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Manicure Preparation

  1.   Cool Down your Polish in the Fridge

Leaving your nail polish in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before your manicure cools down the polish so that it goes on smoother.

  1.   Fresh Nails, Fresh Manicure

Before applying your base coat, wash your hands and give them a scrub with a nail brush to smooth them out. Completely remove any polish from your last manicure.

Get it: Nail Brush 

  1.   Aluminum Foil Trick

If you aren’t able to get off all the polish from your previous manicure, then follow what the salons do and grab some aluminum foil. Begin by soaking a cotton ball in nail polish remover then wrap the cotton ball around your nail. To make sure it stays on tight just wrap it again with aluminum foil, leave the foil on for 2-3 minutes and then take it off and marvel in your clean fresh nails.

Get it: Aluminum Foil

  1.   File Frenzy

Always file your nails before you apply polish in order to smooth them out, prevent breakage and sculpt them as you wish. Glass filles are much better for your nails.

Get it: Glass Nail File

  1.   Keep your Cuticles in Line

Push back your cuticles ideally with a cuticle pusher so you can smoothly paint on your polish. The pusher below comes with a trimmer so you can take care of any hanging skin.

Get it: Cuticle Trimmer with Cuticle Pusher

  1.   Cleanup Hack with Petroleum Jelly

Before painting your nails dip a Q-tip in Vaseline and rub it around your cuticles and the skin surrounding your nails. Once you’ve finished painting your nails you can wipe the Vaseline off and viola – no smudges on your skin!

Get it: Vaseline

How to Apply Polish

  1.   No more Chips with Vinegar (sorry Lays)

Make your nail polish last longer and chip less by dipping a cotton ball in white vinegar and applying the vinegar to your nails before applying polish.

Get it: White Vinegar

  1.   Loosen up Your Polish by Rolling

Logically it makes sense to shake your nail polish before you open the bottle, but did you know that shaking it causes bubbles? And bubbles on your nails do not bode well for a smooth application. Instead of shaking, loosen up the polish by placing your bottle between your hands upright and roll your nail polish bottle back and forth.

  1.   Solid Base

Always apply a base coat because it protects and strengthens your nails and makes your manicure last longer.

Get it: Nail Polish Base Coat

  1.   Prevent Chips to the Tips

In order to prevent chips to the tips of your nails, be strategic about how you apply your base coat. First, apply the base coat to just the tips of your nails, wait for it to dry, then apply polish as you normally would to your whole nail. The idea is to add extra protection to the tips of your nails where chipping typically occurs first.

  1.   White Nail Polish Base

Have you ever had a light pink colour that is beautiful in the bottle but then is so transparent on your nail that it’s hardly worth the effort? To ensure the polish on your nails looks as good as it seems in the bottle, begin with a layer of white nail polish. After you’ve applied your base coat simply top it off with white nail polish, let it dry and finish with the colour.

Get it: OPI White Nail Polish

  1.   Smooth Application

When you’re applying your nail polish, the key is to take your time. In order to achieve smooth application, paint one stroke down the center of your nail, and then another stroke on each side.

  1.   Dry your Wet Nails in Ice Water

To speed up the drying time of your wet nails simply prepare a bowl of cold water and add ice cubes to it. Dip your hands into the bowl and let them sit for a couple minutes. The cold water will dry your nails in no time.

Manicure Hacks

Moisturize Cuticles with Olive Oil or Almond Oil

Rubbing your nail bed and cuticles with olive oil or almond oil can keep your fingernails hydrated and healthy! It will reduce dry skin which can cause hangnails around your nail beds. You can keep a bottle of almond oil beside your bed, so you don’t forget to moisturize your nails each night.

Get it: Sweet Almond Oil

Get it: Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Extra Unified Cold Pressed – Fair Trade, Non GMO

Grow Stronger Nails with Garlic

Adding garlic to your clear nail polish can significantly strengthen your nails. 

  1. Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.
  2. Add minced garlic to the clear nail polish bottle.
  3. Use it regularly as a base and top coat.

French Manicure Tips

The hardest part of attempting an at home French manicure is getting those lines straight, and the stick-on French manicure lines are not the best. An easy trick is to tie a rubber elastic band in the middle, loop one of the ends over your thumb and then place the other end to the tip of your nail and create the shape of a French tip. It is much easier to use a rubber band to create consistent lines for all your fingers and all you have to do is take white nail polish and paint above the rubber band.

Get a Matte Manicure at Home

  1. Paint your nails as you normally would.
  2. Once your nails are dry, apply Mod Podge Matte on nails.
  3. Let dry and enjoy your Matte nails!

Get it: Mod Podge Matte

Unscrew Lids with a Rubber Band

If you’ve had nail polish for a while the bottle can be very difficult to open because the lid gets stuck. To save all your efforts trying to unscrew the bottle simply wrap a rubber band around the lid and you’ll save yourself from all the huffing and puffing.