For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a thing with nailpolish, at least from the age of 14… I of course had the French manicure going on, that was the shit back then 😉 After that I was really really intocolors . I layed out my clothes the night before and I coördinated with my nailpolish, which meant also blue, green black, white red, orange nailpolish, whatever… It also meant that I changed it every day, everyday people.

Needless to say, I was single at the time…

 

But for the last couple of years I’ve been digging the 50’s hollywood starlet vibe and I’ve been sticking with red and reddish colors (see this post and this one)

I’ve been asked lately how I get my nails so neat and the polish to stay on for so long.

Confession: It actually doesn’t stay on that long, maybe 3 or 4 days. As for the neatness: Practice makes perfect! (I’m still practicing, by the way…)

I’ve been really digging the nailpolish from Essie, these are the ones I use most:

• Base coat: First Base Base Coat
• Color: Russian Roulette, Fifth Avenue and Aperitief
• Top coat: Gelsetter

So here’s my routine:

1. Get rid of all the leftover nailpolish
2. Clean nails/ hands with baking soda (another thing this miracle product is good for. Check out this post for other uses)
3. Put on base coat, make sure it dries completely before going to the next step. Most base coats are made to dry quickly.
4. Put on first coat of colored nailpolish. Again, make sure it dries completely.
5. Put on second coat of colored nailpolish. I think this is when the color really comes to life. This is when the color looks like the color in the bottle. You cannot skip this one!
6. Put on top and final coat. This will make the nailpolish shine (bright like a diamond) and, more importantly, last longer.

• Tip: when you want to speed up the drying process, you can put your nails in a bowl of really cold water. This will make your nails dry faster. It seems strange, but it works!

 

So what are the tips you would like to share with us?