ahora vamos a contar

ayúdenme, porfas! three and a half weeks ago i got french tips for my cousin's wedding. after said weeks of neglect, i'm now trying to get the damned things off. i just spent an hour rubbing with acetone, filing furiously, cursing periodically, and picking at edges with both nails and files. i'm trying to avoid damaging my real nails too much so the latter was done with as much care as i could muster, but now my nails look HORRENDOUS.

what do i do?!?

and fyi, i refuse to pay for a professional to do this, although i'm willing to spend up to $5 on products to remove them. merci en avance!