Yo, you guys . . .it’s so cold out I don’t even know what to do. Last night I walked the dog and it was -9ºF. NEGATIVE NINE! Do I just wear snow pants on my errands? Should I hibernate? Should I stop shaving so my natural fur will keep me warm? Help me!

In spite of yesterday’s bitter cold I was in desperate need of groceries so I put on my big girl pants (they aren’t snow pants unfortunately) and begrudgingly drove to Trader Joe’s. As I was walking around defrosting and getting ready to grind myself up a fresh jumbo can of bay blend coffee, the unthinkable happened…

Are you sh*tting me universe? All I did was bump it into the handle of the shopping cart, and it shattered like antique glass! I mean I guess it really ins’t all that unthinkable because the cold/dry air makes your nails super brittle, but I just wasn’t ready, like emotionally, to cut all my nails down and start anew.

The wheels in my head immediately started turning and I tried to think of everything I have ever heard about broken nail repair. By the time I made it to the checkout counter I had a plan. I needed a file and some press on nails, stat. I remembered Claire Marshall (my all time internet lady crush) saying that she used them with polish over them to grow her nails out if she’s going through a nail biting phase . . so why not use them to hide a broken one?

Lucky for me there is an Ulta right next door to Trader Joe’s . . .unlucky for me Ulta doesn’t carry press on nails. Really guys? You have literally 47 types of leave in conditioner but no press ons? The sales girl was really nice and was totally sympathizing with my busted nail problems though, so that made up for it. Off I went to Target.

I chose these Kiss everlasting french in medium length, but there are a TON of different types so if you are going to try this yourself I highly recommend looking through which ones best suit the shape of your nail bed. I have very curved, long nail beds so these made the most sense for me. The shape of the ends doesn’t matter as much, you can always file those to match.

I took the polish off the broken nail and filed off the jagged edge, then just applied the correct sized press on with the glue that came in the package. As you can see it’s a little square and french and 2003 prom queen looking, but no worries. We’re gonna fix it.

First things first: The shape. I filed the edges to make it look round like the rest of my nails. It already looks better. It’s not quite as round as the others, but it blends, and honestly that’s all I ask for in times like these.

Then I just took off my old polish, and gave myself a pretty typical home manicure. I still need to fix my cuticles so those don’t look so hot but you can’t tell at all that my nail is busted all to hell so that’s what counts.

It will probably take about two weeks for my nail to grow back and this should do the trick until then I think. I certainly don’t think this press-on will stay on for two weeks, but there are a bunch of press-ons in that package so I think it will get me through these hard times.

Couple of tips: When you are painting the nails, it’s best to choose a dark and pigmented color because it will look a little weird if you can see the french tip of the press on through the polish. We’re trying to trick people into thinking it just another of your real nails, remember?

Pick the right length and type of press on for you nails, pick a color that will cover it all up and BOOM, you have yourself a makeshift broken nail repair system. 🙂

UPDATE: The press on stayed on for TWO ENTIRE WEEKS! I even took the polish off and re-painted it. These things are impressive.