When it comes to my nails, enduring numerous painful attempts to make my chewed stumps look half-decent have become a worse experience for me than visiting the dentist.
Years of chronic nail biting and cheap polish have left my brittle talons the victim of poor care, a challenge that no other nail technician has been able to tackle successfully.
And if it isn’t the embarrassment of presenting my catastrophic claws to judging eyes, it’s taking time out of my busy schedule to endure an hour of plucking, filing and idle chit-chat that comes with a hefty £40 price tag.
However for career-driven women everywhere in a similar predicament who lust after beautifully-manicured hands but can’t justify taking an hour out of their working day nail guru and founder of Ten:10 Nails, Lucy Bannister, 24, has come up with the perfect solution.
Bringing the spa to the office Lucy peforms relaxing manicure treatments, including Shellac and Vinylux, from the comfort of your own city centre workplace.
So I took 30 minutes away from tapping away at my newsroom desk to experience a Vinylux manicure… it’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it!
Perfect for subconscious nibblers Vinylux is unlike any other nail polish.
It’s uniquely designed to build resistance to wear and tear from anything to chipping, chewing or rubbing by reacting to natural light.
Available in a range of delicious colours, it dries in less than eight minutes – twice as fast as any ordinary nail polish.
But enough about Vinylux, without Lucy and her extensive knowledge on proper hand care treatment, the experience would not have been so rewarding.
For once I was not accosted about the state of my nails or attacked with a nail file and cuticle tweezers within an inch of my life.
She was very gentle, ensuring I was in no discomfort or pain, and offered guidance on how to keep my nails looking healthy and beautiful.
Opening her treasure trove of tantilising Vinylux colours, I was spoilt for choice and finally settled on a seductive deep red.
After shaping my nails she massaged a wonderfully-nourishing nail oil on my cuticles, and set about applying a coat of deep red varnish to my nails.
In just a few minutes they were set and I was ready for the diamond-strength Vinylux top coat.
Just 25 minutes after I sat down with Lucy I was ready to return to my desk and show off my newly pampered paws.
Even after two weeks, and no mercy from my biting, my nails still looked like they had been applied only yesterday proving that miracle-manicure solution Vinylux does exactly what it says on the tin.
To book your treatment with Lucy visit http://www.ten10nails.co.uk/
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