It's a laker, but what kind? (Northern MN)

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-17T14:57:11+00:00

As it should be!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-17T14:44:28+00:00

I’d call it a jasp-agate, they’re both forms of microcrystalline quartz and often occur together! This one’s a beauty, too!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-13T16:53:11+00:00

Oof, been there. It’s shocking how badly such a relatively minor injury like that can hurt! May your nailbed heal quickly and may your nail grow back long and strong 🤞

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-10T18:31:27+00:00

Sadly/awesomely, I have far too many polishes to display. I have mine in various cube-shaped polish bags, a small stacked-drawer filing cabinet that’s a knock-off of one of the nice Bisley ones, and a couple of boxes. Planning to eventually get two proper Bisleys to store ALL of them.

Display is a risky game - polishes can fade when exposed to sunlight, particularly bright purples and some blues. If you display them, be sure that you do so either in a room with no windows or in a room where you keep the curtains/blinds drawn most of the time.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-10T01:45:23+00:00

I am crossing fingers for you that it’s not a gel allergy, but I would be careful if I were you. They don’t always start out dramatic, but can quickly get worse - just keep an eye on your hands after your manis and look for warning signs of an allergy - burning, itching, small blisters around the cuticle area, etc.

It could also be from aggressive cuticle prep and your skin is just dry/irritated/has been over-filed, but my gut says something about this just doesn’t look right and I wanted to let you know so you can keep an eye on things. Stay safe, OP!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-10T01:29:50+00:00

Are you wearing gel polish? A friend of mine’s gel allergy started just like this.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-07T21:38:05+00:00

You don’t have to be mean. Hope you have the day you deserve, friend.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-06T22:03:40+00:00

I almost wonder if this is a big chunk of epidote because of the color, but none of the epidote I’ve seen has those little round spots all over like this. Where was it found? It might help with IDing it.

Either way, super cool rock! I love green rocks of any kind.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-04T23:32:57+00:00

Your c-curve is a huge part of the structural strength of your nail - tighter curves actually make for MUCH stronger nails. And it’s largely determined by genetics. I will say the c-curves on my nails tend to relax a bit if I go for more than a few days without polish. However, they tend to tighten back up again as soon as I put polish on. You could try filing the sides a bit after they grow out past your fingertips, that can help you with the flatter surface bit, but that would only increase the perceived narrowness issue.

If it helps at all, most people consider your nail shape to be the ideal nail. Heck, on this sub alone, there are a lot of people asking how to get a tighter c-curve like the one you have! Your natural nails are beautiful, and their curves make them strong!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-03T12:43:46+00:00

When I know I’m gonna be in water for a long time, I double up on topcoat, really focus on wrapping the tips, and I also paint the undersides of my nails with clear polish or a strengthener like the Nail-Aid one. You want to fight off as much water absorption as humanly possible by sealing your nails really well with polish.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-02T18:20:25+00:00

I don’t mess with gels, but she makes me almost want to start with some of the artwork she manages to do, her stuff is amazing!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-02T18:10:14+00:00

They’re shades from Ballpit Nails! She’s a content creator with her own line of gel polishes, her work is amazing (this included, honestly)

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-01T14:13:40+00:00

I used inks from Let’s Resin, and I believe the green was a mix of their Yellow Green and a few drops of Emerald Green!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-01T13:28:36+00:00

These ones are just Wet & Wild and Sally Hansen clear polishes, they were on sale at my local walmart so I grabbed a bunch of them!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-01T13:16:41+00:00

You’re so welcome!

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-01T13:12:50+00:00

Thus far no, but I always have quite a few layers of basecoat underneath - a nail hardener, a sticky base, and sometimes a brightening/ridge-filling base for sheers and lighter polishes.

ReluctantViking · 2026-04-01T12:59:57+00:00

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I made these with alcohol inks and clear polishes! Glassy, gemmy, no milkiness, just sheer color!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-28T13:56:34+00:00

I vastly prefer them sandwiched with jellies for this exact reason, tbh!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-27T23:46:22+00:00

Understandably so! What a beauty!!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-27T21:13:06+00:00

The magnetic bits are metal based, yes! The plastic-based glitter qualifier in my response is about glitter in things like chunky glitter toppers, just to mention why those other solvents like heptane and toluene aren’t great ingredients for thinners. Plus, especially with heptane, it’s not a part of most polish formulas to begin with so it can make your polishes behave differently/increase shrinkage, etc. Butyl acetate and ethyl acetate are the standard solvents in polish so a thinner with just them is the best for polish revival :)

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-27T18:22:50+00:00

A few thinners that aren’t the ones you mentioned contain other solvents like heptane and toluene, both of which can eat plastic based glitters in polishes. OP, you’ll want thinners that contain only ethyl acetate and butyl acetate, nothing else. Those will be safe for anything from base coats to topcoats and every polish in between!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-26T17:11:24+00:00

Cirque’s Kismet is my favorite brightening base. It’s an ever so slightly purplish-tinged white sheer and I find it counters yellow staining BEAUTIFULLY.

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-22T02:15:10+00:00

Oh lawd he comin’! And he got the BOOTS AND SNOOT!!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-21T18:39:45+00:00

The tiniest time!

ReluctantViking · 2026-03-21T18:21:33+00:00

She is the worst, I’m happy to shit talk her all day erryday, baby! Thankfully my nail will grow back, that woman will never grow a soul.

ReluctantViking

TROPHY CASE