Monday, May 23, 2011

What's Your Polishing Ritual?

What do you do when you polish your nails, from start to finish? What products do you use right now and what have you found that's best?


  1. Remove polish with Zoya Remove+
  2. Put on cuticle remover and leave it on while I file nails
  3. File nails gently with one of my many files, though I really need to get a glass one
  4. Push back cuticles with my awesome metal cuticle tool from Sally's and wipe off excess cuticle remover
  5. Lotion up hands and cuticles very well with Bath & Body Works Lemon Vanilla, massaging into cuticles
  6. Trim hangy cuticles with cuticle nippers if I have to, as a last resort
  7. Apply Sally Girl cuticle oil alone lower and side cuticles
  8. Let sit on as long as I feel like I have time for to let it all soak in better
  9. Swipe Zoya Remove+ over nails well so that all lotion and oils are removed from nail plate
  10. Apply base coat of Orly Nailtrition
  11. Wait 2 minutes after first nail was painted
  12. Apply first coat of color rather thinly-medium
  13. Apply second coat of color without much waiting between this and first coat, because time has already passed while you painted all 10 nails, maybe 1-3 minutes
  14. Repeat for third coat if necessary
  15. Wait at least 5 minutes before topcoat of Orly SecNDry or Seche Vite to help prevent bubbles, polish should be dry to the touch
  16. Clean up around the edges wile polish is still not fully hard if possible, using Zoya Remove+ and a very small stiff paint brush
This Bath&Body Works lotion is really the most moisturizing one I have used.
Zoya Remove+ is by far better than cheap non-acetone remover or pure acetone. I use it even for cleaning up the edges after polishing because it doesn't dry out my skin like the others do.
Orly SecNDry is just as quick as SV, but dries thinner and is less finnicky when it comes to shrinking.

Anything better out there?

No comments:

Post a Comment

I love and appreciate your comments, and always read every one!