I have six daughters. We love to paint our nails. For me, personally, throughout my 33 years of parenting, I have found that painting my nails is a fun, easy way to indulge in a bit of self-pampering. It makes me smile to catch glimpses of pretty colors, whether matte or sparkly, as I carry out the normal course of my daily tasks and duties. When it’s flip-flop weather (which, by the way, we Pennsylvanians are doubting still exists because we are currently engaged in perpetual winter) adding color and bling to toes can be the perfect accessory to add perk to a warm-weather outfit.
In our house, we are often scooted outdoors to do our nails because my husband happens to loathe the smell of nail polish and remover. That’s one of many reasons I uber-excited about a recent hack that made its way to my life: Nail strips! I was highly skeptical at first, because I’ve tried similar products in the past that involved using a blow dryer to try to melt stickers onto my nails. They were super expensive and time-consuming to apply, and I was not a big fan.
When a friend of mine told me about Color Street nail strips (You can peruse her website here, if you like.) I was hesitant to jump on board but agreed to let her bring some free samples to us because, hey – free, so what’s there to lose but an hour of my time, right? It took all of about five minutes for me to be completely blown away by this little lifehack!
I learned that not only are Color Street nail strips super-easy to apply, they are made from real, actual-factual nail polish that has somehow been congealed into a solid, sticker-y strip form. They are inexpensive, which, if you’re like me, automatically soars them to the top of my favorite lifehacks list, and — are you ready? They are non-toxic! BOOM! That did me in.
My girls and I have tried water-based nail polishes in the past because we try to stay updated on our knowledge and awareness regarding toxic cosmetics and personal hygiene products and avoid using them whenever we can. We were not happy with the non-toxic polishes we tried and again, they were very expensive.
With Color Street, you get two sets of strips for anywhere from $11 to $14 (the more designed, the more expensive) that you can apply to fingernails or toes in a matter of minutes! No smudging, no spilling, no smell! (When you first open them, you may catch a brief hint of scent because they’ve been sealed but if that happens, it fades away in seconds.) They can be applied to any nail size. The girls in our house all have medium to short-length nails and we are able to get two full sets (three, if my youngest daughters, ages 12 and 13 use them because their nails are smaller) out of a single pack!
These little babies have simplified my life in a big way as per the bath-and-beauty department! Although I’ve always loved painting my nails, it was often quite frustrating to try to find time to do so. Since I’ve been using Color Street nail strips, I literally need only 10 minutes from start to finish.
You still need to use regular nail polish remover (because they’re made from real nail polish) to remove them, so in my family’s case, we’re still being shuffled outside for that part. LOL
I love lifehacks that save me time and money and love them even more when they help me improve my family’s health! This new way of doing our nails covers all three bases! I suppose this hack also simplifies my life insofar as gift-giving is concerned as well because I’ll definitely be ordering some for birthdays, stocking stuffers, Easter baskets and more!
If you’ve never painted your nails because you’re not good at it and can’t afford to go to a salon (which, let’s face it, is not only expensive but very hazardous to your health) you might want to give this lifehack a try because even young children can apply these nail strips without assistance!
Writer Bio: Judy Dudich
Judy Dudich resides in the beautiful woods of Pennsylvania, where 24 acres of land and a home-office provide the perfect setting for her children’s home-education and her own homesteading and business ventures. Life is full of blessings (and challenges!) for Judy, as a wife, mother of 10 and Grammy to six. She is a published author, whose book, “I Surrender/A Study Guide for Women” continues to encourage and support others in Christian family lifestyles throughout the world. Judy has also previously worked in the online speaking circuit. Her passion for permaculture, re-purposing, foraging and organic gardening fills her days with learning and adventure that she loves to share.
