Getting a great salon-style
manicure (you know the type – smooth, glassy, perfectly shaped, no chips or
smudges in sight) at home that actually lasts (longer than, y’know, a day) can be a real task. But it IS
possible. And we’re going to show you how to do it. Right here. Right now.
You will need: a good base
coat/nail strengthener (we love the Sephora-stocked Perfect Formula Gel Coat),
your choice of nail polish and a good top coat (we recommend Sally Hansen’s
Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat).
First, apply your base coat or
nail strengthener. It’s important to make sure your nails are well cared for
and nourished, and the coating will provide a nice, smooth surface to
facilitate that glassy smooth polish look. Always wait at least ten minutes
between ‘layers’, and consider submerging nails in ice cold water for thirty
seconds (just fill up your sink and dunk) to encourage faster drying and ensure
no chips or smudges get even a look-in.
Once your base coat has dried,
apply your nail polish. Always make sure there is enough polish on your brush
(you don’t want any streaks), but not a huge glob (too much polish on the nail
won’t dry well and will smudge at the stroke of a feather). Sweep your nail
polish on in steady, straight, vertical strokes. This will allow you to get a
great shape, with those tell-tale clean, straight, just-out-of-the-salon edges.
Once you’ve dried and dunked,
apply your top coat. Apply perhaps a little more liberally than your polish,
and apply all over the nail (make sure you apply it to the natural nail, over
the coloured part, as this will ‘seal’ your colour, making it impervious to
chips). Preferably, double your drying time to twenty minutes, and use the cold
water trick. And voila! Perfect nails, no salon required. One last tip: do your
nails at night, just before you go to bed, as your nail job will firm up
properly overnight, and be hard as, err, nails by the time you wake up.
Laura Hunter-Thomas,
Ici Fashion
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