The Perfect At-Home Manicure

This past year, life in quarantine has given me the opportunity to become quite the jack-of-all-trades. This year I’ve learned how to cook a lot of my favorite foods, sew, invest in stocks with Shawn and lately give myself a mani. Traditionally painting my nails at home just wasn’t my thing. It takes a lot of work, I’m kind of impatient and I somehow always find a way to sabotage my nails. This year I’ve been investing a lot of time in doing things that make me feel happy, refreshed, and feel beautiful. So, I was determined to master the art of a great at-home manicure. 

What You Need

Cuticle Remover- This is a step I used to skip, but since incorporating it I’ve found it makes for a  “neater” polish job. 

Cuticle Sticks- I use this to push back my cuticles and clean them up after I use the cuticle remover. I’m not a fan of cutting my cuticles.

Nail File- and a finger nail clipper if you really need to cut your nails down

Base + Top Coat- My favorite base and topcoat is Nail Aid’s 1-minute gel coat. Even if my nails aren’t painted I like to keep this polish on my nails because it keeps them hard and unbreakable. 

Nail Polish- Honestly I’ve tried it all from press-on nails to stickers to dip powder but I prefer the look of classic nail polish. My two favorite polish brands are Essie and Sally Hansen (specifically the quick-dry collection).

Polish Remover + Eyeshadow Brush- If you’re a klutz like me, then you’ll find need this duo for cleaning up mistakes.

Cuticle Oil- I like finishing off with cuticle oil once my nails are closer to being dry. 

Tips

1. The less polish the better. I limit myself to no more 2 coats. If I make a mistake, I use remover and start completely over. The more coats of nail polish the longer it’ll take to dry.
2. When removing polish off of my actual nails, I prefer to use non-acetone polish. It’s less drying and gentler on my nails.
3. Only polish on clean, dry nails. 
4. Make sure you have  A LOT of patience. If you’re quickly slapping on polish, don’t expect a flawless and long-lasting application.
5. If I really want my nails to last, I will reapply my top coat a day or 2 later.
6. Be prepared to sit still. I like to do my nails at the end of the night before bed to guarantee I won’t be using my hands and ruining my polish.

This is all new to me, but for the first time ever the idea of painting my nails doesn’t intimidate me. I feel behind the curve because the perfect at-home manicure is something most girls learn how to do in high school but ??‍♀️. Now that I know how to paint my nails at home I’m excited to get my hands on some fall colors!

XO 

Michelle