How I Do My Nails

Hello, Dear Reader!

I've had a few reader requests asking precisely how I go about doing my nails, and so I thought, "I have a little light, I have a little time, I'll explain it now."

I start by removing my old polish, using a total of three of the textured round cotton cosmetic pads. I use the the first to remove the polish from my left hand using pure acetone, the second to do the right, and since pure acetone has a tendency to redeposit dissolved polish, I then go over all ten nails with the third using Studio 35 (Walgreen's brand) acetone remover. While I'm doing the remover tidy-up, I also push back my cuticles with the wet cotton pad. I'm now ready to apply polish.

I always start with a base coat, but am not married to any particular one. Sally Hansen Age Correct is good, as is NailTek II Foundation Ridge Filling or Nutra Nail, for general use. For Essies I use Essie Ridge Filling (otherwise Essies are chippy on me), and for Chanels I use a Chanel base coat for the same reason. The two I don't like are Orly Bonder and Creative Nail Design Stickey, as I get major staining of my nails when I use either of those. I apply one coat of whatever base coat, trying to fully cover the nail while not getting any on my cuticles. I dip the brush and wipe off the back of it inside the bottle to remove excess for each nail to apply. Once that's done, it's time for color.

For this example, I chose the potentially steakiest polish I could, which is SpaRitual Steel Magnolia. On the first coat, I don't worry about streaks, only placement of the polish. I start out by applying a small drop near the cuticle.



Rather than stop and take a picture of it, I normally immediately use the brush amost parallel to the nail to push the polish close to the cuticle, then up the length of the nail in as straight a line as possible. With only one free hand, I used paper to illustrate the position of the brush below. I first do the center of each nail, then the left side following the cuticle line, then the right.



For the second coat, I simply have to follow the placement of the first coat, and I do pay attention to streaks. Holding the brush as shown above, they're minimal and can be prevented using thin coats of polish, but if one appears I lightly brush it out immediately.

Immediately after finishing the second coat, I apply quick-dry top coat, either Seche Vite or Poshe. Each has advantages and disadvantages, which we'll save for another post because both are good enough to own. In applying the top coat, after applying it to the surface of each nail, I apply it around the edge of the nail as well to prevent it from shrinking the polish back.

That's it! The mani's done. The process usually takes me 8-10 minutes total. Here's the finished product:



Love and well-applied nail polish to you, Dear Reader!