Self-Image and the manicure

Why go through all of the trouble of getting a manicure you may ask. Well manicures are one of women’s many secret weapons. One of my friends says that she gets manicures because they are cheaper than therapy. A manicure can be a nice quick pick me up when I am feeling blue. They also instantly make me feel prettier (or at least a little fancier). There are pictures everywhere of women with perfectly manicured fingers.

You can’t open a magazine or turn on the television without seeing a set of perfectly manicured digits these days. Maybe it’s the ease of which we can now get manicures. There are nail salons popping up everywhere. They are so competitive that some salons offer a first time free manicure, while others have half price days.

You see pictures of different types of manicures in magazines and catalogs. Lately, I have seen a lot of different images put on the tops of people’s nails and toenails. The last time I got a pedicure, the manicurist asked me if I wanted a picture of a flower on my big toe for a special occasion. I thought about it for a minute before answering no. I guess it would have been cool to have a picture of a butterfly or a flower on my toe, but in the end I decided that this must be her way of getting me to spend more money. After all, I’m not the trendiest person in the world and I’m not exactly a teenager either, so I would have probably looked ridiculous with a picture on my nail or toenail. That being said, I think that pictures or images have their place in the manicure world. I’ve seen a lot of other people with these images, and it looks great on them.

Every time I open a magazine I see a picture or an ad for a new type of polish. Some polishes promise to be chip proof, while others advertise long lasting shine. I even saw a picture of a dog with its nails polished. I though it was pretty cute, as a dog lover myself. The product they were advertising was called dog pawlish. Get it? Like, polish for the paws. Anyway, I thought it was really cute and would have bought some, but my dog is a boy. Dogs aside, manicures are important to all women at some point and time in their lives, even if they won’t admit it.

One time when every woman considers a manicure to be of the utmost importance is when she first receives an engagement ring. I remember getting more manicures that first month, of being an engaged woman, than I did in the past year. It’s always fun to have freshly painted nails when you are going to be heavily photographed. Manicure and pedicure parties are becoming a staple of all bridal parties. Even if you aren’t the bride everyone wants to compare rings with the other married women, so it’s a good idea to have those digits polished.