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Best Tips for a Longer Lasting Manicure

ByCordelia


Best Tips for a Longer Lasting Manicure

Happy Friday! I was asked to share my best tips for a longer lasting manicure, so here they are! People always email to ask me my favorite base coats and top coats, so I’ve got them listed in here, too. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned!

PR + Purchased by me.

1. File the free ends of your nails to make sure they’re smooth and rounded with a glass nail file. I love my Cult Nails glass nail file.

2. Push your cuticles back with an orange stick. Any type will do. You can pick them up from Sally’s or Amazon.

3. With clean nails, start by wiping your nails with an acetone-based nail polish remover and a lint free cotton pad, twice. Really rub at the nails to remove any oils from them. You don’t want any traces of oil on the nail. Try Zoya Remove.

4. Use a sticky base coat and apply this to your nails, making sure you get the free edge (tip) of your nails. I prefer Cult Nails Get it On Base Coat, Jinsoon Power Base, or Orly Bonder.

5. Apply 1 to 2 coats of nail polish as you prefer, waiting at least 10 minutes in between coats and making sure you get the free edge of you nails.

6. Finish with a fast drying top coat, making sure you get the free edge of your nails. I prefer KBShimmer Clearly On Top Quick Dry Top Coat, HK Girl Glisten and Glow Top Coat or Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

7. Clean up your cuticles and any polish mistakes with a thin, stiff makeup brush dipped in acetone. I use this one from Amazon.

8. Don’t wash your hands for at least an hour so that your polish has time to set. It can take several hours for polish to fully set, according to the experts, so don’t hang out in a long, hot shower, or a decadent bubble bath.

9.Use a cuticle oil once or twice daily to keep your nails moisturized and to prevent peeling. Try Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Oil.

So these are my best tips for a longer lasting manicure. Really the things that have made the most difference have been wrapping the free edge of my nails and making sure that I always remove all the oil from my nail beds.

What are your tips? What new things should I incorporate into my routine?

Cordelia Frost is the creative force behind Phyrra, a treasure trove for cruelty-free indie and goth makeup enthusiasts. She's the author of the game-changing 'Hooded Eyes Makeup Manual' a must-read for hooded eyes makeup.

Cordelia's world is a kaleidoscope of alternative beauty, gothic fashion, and life-enhancing tips, making every visit to Phyrra a journey into a more colorful and inspired self.

16 Comments

  1. I’ve pinned this. Some tips I knew already, but others were new. I’ll try using an acetone-based nail polish remover (Step 3) instead of my regular acetone-free remover. Since reading this post, I’ve read that you can use vinegar on a cotton pad to prep the nails too. I’ll give both liquids a go.

  3. Great post. I love your picture. The only thing I don’t do is wait 10 minutes between coats. No one that has done my nails waits that long either.

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  10. When you saying “wrapping the free edge of my nails,” do you just mean painting it, as you instruct in the numbered steps? Or is there something else happening? 😀  Thanks! I’m going to try the file and one of your topcoat picks.

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