I have tons of practice doing my nails and tips that I’ve never shared. Which I will do now: all those secrets that nailstagrammers jealously hoard for your best at home manicure ever.
When I started blogging at Twindly, my obsession with all things nail related – polishes, nail art, small indie brands, mixing my own polish etc. – was in full force. About one year ago and one Ikea Alex full of polishes and supplies later, it was over: I basically stopped buying polishes and my time spending half an afternoon doing super elaborate pieces of nail art. Don’t get me wrong: I still do my nails, and I’ve got LOTS of practice.
CARE
You start with your bare nails, and chances are high that your nails look a mess (mine do right now). Especially if you just removed your old polish, because nearly all nailpolish removers dry out both your nails and your skin.
This is why you wash your hands immediately after removing your nailpolish: you don’t want acetone or ethyl acetate on your nails for longer than necessary.
Tip No. 1: NEVER EVER CUT YOUR CUTICLES. You’ll get (over time) a much neater and smoother result if you just use a chemical cuticle remover (I get one from the drugstore and don’t have a preference for a particular brand) and then push them back gently. (Use a rosewood stick or a metal cuticle pusher.)
Slather on lotion
If you feeling fancy or want to replicate that salon experience, do a hand peeling afterwards. (A body scrub will do in a pinch.) Dry your hands thoroughly.
If you didn’t do a scrub, give your nails and cuticles some TLC and use either some hand lotion, cream or whatever floats your boat. My secret weapon is Lush’s Lemony Flutter, which I swear works wonders for brittle, peeling and dry nails (how to care for those? Read this.).
FILE
I use a glass file and a nail buffer. Glass files are the most gentle method to shorten your nails, and also very durable: I bought mine at Sephora in NYC circa in 2012, and it’s still going strong with some scrubbing between manicures.
Tip No. 2: If you’ve got a problem with filing your nails into the shape you want, it may be helpful to file them before removing your nailpolish.
POLISH
Always, always use a base coat. It’ll fill tiny ridges, makes your regular polish go on smoother and will also protect your nails from colorants in your polish.
Do thin coats – they will dry quicker than one thick coat. Put your hand on a raised surface like a big book – if you do it freestyle in the air you won’t have much control over wobbling digits. I always start in the middle of my nails and work my way out from there. Go slowly and put a bit of pressure on the brush that’ll fan up to. This helps you to get an even shape below your cuticles.
No need to give the first coat additional drying time: I work my way through all my nails and then start again with the first. Two coats also have an additional benefit: you can be sloppy with your first coat. It doesn’t have to be perfect! You’ll apply an additional layer that’ll smooth out your streaky finish. Win.
Expressie air dry: quick review
Essie came out recently with a new line of quick dry polishes and I was determined to test them. I got the greyish blue ‘air dry’, which is, I feel, a very confusing name for a nailpolish. The colour is pretty, the texture seems good (not to runny, easily to maneuver around), the brush workable (“our first ever angled brush for easy self-application with both hands, including your non-dominant hand”).
Essie says:
“to use: angle brush down on clean nail bed; apply two coats of any expressie color using dominant hand. flip and angle brush down using non-dominant hand. apply two coats of color. let dry for about a minute”
I did my usual base coat, and two layers of air dry. (I feel with a more diligent application I could’ve gotten away with one coat, even.) ALSO (I’m a rebel, what can I say), I used my usual top coat by Glisten & Glow that makes every polish dry down incredibly quick (it’s sorcery), and gives your nails a wonderfully shiny, but not thick-seeming look.
Allow me to politely scoff at essie’s one minute claim: eh, nope. After two minutes I could still put a dent into the polish JUST by pressing my finger down on it. After about five minutes after application, you’re kind of good to go – at least if you don’t put any stress on your nails (anyone familiar with that little known stress test for quick dry polishes called ‘putting on my jeans’?).
Worth it?
To recap: texture – nice, brush – not bad, drying time – okayish, if it weren’t for that ridiculous 1 minute claim.
Now, the bad news: on me, the polish looked nice on day one, began chipping at the second and on the third day, big flakes were coming off. Remember, though, that I’m at home cooking up (and cleaning afterwards!) a storm, so that’s not really surprising.
All in all, I think you don’t need them, if you don’t fall head over heels for a shade.
FINISH
After you applied your two thin coats of polish, use a topcoat. It will make your polish last longer, give it a shinier finish, AND will hide small application flaws. Hold your brush nearly parellel to your nails and let the topcoat gently ‘float’ on your nails.
If you dinged or smudged your freshly applied polish, wet your fingertip slightly and GENTLY smooth out that spot.
Tip No. 3: When your polish is so dry that you can gently touch it with a finger, it’s time to bring out the ultimate secret weapon. An old, thin brush, and acetone (nailpolish remover doesn’t work that well, but will do). I buy my acetone in small bottles at the pharmacy.
Dip your brush into the acetone, make sure it’s not drippingly wet and gently correct all the places where your polish has spilled over cuticles and nailbeds. And presto, here’s that fresh manicure look.
Apply either nail oil or a rich hand cream.
Extra tip
Your handcream or lotion isn’t rich enough for your hands with all that hand washing right now? No need to buy a new handcream: Pimp it with any face oil you’ve laying around. Especially now we’re heading towards summer it’s a good idea to use up the face oils you used during winter and not let them go off during the hot summer!
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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