I have been wanting to do educational posts for a while now, some "how-to's" pertaining to nails and I want to start with something that I think is completely universal: How to make your at-home manicures last.
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| Rich Girls and Po' Boys, OPI |
1). Invest in a good base coat. A base coat is important because it will do two things: It will provide a nice smooth base for your polish to stick to, and it will help protect the nail from staining. I love the CND Stickey Base Coat. It does a great job of anchoring the nail polish down, but it does have a slightly green hue, so wear it under opaque polishes (and not sheers). Orly Bonder is another good choice, but I find it a little more thin, which means my nail ridges show a little more underneath.
If you have ridges too, a great choice would be essie Smooth-e. I also love Glisten & Glow's ridge-filling base coat. What these types of base coats do is they fill in the ridges of your nails, so they are less noticeable under your polish. I can't live without these as someone who shares pictures of my nails online.
TIP: Make sure that your nails are clean and dry before you go in with your base coat. Don't leave any traces of lotion on your hands, or any specks of dust or fuzzies, because the lotion will make it harder for your polish to stick, and those stupid fuzzies will get under your polish and just make you mad! You can prep your nails by washing your hands, and then using pure acetone, or rubbing alcohol, over the surfaces before starting the polishing process. This will eliminate any remaining oils/moisture on the nail.
2). Use two coats of polish, even if it's a "one-coat wonder." I like a quick manicure as much as the next person, but painting two coats of polish is well worth your time for a couple of reasons. The first is that the color itself has a chance to richen and the texture of the polish will have a chance to smooth itself out. I prefer to do a couple of thin/regular coats as opposed to one thick one. The second reason is that the more fortified the layers of polish are the longer they will last. I have personally noticed a direct correlation between chip time and number of layers worn. Every time I've done one coat my nails have chipped within days.
TIP #1: Make sure you are allowing a few minutes of dry-time between coats. If you go in with your next coat before the bottom coat has started to dry you will get bubbling.
TIP #2: Speaking of those dreaded bubbles, don't shake your nail polish bottle before using it. Roll it instead. Shaking creates air pockets that translate into bubbles on the nail, whereas rolling the bottle does not. Storing your polish in a warm space will also contribute to bubbling, so store your stash in a cool, dry place.
3). "Wrap" your tips. While I am painting my nails I never neglect the tips, AKA the free edges. I treat them exactly like the nail itself, so that includes using base coat, polish, and top coat on each and every one. Not only does it help make your manicures last by creating a seal, but I also think it adds that extra little oomph to your mani that makes it look like you got them done professionally.
TIP: Be careful not to have too much polish on your brush when you are painting the tips. But even if you do make a little bit of a mess you can always tidy that up in the clean up process!
4). Invest in a good top coat (preferably a quick-drying top coat). A top coat seals and locks everything in and if you've been following me for any length of time then you probably already know which top coat I am going to recommend. If you buy any top coat at all, make it Glisten & Glow's quick dry top coat. This top coat is infamous for good reason... It is fantastic. First of all, if you've never tried a quick-drying top coat before you absolutely must. It will change your life (dramatic much, Crystal?). I can hardly even imagine the old days of letting your nail polish air dry and being crippled by the inability to use your hands for the god-awful length of time it would take. And what good is a normal top coat if you still have to wait for it to dry? No, thank you!
5). Give your fresh manicure a little bit of time to really set. Even with a fabulous top coat you still need to err on the side of caution and go a little easy on your nails for the first few hours until it truly sets. That means avoiding things like opening cans, showering, hitting your nails on hard surfaces, submerging them in hot water, etc. I usually wait until after dinner and dishes to pant my nails so that I can really take it easy when I'm done.
6). Use cuticle oil when your nails are polished. Make sure you're using cuticle oil every day, even when your nails are polished! The oil will keep the mani from drying out and cracking/chipping prematurely by keeping it flexible and moisturized. CND Solar Oil is one of my favorites, you can find it HERE.
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And those are my top tips for making your at-home manicures last! I hope you found this post helpful, and if you have an questions or comments feel free to leave them below. Until next time, happy polishing! XOXO
TIP: Make sure that your nails are clean and dry before you go in with your base coat. Don't leave any traces of lotion on your hands, or any specks of dust or fuzzies, because the lotion will make it harder for your polish to stick, and those stupid fuzzies will get under your polish and just make you mad! You can prep your nails by washing your hands, and then using pure acetone, or rubbing alcohol, over the surfaces before starting the polishing process. This will eliminate any remaining oils/moisture on the nail.
 |
| CND Stickey Base Coat |
2). Use two coats of polish, even if it's a "one-coat wonder." I like a quick manicure as much as the next person, but painting two coats of polish is well worth your time for a couple of reasons. The first is that the color itself has a chance to richen and the texture of the polish will have a chance to smooth itself out. I prefer to do a couple of thin/regular coats as opposed to one thick one. The second reason is that the more fortified the layers of polish are the longer they will last. I have personally noticed a direct correlation between chip time and number of layers worn. Every time I've done one coat my nails have chipped within days.
TIP #1: Make sure you are allowing a few minutes of dry-time between coats. If you go in with your next coat before the bottom coat has started to dry you will get bubbling.
TIP #2: Speaking of those dreaded bubbles, don't shake your nail polish bottle before using it. Roll it instead. Shaking creates air pockets that translate into bubbles on the nail, whereas rolling the bottle does not. Storing your polish in a warm space will also contribute to bubbling, so store your stash in a cool, dry place.
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| Bahama Mama, Essie |
3). "Wrap" your tips. While I am painting my nails I never neglect the tips, AKA the free edges. I treat them exactly like the nail itself, so that includes using base coat, polish, and top coat on each and every one. Not only does it help make your manicures last by creating a seal, but I also think it adds that extra little oomph to your mani that makes it look like you got them done professionally.
TIP: Be careful not to have too much polish on your brush when you are painting the tips. But even if you do make a little bit of a mess you can always tidy that up in the clean up process!
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| Fauntleroy, Smith & Cult |
The G&G top coat is terrific because it a). Dries and hardens your polish quickly, b). Leaves your nails glossy and gorgeous, and c). Doesn't have all of the negative attributes that Seche Vite has. Seche Vite was what I used for a while, but after my first bottle got about halfway through I experienced the shrinking and the lifting and the goopiness that everyone talked about. I don't mean to say that Seche Vite is necessarily a bad product. I was very happy with it for a while and I even bought Seche Restore, their nail polish thinner, to help make it work, but the G&G top coat is just better. And you won't wake up with sheet marks in your polish the next day. Buy this top coat, and thank me later.
Bonus Tip: If you want to spruce up your mani after it starts to get a little dull, re-apply another coat of your top coat to jazz it back up! Not only will it re-gloss your mani, but it will also re-fortify your polish!
NOTE: A nail polish thinner is necessary to own if you use any quick-dry top coat. They will thicken up over time with frequent use as the solvents are exposed to the air (same with nail polish). A nail polish thinner will replace the evaporated ingredients to restore the formula back to its original consistency. Don't use nail polish remover for this! That will just break down the product. You can find some of my recommended nail polish thinners HERE.
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| HK Girl Top Coat, Glisten & Glow |
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| Sunset Sneaks, Essie |
5). Give your fresh manicure a little bit of time to really set. Even with a fabulous top coat you still need to err on the side of caution and go a little easy on your nails for the first few hours until it truly sets. That means avoiding things like opening cans, showering, hitting your nails on hard surfaces, submerging them in hot water, etc. I usually wait until after dinner and dishes to pant my nails so that I can really take it easy when I'm done.
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| Romper Room, Essie |
6). Use cuticle oil when your nails are polished. Make sure you're using cuticle oil every day, even when your nails are polished! The oil will keep the mani from drying out and cracking/chipping prematurely by keeping it flexible and moisturized. CND Solar Oil is one of my favorites, you can find it HERE.
****************************************************************
And those are my top tips for making your at-home manicures last! I hope you found this post helpful, and if you have an questions or comments feel free to leave them below. Until next time, happy polishing! XOXO
LOVE THIS 👌🏻 this is so wonderful for nail beginners and anyone who wants to save money and do good manicures at home! #1fan
ReplyDeleteI find that the quick dry top coats "shrink". Even tho i love the fast drying, I don't like the shrinkage
ReplyDeleteThat’s exactly what I don’t like about Seche Vite. I haven’t had that problem with the Glisten & Glow one. I do use Seche Restore in it every few uses after I get about a fourth of the way in, so maybe that keeps it from having that happen? 🤔
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