely) for my nails to be painted. The clerk was completely helpful and friendly and showed me the fake nails that showcased the various colors.
On this day, I chose three colors from the OPI Minnie Mouse Collection.
Nobody looked at me in a rude way, the manicurist was super nice to me and did a great job, and I payed and left. It was a wonderful experience and it was awesome to have my nails painted for over a week. It makes such a huge difference when you dress up, it’s like the cherry on top of your sundae.
I’ll definitely be doing this again, and more frequently. The only thing I’m sorry about is that I took this long to start enjoying my nails!
What’s YOUR favorite nail polish color?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
nice red color, pink, and blue. but mostly red colors
OPI big apple red
Jessica, my fav color is Italian Red by China Glaze
Love
michelle
Jessica I am currently trying to get up the nerve to get a pedicure. I too am concerned about what the employees and other customers will think of me. I do not think there is anything wrong with a man taking care of himself. My feet are rough and need some attention. When they ask what color I would like my nails, well that is where the apprehension comes in. What will they think of me? Will they laugh? Will they criticize me? Who knows. Then I think “who cares?” The chances of me running into any of those people outside of the salon in the big city are slim to none. SO it may not really matter what they think or what they say about my blood red toe nails.
Jessica et.al., I am a spa junkie. The last time my wife and I went, we got manicures and pedicures together. Only my wife knows about Rachel, so I keep it pretty vanilla.
I suggest CD’s try clear coat to start. That’s what I use. Then if anyone notices, they’ll just assume I’m metrosexual, or as I say, vain.
The first time I did my nails was about 8 years ago for a Halloween costume I wore. I dressed up like a fallen angel in fem of course
I had latex horns, huge burgundy feathered wings and. A bunch of black to go with the season. I did 4″ acrylic nails, all black with thin white French tips. I liked them so much that I left them on for about a week. I didn’t realize that doing a food prep with 4″ nails would be so hard until I. Was about 4 hours into my first shift lol.. After a while, I learned how to use them to make handling food easier. Once I took them off, I had to re-train my hands to work without nails. It’s funny just a week can affect your agility like that. It reminded me of being in a cast.
Jessica- Awesome post! I’ve been charting the waters of wearing nail polish as a ‘regular’ guy for some time now. What I’ve found is that 99.9 percent of the fear is completely unfounded.
I have been out with my nails painted many times now and I have not yet received one negative comment or had one bad experience.
I’d love to feature your story on my blog! Let me know if you’re interested in doing a guest post sometime…
I getr pedis pretty regular as it is hard for me to my own. Last time,3 weeks ago, there was a bottle of pink nail polish. when the young lady came over I asked her to use it and put a design on my big toe. No problem. cI was talking to my neighbor the other day, she commented “that is really Pink” and asked where I go. Haven’t got the finger nails painted yet but who knows.
Jessica-
I am surprised that you don’t generally do your nails. For me, that is one of the things I have done the longest. I love it. The first time ever was when I was 12; my gf did it for me. Then later I started doing it more regularly in my 20′s.
Now in my 40′s, I frequently paint my nails. I have been to salons dressed as a girl and as a boy. I wear my nails painted both as a guy and as a girl. I don’t think I have ever gotten a negative reaction to my nails. People often ask why they are painted when I am dressed as a guy and I tell them I like to. Mostly people tell me how much they like my nails and frequently I am asked questions about how I did them as people are often intrigued by my techniques.
BTW – currently I am at work, with bright blue marbled nails, and I am dressed as a guy and hey wow, absolutely nobody cares!
i wish i had that confidence. i still buy stuff for myself and i still wear panties and leggings in public from time to time but i cant seem to leave my hand nails painted. i do leave my toe nails painted.