I found the secret to lasting nail extensions

Each fortnight, Stephanie Darling roadtests a different make-up, skincare or wellness trend to find out whether it’s worth your time.

Road test

I’ve always resisted extensions out of fear of doing damage to my natural nails. Well, I’m now the proud owner of gel nail tips and I am officially obsessed.

The lowdown I am with Amy at The Parlour Room in Sydney for my first-ever Builder Gel in a Bottle with nail tips treatment. Amy first neatens and then dry-preps my natural nails to get any oils off the surface. She asks about the shape I want, and we settle on long almonds. She then glues the extensions to my real nails and cuts and shapes them. I am a little apprehensive at this point as they are verging on talons and very different from my usual short squoval nails. There is lots of buffing and shaping until they are perfect and then Amy applies the base gel in “Dolly”. Each finger is then dried individually under an LED light. Then comes the fun part: colour selection. I opt for a sky-blue called “Double Denim”. Two coats of this then it’s back under the LED.

Pain factor I am having a tiny bit of difficulty typing and texting with my new almond talons, but they’re worth it.

Downtime A bit over an hour.

Results Mine have lasted four weeks and still look brilliant. I love them.

Where to get it Sydney: The Parlour Room, theparlourroom.com.au. Cost: $120. Melbourne: Venus Nails, (03) 9939 0386. Cost: $70.

At home Apply O.P.I Pro Spa Nail & Cuticle Oil (il (myer.com.au, $27), to keep nails conditioned.

Trend: Hair saviours

Change of season, change of hair habits or just hair being tricky? No matter, we have all angles covered with these frizz-fighting cuticle protectors. There is one to help smooth flyaways, another to shield hair from environmental aggressors, and a heat-styling mist.

Add to cart

I’m a sucker for a palette and Gucci’s Palette Beauté Des Yeux (myer.com.au, $230) does not disappoint. There are 12 highly pigmented shades in matt and shimmer and every one is eye-worthy. I especially love the sky-blue as a liner under my lower lashes.

Ask Steph

What is slugging?

This is the latest derm term for locking serums and moisturisers into the skin by slathering skin barriers such as Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream (chemistwarehouse.com.au, $22) or Vaseline Petroleum Jelly (chemistwarehouse.com.au, $4.50) over the top of your skincare products. It’s best done at bedtime unless you enjoy feeling like a grease ball.

Follow Stephanie Darling on Instagram @mrssdarling. Send questions to stephanie@darlingbeauty.com.au.

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