"First, I eat healthy; it comes from the inside out. If you eat right, your skin, hair, nails will look good. The same if you have negative thoughts - they can give you a bad look, too; we reflect what we eat and think. We also taste and smell what we eat. Being happy and doing what I love really reflects." - Katie del Castillo.
For me, Nails have always been a great passion of mine. I remember growing up and my mum had two nail polishes, one fushia shade which I believe was by Rimmel that smelt really nice and a red shade by a company I can't remember. My mum is a tomboy and runs in the opposite direction at the first sign of any beauty implementation. So at aged 7, I kind of adopted the two neglected nail varnish bottles.
Growing up and I messed around with nail art and acrylics, my dream for the future does involve undertaking the Nail Technician qualification and working towards my NABS then going ahead and making a positive difference and impact on the nail industry as there is no regulation between hygiene to quality to even the level of experience that the technicians in the shops may have.
Something that I always get comments on are my manicures, I've never paid to get my nails professionally done and all of my tips and advice is purely from trial and error.
1. Good foundations
Always always prep your nails, this involves using a good quality nail varnish remover. I recommend the Superdrug Acetone Nail Polish Remover. Follow this step even if you don't have any nail polish already on, it will remove any surface oils that will prevent nail varnish from adhering adequately to.
2. Get in the buff
Lightly buff the surface of your nails with a foam emery board to take off any surface shine, then wipe the nail plate with a non linting cotton pad.
3. Tame the cuticles
Cuticle clipping is a camp divider, to cut or not to cut. Regardless where you stand on this, make sure that your cuticles are pushed back at least and any creeping skin on the nail plate is removed as that will cause lifting in nail polish.
4. Prime time
If you only invest in one high end nail product, I would always recommend investing in a good quality base coat as it protects your nails, increases the longevity of the nail polish and helps everything go on smoother. My holy grail base polish is from the Kensington Caviar range by Nails Inc. Nails Inc is a Cruelty Free, 6 Free, (mostly) Vegan friendly and also halal in the sense that the nail polish is porous company.
5. Patience grasshopper
After applying your base coat, wait 10 minutes and apply the first thin layer of your colour. Then wait another 10 minutes to apply your second coat. It's important to keep a gap of time between all the coats, primarily to avoid smearing and indentation to the polish but also to avoid little bubbles that may come up if the polish is applied too thickly or too soon after the first coat.
6. Shine bright like a diamond
Top coat is important too, with a base coat you are creating that base to lay your colour on to, with a top coat you are sealing in your work for prosperity or until the following weekend. Again I would recommend the top coat from the Kensington Caviar range by Nails Inc. as it leaves a beautiful salon shine. When applying the top coat, I would recommend applying this 30mins after the colour coats have dried.
Using this method, I see a good 7 day wear from my nails and only remove the polish because I hate seeing the growth gap.
Other tips to avoid chips include:
- Keeping Nails short, if you see them peeping over finger tips then they are too long and more likely to chip. - Strong healthy nails are a must, I include biotin supplements as a compliment to sources of protein, iron, calcium and vitamin C in my diet. - Avoid really thin nail polishes, the same applies to really thick ones. Both chip or peel due to consistency.
I hope this helps you with your manicure!
Love and (high)light
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