Back to the Basics: Manicure 101
Today, Nailette welcomes our subscriber Lynn G. to share her tips on doing your nails.
Hi everybody! My name is Lynn (a different Lynn from the Nailette founder) and I’m here today to share my routine for painting my nails. I’m definitely not a pro, but I paint my nails often and have come up with a pretty good routine that gives me great results each and every time.
I LOVE nail polish! I just think it is so much fun and acts as an accessory to any outfit I’m wearing, mood I’m in, what have you. Up until 6 months ago I was a regular at my local nail salon. I had been getting manicures - most recently gel manicures - on a biweekly basis since as far back as I can remember.
Last fall I decided I wanted to start painting my own nails. There were a few reasons for this change - I wanted to be able to change my nail color more frequently (my gel manicures lasted 2 weeks so I was “stuck” with that color in between visits to the salon), I wanted to play around more with nail color trends, nail art, etc (while my nail salon did have lots of colors to choose from they didn’t always have the “latest and greatest”), and I wanted to save a bit of money by doing my nails myself.
So I did a good amount of research on the internet, watched a few YouTube videos, perused Pinterest much more than I probably should have (don’t we all?), and then headed to the local beauty supply shop to buy a few essentials. Once I had my tools ready to go I picked a color and got to work.
Here’s a list of the steps I follow to care for and paint my nails:
1. Clean your nails: the first thing you need to do is make sure your nails are clean from previous manicures. It is a personal choice as to whether you use acetone or non-acetone nail polish remover for this first step. Acetone free remover is much gentler on your nails and will not dry out your nail beds as easily. This is something you definitely want to consider as dry nail beds can lead to peeling nails which is definitely a no-no for your manicure.
2. File your nails: next you need to file your nails to your desired shape. There are lots of shapes out there - square, round, squoval, and oval to name a few - so simply choose the shape that appeals to you the most. When filing your nails choose a nail file with a medium to gentle grit. There really is no need to use a file with a very coarse grit as it may just lead to nail damage and splitting. Always file in one direction, not back and forth.
3. Buff your nails: use a buffer to help smooth out any ridges on your nail beds and to also smooth out the tips of your nails where you have just filed. Start from the cuticle moving down and, again, buff in one direction only.
4. Care for your cuticles: cuticles are an often neglected, but very important part of your manicure process. Neat and clean cuticles leads to an even neater looking manicure. I like to use a cuticle remover and stick to remove any excess from my nail beds before I add my polish.
5. Clean your nail surface: Now that you’ve filed, buffed, and pushed your cuticles into perfection it’s time to polish. Before doing so it’s important to remove any residue from the nail bed. I like to give my hands a quick wash and then swipe a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover both over my nail beds and under the nail tips for the perfect canvas.
6. Apply your base coat: There are tons of base coats out there so it’s important to play around and find the one that works best for your nails. I personally love to use Orly Bonder as it seems to really give my nail color staying power. Apply your base coat in a thin, even coat starting from your pinkies and working your way towards your thumbs.
7. Choose your color and paint: This is the fun part! Nailette makes it super easy by narrowing down your choices to the “latest and greatest.” Start by painting your non-dominant hand, holding the brush in your dominant hand. Again start from your pinky working your way towards your thumb. I actually leave both of my thumbs until the very end so I don’t end up smudging them as I work on my second coat.
8. Prep your brush by sliding it into your nail polish bottle and while pulling back, wipe the polish on the back side of the brush on the rim. You definitely don’t want a huge glob of polish on your brush. Starting slightly below the middle of your cuticle, apply the tip of the brush down on the nail bed, push slightly back so the polish is just below your cuticle line and then pull forward to the tip of your nail. Repeat this on both the left and right side of this center line. Repeat this step on all of your fingers. I know it may seem a little awkward at first painting with your non-dominant hand, but with practice you will get used to it - I promise!
9. Clean up your cuticle line: Ever wonder how people get those perfect curves of nail polish on their nails? It’s usually not from a flawless polish application (well for some it may be, but definitely not for me!). The best trick I learned is to use a very small slanted makeup brush (like an eyeliner brush) dipped in nail polish remover (acetone works best) to clean up my nail beds just below my cuticles for a super clean look. I like to do this step before I add top coat as it is easier to remove any unwanted polish that way.
10. Apply your top coat: Invest in a fast drying top coat and apply just as you would your base coat. I personally like both Seche Vite and Sally Hansen Insta Dry.
And there you have it! Practice definitely makes perfect when it comes to polishing your nails, but it’s worth it to be able to have beautifully polished nails whenever you want. ENJOY!
