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07 November 2016

My Nail Care Routine

Lately I feel like I haven't been the best beauty blogger, because I've painted my nails three times in the past four months, and all three those times were in the past month. But you know what? Life sometimes gets in the way, and sometimes you just have to go with bare nails. That being said, I feel like I've found my groove with respect to a good nail care routine, so today I thought I'd show you how I do my nails.

Tools

  • old towel
  • nail file
  • cuticle remover
  • nail brush
  • orange stick
  • nail polish remover
  • cotton rounds
  • nail primer (optional)
  • base coat
  • colour polish
  • top coat
  • nail drops
  • slanted eyeliner brush

Prep



I sometimes file my nails while I still have the old polish on. I feel like the old polish gives my nails a bit of protection so that I don't damage it during filing. I file in one direction in order to prevent tears. I then remove my old nail polish with nail polish remover and cotton rounds. I use the Sorbet pump bottles and I find that it works great. I then apply a few drops of the cuticle remover to each nail's cuticle and let it sit for about 30 seconds. For cuticle remover I use the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. I then wash my hands in warm soapy water and take a nail brush to gently brush my nails and cuticles. After drying my nails I gently push back the cuticles on each nail with the orange stick.

Before painting my nails I ensure that I have all my tools ready and I partially open each bottle so that I don't have to struggle to open bottles with wet nails. I then take a cotton round and put some nail polish remover on. I then quickly swab each nail to ensure that all the soap is gone. I then go in with the nail primer and paint it onto each nail. I use the OPI Chip Skip primer for this. It has the consistency of water so it dries the moment you apply it, so there's no waiting time. Now onto the actual painting...

Painting my nails



I'm left-handed so I start painting with my right hand on my left hand's pinky nail. I prefer to do the non-dominant hand's painting first to get that out of the way! I apply a thin coat of the base coat (my current favourite is the Morgan Taylor React) to each nail. When that is finished I apply, in the same finger order, a coat of colour polish to each nail (pictured here is one of my favourites, Essie's "Splash of grenadine"). When I'm done with that I do another colour layer. I always apply two coats, no matter what. I also try to not apply the coats too thickly otherwise they tend to either look gloopy and bubbly, or they tend to pool on the side of my nail which is impossible to fix. I aim for three strokes of polish per nail: one down the middle starting at the cuticle, and one small stroke on each side of that. I also "cap" my nail where I swipe the brush across the nail's edge to prevent chipping.

When I'm doing applying the two colour polish coats I go in with the top coat. Depending on the top coat I might do a thick coat, but I've found with this Sally Hansen Insta-Dri one that it's best to do a thin coat. It dries very quickly and is the quickest drying top coat I have found other than my beloved Seche Vite.

After applying the top coat I will go in with a slanted eyeliner brush dipped in a little bit of the essence Nail Art Nail Polish Remover Ultra (this stuff is like industrial remover!) and just clean up the edges, cuticles, and undersides of my nails. I use a slanted brush because it allows me to be precise. I also don't use an earbud because it's too thick and the fibres tend to sit on your polish and then you're in trouble. When I'm finished touching up my manicure I apply a drop or two of the essence nail art express dry drops to each nail and sit back to admire my artwork.

What's your secret to doing your nails? Let me know in the comment section!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this!! How long does it take you from scratch to your nails being 100% dry? I'm not one for doing my nails, I hate it because I smudge it 99% of the time before it's dry. Any tips on sitting still? Lol :) xx

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    Replies
    1. Ah I'm so glad to hear that! It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Thanks to the Sally Hansen top coat and the nail drops my nails are touch-dry in a matter of seconds. I won't recommend digging in your purse for the first 20 minutes or so, but you can get around! With this method you don't need to sit still, you only need to be careful. ;) Thanks for commenting, Marné!

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