Getting the perfect salon manicure at home is something all ladies secretly want because there is a terribly long list of things we would rather spend our money on rather than nail care. So we all sit down and try our darndest to hold the brush steady, not to put too much polish on so it ends up running onto our skin, oh, and don’t forget to get the perfect half circle around your cuticle area. We try, we fail, and then give up because that “practice till its perfect moment” seems like it will never actually show up for the party.
No one is perfect and I really think we should face that fact so we can move on, share our horror stories and give each other tips on how we cheat the very unrealistic system. Let’s admit we all cheat sometimes!
Here are a few tips on cheating your way to a neat manicure that might be deemed salon quality.
Basic tips: Always apply a base coat and top coat when doing your manicure. A base coat will give a smooth surface to paint onto; it will prevent the polish from staining your nails and your nails turning yellow. A top coat will help your manicure last longer. Try lightly pushing your cuticles back so you have more nail to paint onto. This gives the illusion that your nail is ‘slimmer’ and gives a really nice finish to your manicure.
Here is what my nails look like after painting one coat of “Sexy Bikini” by Tip Top nails.
The trick is waiting till your polish is completely dry. If you try clean your cuticles or the area around your nail while the polish is wet, there is more space for errors like nicks and smudging. The next trick is making your own cotton bud.
The ones you usually get at pharmacies are way too big to use to clean directly above your cuticle and it prevents you from getting into the places you really need to get to. This is where ladies give up and just walk away in defeat. The fact is, it’s really simple to get a cotton bud small enough to help cheat your way to a neat manicure. All you need is a cuticle stick (also known as an orange stick) and cotton wool.
Take a very small piece of cotton wool and wrap it around the needle-like end of your cuticle stick. Voila! You have a cotton bud small enough to get up in the cracks where stubborn nail polish often likes to live.
A really handy tip is to pour nail polish remover into the cap of the bottle. The cotton bud you just made, is not big enough to hold a lot of remover so you will have to keep re-dipping the stick into the polish remover so that you can get the polish of easier.
Then we cheat and remove all traces of our amateur nail painting skills.
If you have too much polish build up on your stick, just take off the cotton wool and put a new piece on. It’s really that simple!
That’s how you can cheat your way to a neat manicure. You can finish off with your favourite top coat and you can proudly flaunt your nails to the world and brag that you did the nail care yourself!
Article by: Claire http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/miss-claira-bella