Ever have more than one dish of polymer out at once? It’s so easy to tell the pinks from the whites, but it would be so helpful if you could tell the difference between the clear and the whites.

If I look REALLY closely at them, I can usually see a slight difference in the textures, but when I’m in the middle of a conversation and trying to get the client’s nails done on a schedule, it’s not unusual for me to end up second-guessing myself.

“Oh no...which one?” I think with my best inside-my-head voice. I don’t want my client to think I’m disorganized, unprofessional, or incompetent.

“Hmmmm.” Naturally, I have to look up and acknowledge whatever my client just said.

“I guess I’ll just pick up a bead and....dang it…” Gotta answer the phone. Gotta turn around to the computer and check the schedule. Gotta spend four minutes on the phone trying to fit someone in.

“OK, now what was I doing? Oh yeah, clear or white?” I continue to think to myself.

Then I screw up the resolve to just go for it. I dip the brush into the powder and watch — it’s kinda like taking a pregnancy test, only doesn’t take as long (and fortunately, almost never turns blue!).

“Yup, good! That’s the clear!” So I wipe that bead off — I really just wanted a test bead to determine which one was which — grab a new bead, move the brush toward the nail and…

“Darn! That’s right. I needed white.”

Go back, start over, hope the phone doesn’t ring again.

It’s a wonder I get anything done, and I have no idea why my clients trust me. But at least these little internal conversations take mere seconds in my brain...unless the phone rings. Then I totally lose my concentration and have to start all over again.