I love seeing my nails colored. I usually paint my toe nails myself, and I have become quite good at it. The problem is my finger nails. I can paint them, too, but they never turn out as nice as my toe nails being painted (and I wish that was the problem). The other problem is that nail polish doesn’t last long on my finger nails. Three days max.
I don’t mind painting my finger nails myself, but I cannot do it every three days. That’s way too much work. My nails are really nice, if I do say so myself. They grow long and hard. Hmm. Long and hard. It’s almost as if I’m describing something else. But I digress.
I used acrylic on my nails for a while – not for length, but for it to retain the nail color. But eventually, I stopped using acrylic because it got to a point where my acrylic was cracking by itself for no apparent reason, so I got off the acrylic and decided to go back to my nails. They’ve grown long and hard as usual. Problem is, I’m back to square one: short-living nail polish.
I’ve been considering shellac nails which is supposed to be the thing now. But I know that it has its cons, too. For example, it costs more, it doesn’t have as many colors, and it can chirp and crack, too.
I don’t know what to do. I’m seriously thinking about going back to acrylics. I love my nails in color. And I love them in a particular shape which my natural nails have a problem keeping. For example, my index finger nails tend to bend at one side, and I HATE it.
So yes, I’m in crisis. This is very, VERY serious. You may call me vain, that’s fine. But if you have any solutions or ideas, I’m open. If I have to look at my nails this way any longer, there is no telling what I may do. Help!!!
P.S. I am way too lazy to take a picture of my nails. Too much work.
Do a gel manicure. It lasts upwards of 3 weeks without chipping
Aren’t they the same or almost the same?
I am here to solve your problem! lol 🙂
Wash your hands first and let them airdry. Use Base coat + Top coat + eye liner brush.
I do my nails myself every week and consistently get compliments and questions about where I do them. I use Orly Bonder base coat first. Then use at least 2 coats of nail polish, allowing the first one to dry for 3 minutes before putting on the second one!!! Then, use Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat (best) OR Poshe top coat OR Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat. When you put the top coat, drag some “sideways” across the tip of your nail to wrap everything in top coat. (By the way, sally hansen is available most places. but the best place for the other things I mentioned is Sally Beauty Supply).
Ok, so now you are done painting. WAIT 30 minutes. Then take an eyeliner brush (a flat or angled one o – you can find this anywhere and the Elf ones are cheapest). Dip it in acetone/nail polish remover. Use that to clean around your nails/fingers until it is perfect (wipe on a paper towel in between). Finish!
I haven’t had a manicure since like 2009 since using this method. The hardest part is sitting still for 45 minutes to make sure it is FULLY dry.
Well thank you for solving a general problem. Lol. Even though I don’t see myself sitting still for a long time just for my nails to dry *sigh*
MsDawari, I agree, she definitely solved a general problem.
NaijaModel,
Ahhhhhh!!! I went into a great depression after reading this oh, lol. I have a hard time – VERY, VERY HARD TIME – keeping my hands still. In fact, that’s part of the problem. If I concentrate, I can do a good job painting my nails, but I almost always forget to stay still and let them dry. Plus, I’m usually doing a lot of things while watching TV, like blogging, washing dishes, doing laundry, pooping, hahaha. Chei!!!
i love the shellac manicure… it last for up to 10 days for me, and depending on your salon, you can find a variety of colors.
Havilah, okay, thanks a lot. That’s encouraging. Though with acrylic, it used to stay for up to two weeks for me, sometimes even three weeks (and it’s cheaper).
Vera, I was about to say we should add this to the list of world’s biggest problems. Except it’s a week when I don’t enter the kitchen (which is never), my nails don’t last more than 3 days 🙁 *sigh* Sometimes, I don’t even bother painting it sef mcheww.
Btw, we are still expecting the news. Re: your Tonto Dike post…Pls try not to keep us waiting for too long. Tainz a lot.
MSDawari, kitchen gloves are your friend o lol. My mother makes fun of me, but I do not do dishes without my gloves – not even 2 plates. I am in the kitchen at least every other day, and even though I wash my hair myself mid week, the nails will NOT chip. Just wear gloves to do dishes.
It’s true that 45 mins is a lot, but you plan for it. If you watch Real Housewives or Scandal or Mad Men or whatever – you will be sitting down there for an hour anyway, so use that time 🙂 The nails should last 6 days at least. Mine last 8-9 without chipping, but I remove them on day 7 because I get bored with the color.
Lol @ ‘kitchen gloves are your friend’. Now that you mentioned it, I’ll probably invest in them. Lol.
Oh, and yesterday, I painted my nails and I actually spent one and a half episodes of Scandal painting it. I smiled when I saw that part of your comment. Lol. Thankfully, it came out really really nice 😀
NaijaModel, I watch all those AND I even wear gloves. Girl, I don’t see this working for me at all. I’m all over the place when I’m watching TV because in between (during commercials), I run off to do other things. God help me.
MsDawari,
Sorry for the late response; I guess you already know the news now. Tehehe. And yeah, girl, I totally feel you on nail polish not lasting long. Like you, I also go into the kitchen a lot. I wear gloves, but still …
vera, try this nail product called “nail aid, 3 minute artificials (11x gel power)”. there are different types, see pic at this link:
https://www.google.com/search?q=nail+aid&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=OeNYUZn3G4fq0gG9moDoCQ&biw=1280&bih=707&sei=PeNYUZakE4ix0QGz3YC4BA#imgrc=tWzjiP7tCP6h9M%3A%3B01hD3rvKj-elqM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fb.vimeocdn.com%252Fts%252F268%252F691%252F268691297_640.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252
38989698%3B640%3B360
the one i’m referring to is the one in the pink case per the pic.
i have used “seche vite” but just the base coat because i saw something crazy like “could cause birth defects” written on the top coat and it scarred the hell out of me. so i bought only the base coat and used it as both base and top coat. honestly, i didn’t see anything fantastic about this product, or maybe it’s because i wasn’t using the top coat as well.
anyway, two weeks ago, the “seche vite” bottle was stuck due to dried nail polish in between the cap, and i wasn’t in the mood to dissolve it with nail polish remover, so i used “nail aid” as my base and top coat. my dear, the thing worked wonders. my nail polish didn’t chip for days. i still have the same ones on now as i type and this is going on its second week.
even though they have chipped now, it’s not as bad. the nail polish on my right hand chipped more quickly because i didn’t use as many coats as i did on the left. and probably also because it’s the more used hand.
anyway, i’m about to do a fresh manicure using a different polish, just to be sure it had nothing to do with the brand of nail polish. but i know it didn’t, after all i used “sinful colors”, one of the cheapest out there. i hope i get similar results as before, so it won’t be that i’m vouching for a ‘one hit wonder’ product. but if this works again, i’ll go and buy their whole range. anyway, let me try it first and i will give you my honest feedback.
just in case you were wondering, i got mine at ross for $2 or $3. i’ve also seen it at walmart, don’t know how much it is there though.
p.s. don’t get me wrong, even though i said i’ve had my nail polish on for almost two weeks now, they did start to chip at the tips after like the first week, but quite minimally, which is a lot better than i have experienced.
Amydkoko,
Girl, I woulda run too if I found a nail polish saying there could be possible infertility, I would run too and never look back. Ah, ah. I’m assuming you got it at WalMart … hmmm. Never seen it before. Or never noticed it at least. I know the Sinful Colors brand. I got one green one from them for $1.99 from Walmart. I’ll see if I can try this nail polish thing. It’s looking more and more unlikely.
Naijamodel, pls where do u live? we can be best friends you know
LOL!!!
NaijaModel, please ignore Funmie!
Funmie, stay away from my reader!!!