You know when you go get your nails done at the salon and somehow it always seems to last longer then when you do it yourself? Well, I've found some tips over the years that REALLY help to prolong the life of a manicure.
Get ALL the old polish off before you start putting the new polish on. It will help the polish adhere better when there is a clean nail base to begin with. Pure Acetone is the best remover in my opinion.
Put a base coat on before the colored polish. I was never a big fan of base coats, I thought they were a waste of time, until I found this one! The Nail Tek Foundation II Ridge Filling Base Coat, you can find it at Ulta. It seriously adds days onto my manicure and it also has a bunch of good stuff in it that is supposed to make your nails stronger.
Do at least TWO coats of your nail polish. It will almost always look better and last longer!
one coat
two coats, see the difference?
Don't forget the top coat. This will add shine, prolong the manicure and smooth everything out! One of the best ones I've ever used is the Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Invisible Nail Polish. I don't even know if this is supposed to be a top coat but it works SO WELL.
Let the polish dry for at least an hour. Okay, I know this is a bit crazy and not something that is really realistic but wait as long as you can. It takes a full hour for them to dry completely and if you're like me you paint your nails then think of 10 things you should be doing. I try to do mine at the beginning of a movie or show so that I will actually sit there and not mess them up.
So there ya have it! With these tips I can get about a week out of my manicure, its worth the extra time and effort to make it last.
No comments:
Post a Comment