Hi everyone! It may not come as a surprise that I love painting my nails. You will hardly ever see me without nail polish, and you will never see me with chipped polish! I usually paint my nails once or twice a week- and I am here to share with you some of my tips and tricks on how I get the perfect manicure every time!
THE TOOLS
The first thing you want to do is use nail polish remover to remove any leftover nail polish from your nails. I recommend using remover even if you don’t have nail polish on, because it gets any excess oil off of your nails. I use little round cotton pads. You can use q-tips to get around the edges to make sure it all comes off.
The next thing I do is clip my nails ( I like to keep mine short), and then file them into a round shape. After I do that, I take a cuticle pusher and push my cuticles back. You can use some coconut oil on your cuticles to make pushing them back easier. I also use a nail buffer to smooth out any rough edges along the nail. Make sure to go around the edges with your buffer so your nail tips aren’t sharp or jagged.
Now onto painting.
Always use a base coat. This not only helps your nail polish go on smoother and helps the polish last longer, but it helps with the yellowing of your nails from dark polish.
My two faves.
THE COLOR
Start with your pointer finger first, and always paint your thumbs last.
Do a stripe in the center of the nail, and then a stripe on each side. If you mess up and get some on your skin, use your thumb nail from your other hand to scrape it off. Paint one hand first (minus the thumb) and then the other. Then paint your thumbs. Always do two coats of polish. It makes sure that it’s opaque, and it gives you a chance to correct any streaking or mistakes. By the time you do your thumbs, they will be dry enough for a second coat.
Always use a top coat. The top coat seals the polish, gives it some shine, and helps it last longer.
My two faves.
After you are done with your second coat, you’re ready for the top coat. Move quickly, and get a lot on the brush. Not globs, but enough to where you won’t cause any streaks on the color. Also, make sure to go over your tips. You want topcoat on the tips to prevent wear, peeling, and chips. If you have any mistakes on your skin, grab a q-tip, dip it in some remover, and go over the mistakes.
Wait about an hour. I know it’s hard, and you want to do stuff, but just wait. If you screw up your mani after all this work, it’s gonna suck! Let the topcoat dry. I recommend doing your nails at night. I wait until my girls are in bed and do them then. After the nail polish is all dry, get some hand cream and apply it all over – nail polish remover is really drying.
I don’t do this full process every week. I do it every other time I paint my nails. Sometimes I just remove my polish and start painting.
Practice makes perfect. I’m not a professional, these are just the things that have worked for me over the years. I have been painting my nails for about 15 years. The more you practice, the better you will get! Give yourself some time and you will be a master manicurist!
I hope this was helpful! Do you have any nail tips to share?
Thanks for reading! 🙂
The Hustlin’ Homemaker 