Something I get asked about a lot are my fingernails. When I was little and dreaming of all my success, I definitely didn’t picture my hands being any part of it. Though the fact that I would spend countless hours crafting plans with my friends on how to obtain the perfect watermelon manicure should have told me something.
My mom must be so proud.
So today, I answer your questions. The reality is, I don’t take great care of my nails anymore. Something about working from home in a remote city afforded me all the time in the world to obsess over perfection. Now, I work a day job, maintain a blog, am writing a fiction novel and am also writing an ebook while launching a new business. Sweet Brown really did say it best. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Regardless of all of that, pretty fingernails and well manicured hands really do make me happy. So I try my best to squeeze in time for them here and there. So what do I do exactly? Let’s get into it.
I keep my nails short.
I actually clip them, I don’t just file. I’m on a computer most of the day–and when I’m not I can usually be found elbow deep in someone else’s dirty dishes. Long nails and this life just don’t mesh. I clip them straight across then go in with a nail file to soften the edges. I like squoval, but I hate that word.
I don’t skip the cuticles.
I hate to break this to you, but this is the most important part of having a nice manicure. I know, we all hate tackling them, but if you don’t–your manicure will look childish and sloppy. I use the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover gel. I let it sit for about 3 minutes then push them back using a plastic orange stick (no, the color doesn’t have to be orange, it’s just called an orange stick). Now here’s the part that takes some practice: I do clip my cuticles. I use a cuticle clipper and work my way around the cuticle clipping about 12 times (small, quick clips). Yes, this is gross. Yes, you can clip your real skin which will make you bleed and it’ll sting. This takes practice. Just be patient with it. You can actually see the dead skin if you’ve pushed the cuticle back. Only clip that.
I always use a base coat.
There are a lot of polishes that claim to have a base coat built in. Cool. Use a base coat anyway. I don’t trust nail polish not to stain or damage my nails. I like Sally Hansen Hard As Nails, and I’ve been using it for years and years.
I don’t paint from my cuticles down.
This is probably the number one mistake most people make. They think they should place the brush up by their cuticles and paint straight down. That’s why your nails looks messy and sloppy and probably like a toddler did them. Clean one side of the brush completely by dragging it across the lip of the bottle. Clean the other side HALFWAY. You’ll be left with a little bead of polish at the very base of the brush. Place the bead in the CENTER of your nail and gently push it up toward your cuticle without touching your cuticle then drag down. Use that first stroke as your guideline for your next two strokes. That’s right, you should only be using about 3 strokes for your first coat. Be sure you’re using the brush to it’s full capacity by pushing down slightly so the brush spreads. This technique makes your manicure much more professional.
I always do two coats.
Yes, some polishes are opaque enough on your first coat, and everyone is desperate to save time here and there. This is not the place to do that. If you’re painting your nails, take the time to do it right or leave them bare. Two coats will always look better than one.
I dip a synthetic brush in pure acetone for clean up.
This won’t always be necessary the more you practice painting, but especially at first, you’ll hit cuticle or drag the polish too far down and paint your skin. It happens. It still happens to me. Dip a synthetic brush (a cheap eyeliner brush from the drugstore works great) in pure acetone (you can also find this cheap at Sally’s Beauty Supply) and clean the edges. Makes a world of difference.
I’d say use high quality nail polish–
–but that isn’t exactly necessary. Some of my favorite polishes were $1.99. I will say that Julep really does make a polish like none I’ve ever used before (and you all can trust that I’ve used a lot). It’s long wearing, allows oxygen to continue to get to your nails, and actually repairs your damaged nails by conditioning them. You can get your first box free using this code HERE.
I use a high quality QUICK DRYING top coat. Always.
Nothing ruins your manicure like having to pee immediately after painting your nails. We’ve all been there. I use Seche Vite (this link is the best deal you’ll ever find) and I’ll never use anything else. It leaves a gel-like look to even the cheapest of nail polishes, and it dries all the layers in less than 5 minutes. I’ve DONE DISHES 10 minutes after painting my nails. I’ve also gone to bed immediately after painting my nails without waking up with those fun wrinkles in my polish.
The most important factor of it all is just practice. You do something enough and you’ll get better at it, facts are facts. Tag me with your manicure pics on instagram at @joelizabeth! I want to see them!!
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I would love to have you do my nails. I keep my cuticle cream on my nightstand and I still don't use it at night. My nails are forever a mess. But I spend all day either in a germy classroom (washing my hands a million times) or doing manual labor around this place (which destroys my hands). Sigh.
Um guess I've been doing my nails wrong MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE. Stay tuned.
Ahhh, I've been wanting a post like this from you FOR AGES. So, I'm glad you finally did it! This is so helpful for a girl like me who always looks like she just dipped her fingers straight into the bottle of polish. Plus, I learned a new word—squoval.
xoxo
Kat 🙂
So I never mess with my cuticles which is probably why I rarely have my finger nails painted. I have tried doing things with them before but it hurts and so I am like mehhh not worth it. Call me a baby. When I do paint, I do start in the middle at least!
I have to figure out how to manage my cuticles because I never touch them and I know I need to– since my nails have been long (for me) I've been trying to file them to shape them, buuut I end up just filing them away and then they're super short again! haha
"Nothing ruins your manicure like having to pee immediately after painting your nails"… I so laughed at this!
That painting on tip – GENIUS – I never knew this – totally trying it!
Thank you for sharing your secrets!! 😉 Your nails always look beautiful. I hope that you are having an amazing week too!! 🙂
I always love your manicure pictures! The tip about painting your nails by starting in the center, is EXTREMELY helpful. Thanks! 🙂 I have Julep's Quick Dry Drops, and they are amazing. I don't always use them, but if I need to cut down on time, I'll add a drop or two to each nail to dry them quickly!
All that nail polish!! I always love your nails! I wish I had the patience to keep mine painted.
This post. SO HELPFUL. The only thing that I currently do off of this list is a base coat. But I get so frustrated that my own paint job looks so crappy every single time. Me and my nails thank you!
Such a great post! I just need to practice more I think. It is nice to get pampered and have someone else do your nails though, especially a pedicure!
So I need some cuticle clippers and to start at the middle of my nail and my manicure will look 1000% better. Thanks for the tips lady, this was super helpful!
yeahhhhh so basically i do none of this, no wonder my nails look like a toddler did them. i am getting better though, so high five! still don't understand the cuticle down/center thing though. but i'm getting there!
I'm so excited you wrote this post! Your nails are the best ever. Does that top coat help the mani last a long time?