Test drive

Gelife manicure at Dashing Diva
I have the type of nails that don’t exactly garner admirers. They’re on the short side and are slightly gnawed along the edges (bad habit, I know!). But this Gelife manicure at Dashing Diva is loaded with calcium salt and is purported to help nails grow. A gel was painted on and my hands were left to dry under a UV light. Another layer and an additional topcoat were applied—the entire process taking only 25 minutes—and I was ready to go. No time was wasted feigning interest in two-month-old magazines and I didn’t risk chipping the job after leaving impatiently before the paint was dry. That same night I was getting compliments about how shiny my nails looked (we’re talking glistening, people!). A very new experience for me! Though it lasted longer than traditional manicures, the shine and color—comes in choices of clear, pinks or a French manicure—began to lift and peel off in about seven days. Guess all good things really do have to come to an end. $45 , at Dashing Diva, 149 Third Ave between 15th and 16th Sts (212-228-9999, dashingdiva.com)—Corinne Mohr

Minx Coat manicure at Bliss
According to my extremely endearing technician Pamela, Bliss only started offering the Minx Coat treatment on June 1. But if you read tabloid rags (or, like me, condemn them but crane your neck to peep the copy that your subway neighbor is flipping through), you already know about the super shiny, liquid silver tips that Rihanna and Lindsay Lohan have been flashing. That’s Minx—basically a fancy sticker that’s pressed onto your nails and is said to last one to two weeks. Salon junkies will love that fact that Minx never chips and there’s no drying time so you can go about your business as soon as they’ve been applied, rather than limply waving your hands in the air and waddling around with tissue between your toes. The hardest part was deciding which pattern to choose: silver foil, metallic leopard, fishnet, etc. I changed my mind a few times but finally settled on a 3-D block graphic that struck me as Art Deco–meets-Tetris. After filing and buffing my nails and cutting my cuticles, Pamela applied the decals and then trimmed them to fit my (minuscule) nails. Before I’d even left the salon, I was asked to to spread my fingers out twice for admiration. My digits started to feel like Fabergé eggs, so elaborate and venerated were they. Like hair color, it’s a cool way to spice up your look—and I feel kinda badass with them on. My only beef? It’s so expensive. $55 for manicure, $85 for pedicure, at Bliss Soho, 568 Broadway between Prince and Spring Sts (212-219-8970, blissworld.com)—Erin Wylie

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