When I’m stressed, but in a situation where I can’t make a healthy choice, like just bop outta there for a hot yoga class to take the edge off, I very predictably do one of two things.

One, I eat. Generally savory, but sweet can work, too. It might be a bag of Doritos, scarfed and then tipped upright so those last bits of heavily, heavenly seasoned crumbs slide into my eagerly waiting mandible. Or, I’ll strip Hershey Kisses from their shiny foil wrappers with an alarming speed. A silver blur.

The other thing I do? Peel off my mani.

Please note I would never do this to a fresh mani – they’re too expensive, and they give me too much pleasure. But once an appointment is set up for the next round? It’s game on, picking and peeling and leaving a trail of nail fragments under the chair in the board room where everyone knows I sit.

I did all that today, stopping at the thumbs , which stayed stubbornly in place. And, my nails looked like crap as a result.

I hate ratty nails. I judge them on you, sure, but in particular, I judge them on me. I take a lot of pride in looking polished (pun very much intended).

And welp, there I was.

When I got home, late, I decided to try the new Color Street nail strips my friend Jenny sells. I choose a glittery red, which juxtaposed sharply with my mood.

Color Street strips come packaged in sets of 16, and don’t require heat to apply or acetone-soaking to remove. And, at $13 a set, they’re pretty cheap,

I found peeling the strips from their backing to be a little challenging, and I tore several, but the strips themselves are long enough where it didn’t matter when I applied them.

You simply peel, stick, stretch (the stretch is key!) bend the strip over the end your nail, and file off the excess with a regular emery board. Once I got into the groove, the whole process took about 10 minutes.

I’m a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this, and these certainly don’t have the flawless look of a fresh French gel manicure, my go-to executive look. But they’re simple, cheap and kind of fun for those in-between days. There are sundry colors, patterns and whimsical special holiday editions.

Overall, would I buy again? Yes. RECOMMEND.