Hardware: nail cutter, Q-tip, orange stick & cotton balls.
Essential Fluids: 1) A base coat of your choice (the one shown here is Sally Hansen Miracle Cure. There's nothing miraculous about it. I bought it to stop my nails from peeling, but it spectacularly failed in that area. So I just use it as a ridge filler, which it is good for). 2) An OPI nail polish. I love OPI because its creamy consistency is forgiving, the brush is wide, and the shade selection is unrivaled. 3) Seche Vite top coat. This is a must-have! 4) A nail polish remover.
Easy peesy manicure:
- Remove existing nail polish. Make sure there is no lotion on your nails. They need to be bone dry.
- Cut your nails straight across with the nail cutter so they are square shaped. Carefully, cut a bit off the corners so that they are blunt.
- Push back your cuticles
- Apply Base Coat. Wait till dry. (watch YouTube videos to pass the time)
- Apply 1 coat of polish. Wait till dry. OPI dries pretty fast, so yet another reason to buy it! Use the orange stick to remove any nailpolish that spills over. No worries, we'll get the rest out later.
- Apply 2nd coat. Wait till dry.
- Apply top coat. Wait till dry. Seche Vite (if you know French) really really lives up to its name!
- If possible, wait 1/2 hour to thoroughly dry the nails before doing the next step.
- Dip a Q-tip in nailpolish remover and carefully flatten the tip between your fingers. Slide the Q-tip over any polish that got onto your skin. The key is to have a very wet Q-tip, so you're not really rubbing it on your skin (which can lead to fibers coming loose), but just pressing the tip on your skin so the acetons flows out and gently dissolves the nailpolish on your skin without disrupting your nails.
Here's my final result. The color is OPI Italian Affair:
Hope you guys enjoyed this post. To help the sister out, feel free to chime in with your favorite manicure tips!
