Perfect At Home Manicure

Nail Polish Shade: Essie Ballet Slippers

Welcome Back Cuties! 

Kind of a random post, but last night, as I was painting my nails, I realized this was a topic I have never really covered with yall. Over the years, going to the actual nail salon has felt more and more treacherous and I always avoid going. While I’ll go once a month, for all the in-between moments, I like to paint my own!

While it has taken a while (practice is key!) I have really become a fan of painting my own nails! It has actually become very therapeutic for me, I’ve gotten really good at it (if I don’t say so myself) and it has helped my nails to grow and become healthier!

How To Give Yourself The Perfect At-Home Manicure

Prep and Get Supplies Ready

First things first, you’ll want to gather your supplies, set everything up, use the restroom and put on any type of clothing you might want to wear in the next 30 minutes on.

**The restroom/clothing part might sound silly, but these are two things that you won’t want to do with wet nails and that can really mess up your freshly painted manicure! **

You’re going to want to have: 

• Paper Towel
• Nail File
• Nail Cleaner
• Nail Polish (I like Chanel, OPI, and Essie)
• Cotton Balls
• Base Coat and Top Coat

Clean Up Your Nails

This includes taking off any prior nail polish, filing/shaping them, pushing back your cuticles and cleaning out the dirt from under them! 

**If you want to go the extra mile: soak your nails in soapy water beforehand (just like they do at the salon) to make your nails/cuticles easier to clean. **

Then lastly, make sure to thoroughly wash and dry your hands before you start painting! You want to make sure that your nails have no moisture or oil on them before you start. 

Make Your Polish Cleaning Tool

The last step you’ll want to do before actually painting your nails is to put together the little tool that you’ll use to clean the polish off the sides afterward &/or in between!

To Make the Tool:

• Take your nail cleaning tool from before and wrap a small piece of a cotton ball around it. Then dip that end of the tool ( the one w/ the cotton on it) into your nail polish remover and then press it down to remove any access/dripping polish remover.

Painting Tips 

**The Key Tip to Painting your Nails is to paint them in light layers and then give them time to dry in between each coat!**

Base Coat

A Base Coat is a must if you have weak or brittle nails. It creates a nice “base layer” before using the polish. You use a Base Coat for the same reason that an artist uses a primer before painting and as you would before doing your makeup.  A Base Coat also protects nails from staining (especially important if you prefer red nail polish) and prevents chipping! 

You’ll do one **light** coat on each nail and then wait 2 minutes before moving on. 

Nail Polish

Today’s shade: Essie Ballet Slippers

Perfecting this part takes practice, but over time you’ll get better and better! 

You’ll want to apply your polish in light layers (so make sure you don’t have polish dripping off the brush), allowing each layer to dry between coats. I’ll usually start with one hand, move to the next and then wait one-two minutes before applying the next coat. 

Two coats of polish are all that you should need! 

**Another tip: If you’re new at painting nails, use a lighter shade of polish! That way, any mistakes made will be less noticeable!**

Topcoat

Lastly, apply one light Topcoat layer to finish it off! I love this quick-drying one from Essie!

Clean Up Any Messes

If you haven’t had to use your little “cleaning” tool already, use it now to clean up the edges of your nails + any access polish you might have gotten on your fingers.

LET YOUR NAILS DRY

The key and the most important tip of them all!!

 You could literally skip every step above, as long as you don’t skip this one!

Before you do anything (& I mean anything) give your nails at least 20 minutes to dry. I know it’s frustrating and that sounds like forever (hopefully you can find something good on TV), but this will literally make or break your whole manicure. This is why you went to the restroom and what not before starting because let me tell you, there is nothing worse than trying to unbutton your pants and pull them down/up all while trying not to mess up your nails! Take this from personal experience: it’s impossible lol. 

Moisturize

Last step: Moisturize! Whether you have some super fancy cuticle oil or go-to hand cream, now is the time to use it! 

Extra Tips

• Take a few minutes to touch up your manicure every other day with a single layer of topcoat. Then once a week, apply a new layer of actual polish! This can make all the difference in keeping up that “from the salon” appearance and durability.
• If your nail polish has dried up a little bit on the inside, add a few drops of nail polish remover to your nail polish bottle and give it a few good shakes! This should help!

xo,

Lauren

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