Sally Hansen Has Changed My Life

I'm not exactly sure how I got to be 35 and never discovered old Sally.

With my irrational dislike of professional manicures intact, over the years I have become quite adept at painting my own nails (even using my left hand). What I've been a spectacular failure at, however, is getting the polish to actually STAY on my fingernails for more than 24 hours.

Maybe I don't eat enough calcium. Maybe I'm too rough. Maybe my nails like to breathe. I don't know, but the minute my fingers are dry (and occasionally several moments before), my nails chip, split, crack, get sheet marks, and otherwise look totally banged up.

This has never stopped me from fighting the good fight. I've spent countless hundreds of dollars on polish over the years. It only takes a peek inside my medicine cabinet to find roughly 30 shades from Essie, OPI, Lancome, Chanel, and the like. No matter what, Chip City.

So, I was running errands on Friday nite after work, to get ready for a wedding in Chicago on Saturday. I stopped into CVS to pick up a few things, including top coat. Thinking back, I'm not even sure what drew me to Sally, but five -- count them, FIVE -- days later, my chip-free fingernails are saying, "What took you so long?!?"

Here's the formula:

1 base coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps (in Clear Gloss)

+ 2 coats of polish (I used OPI's Chick Flick Cherry)

+ 1 coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Top Coat (in Flawless)

= Magic

Have you got any beauty secrets to share?