u/National-Acadia4348

so I am a semi-beginner when it comes to nails. I’ve had acrylics a few times, but always end up with really painful rings of fire after removal. I do GelX when I can afford it, which can also damage the nails upon removal but slightly less so in my
experience. I would love to transition to press-ons for ease of use, cost, and re-usability.

that said, I was scrolling on etsy the other night favoriting sets I thought were gorgeous, and I might’ve been a little stoned. and I just went back fully sober to look at them again, and these are 1000% AI generated images. the future is now! I hate it here.

but! I really do like this style! small
details, feminine, intricate, mystical/whimsical/fantastical styles that aren’t huge and clunky 3D elements that get caught in my hair. I would love to purchase some like these. however, I would love to purchase them from a real human being and not a dropshipped scammy line of code.

where do you purchase more complex press-ons? have you seen this sort of design in real life? have you ever successfully ordered a pair from one of these too-good-to-be-true etsy accounts? and do you have any advice for how to spot real sellers? help a girl out pls. many thanks.

I love the cut and color, I love the cuffed sleeves, I love the fabric softness and weight. but I wore it ONCE and it developed these massive visible pit stains that won’t come out in the wash. I imagine if I scrubbed at them with baking soda paste they would fade, but like…am I supposed to do that every time I wear the shirt?

this is very disappointing for the price. has anyone else had the same thing happen?

I have this gorgeous special edition alvin ailey doll, designed by artistic director judith jameson, and I’m obsessed with her. she has moveable joints, a stunning costume inspired by the alvin ailey piece “wade in the water,” and a U-shaped saddle stand to hold the pelvis so you can pose her mid-leap. the stand even rotates on that hinge, so I can adjust it depending on how the weight is distributed in each pose. however. the small plastic piece at the top of the stand has broken, and I can’t find any similar ones. every one I find seems to go around the waist, or if they’re a saddle stand, they’re open and flat, meant for balancing on rather than actually holding.

I tried supergluing this one back together but it broke again, because it has to have a little give for her to fit in and out of it. I’m very sad about this, I had this doll as a kid and actually went and found it on ebay because I wanted her back. I don’t want her sitting in a box somewhere. thoughts/suggestions?

I live in the Northeastern US if that’s relevant. I’m working for a day camp, and while touching my hair to put it in a ponytail found this guy just chilling on the top of my head. I’ve never seen a bug with antenna that fork into three little pieces like that. thoughts?

so I have a laundry list of conditions, including hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, chronic insomnia, and PCOS. I also deal with C-PTSD, major depressive disorder, OCD, and panic attacks. whether or not I actually have some sort of autoimmune thing at the root of it all remains to be seen.

I am extremely pale and have livedo reticularis so my legs are so white they’re almost purple much of the time. I have dark, coarse body hair, and no matter how much I exfoliate or what moisturizing products I use, the regrowth period is SO painful. I have a million ingrown hairs at once, and I try to “free them” by exfoliating, which technically works, but it stings like a motherfucker because it’s basically opening hundreds of microtears in the skin.

past hair removal experiences:
- waxed my legs once for a wedding and loved the feeling for a couple weeks, but then the regrowth was one of the most itchy, painful, uncomfortable weeks of my life. it somehow didn’t occur to me beforehand that the follicle would heal over and the new hair would have to push through again like a million tiny needles. felt like an idiot. never again.
- eventually caved and did laser along my bikini line, and while it took like a year and a half, I’m so happy with the results. it’s been a dream not having to shave there and deal with the regrowth pain on sensitive skin. I love what it’s done to my skin texture most of all. especially with the h-EDS, my skin is very soft when not being chronically impaled, so its nice and smooth. with my legs, at my cleanest most perfect shave, my skin only feels smooth for maybe one day before the prickles return.

so that means I should do laser, right? it’s worked for me before and I know I like the way my skin feels after.

but here’s the thing - I like having hairy legs too. I’m bi and a pretty vocal feminist, and for many of my younger years, not shaving my legs or armpits was sort of an identity thing for me, a middle finger to society. and also, in the winter cold, it’s nice to be a little furry sometimes. but I’m also presenting more femme now so I started shaving again a few years ago, and I can’t decide what to do. throw in the towel and do this thing to save myself the repetitive pain and hassle? or stick it out just so I can be a lib little sasquatch every winter?

several of these landed on both of us while sitting on the stoop. do we need to be worried?