Slayer, Interrupted

So sorry I've been away, but it's been for a good reason. or 2. or 10.

First, I have naked nails. *Sob*

But, why? You may ask, wondering if I've joined some bizarre cult that bans nailpolish.

Fear not, I have not strayed from my love of polish. In fact I have oodles of bottles to swatch on my cute little nail wheels I got from Amazon (zomg they finally had clear!)

10 x NAIL ART DISPLAY & PRACTICE WHEELS Nails Tip by Eamee

The price is great: $4.89 for natural, $9.85 for clear. Both times I've ordered, I've gotten superb service, and fast shipping.

I'm actually going to be adding VIDEO reviews of makeup and other beauty products very soon!

The reason I've been away.......STRESS. MEGALOADS. The kind that not even polish can soothe. The kind that makes you revert to your childhood bad habit of biting your nails down to nubbins.

*Sigh* There. I've confessed. Confession may be good for the soul but it does nothing to make those nails grow back any faster.

And to add insult to literal injury, I'm on Enbrel for my psoriatic arthritis/ankylosing spondylitis. That is some hard core medication and it essentially flattens your immune system until it just lies there, whimpering. Which means that all those grubby germs in my mouth had a field day with my fingers and they all got infected. Ouch.

I WILL share with you THE BEST nail cure in the world--Manuka honey.

The Manuka tree, cousin to Tea Tree, grows in New Zealand. The honey from this tree is being used in hospitals for wound care because it kills staph, MRSA and even the "flesh-eating virus". Not bad eh? We use it constantly on our son JediBoy who is notorious for crashing into the pavement about every other day. It heals faster than traditional ointments and leaves no scarring. And it smells good. We have a jar of the honey that we use for coughs and colds--it tastes like medicinal honey. Not completely unpleasant but you're not going to be dipping into this unless you're sick. The oil is great for acne, burns, stings, etc. Koru Naturals (link above) is a fabulous company to shop with, so I highly recommend them.

So I applied just a tiny dab to each finger tip, covered each finger in a bandaid, then wore my cotton gloves. In just a few days, all but one finger is completely healthy again. And my nails feels great too--honey is a natural moisturizer. I even see some visible growth after using this for a few days. It does sting a little--the high sugar content helps kill bacteria and produces a natural hydrogen peroxide. But it kicked the germies' butts.

Now to get my cuticles back to pretty....I'll be using CND Solar Oil religiously and MOR marshmallow hand cream. Let me tell you, I am in LOVE with MOR. The scent of that lotion....you WILL sniff your hands all night. It's a not-too-sweet combination of marshmallow, carnation, and cotton candy, and it makes your hands softer than a baby's skin. I can't wait to try more (ahem) of their products!

Why the stress you ask? What in the world could make me devour my beautiful manicure in sheer minutes?

THIS in conjuction with THIS.

And I kept thinking, I really should throw a coat of something over my nails before going to the ER, but then I thought, they may make me remove it (hey, they do it on House MD). Oh do I regret that. Even a coat of clear would have kept me away. *Banging head*

So there you have it. That's why all you've gotten from me is the cute little Wordle since my last manicure post. Now if I can get my cuticles to cooperate, I'll probably do a quick mani of Glitter Gal Lizard Belly, because I'm dying to try it, the name makes me giggle, and the glitter should distract me from the fact that my nails are still TOO SHORT. I'll be using my trusty Qtica lengthener (it DOES work) and soon, back to fabulousness.

Stay tuned--you won't want to miss *anything*. The videos I promised? I'm going to leave you with 3 words: Manic Panic Hairdye. ;)