How I Do It: Basic Manicure

Hello all!  I hope you're all doing well :) meanwhile, my stay at home has been wonderfully plagued with thunderstorm/tornado/flash flood warnings.  But that's okay because my mom makes the most amazing food.  Priorities, you know.

Anyhow, most of you may not find my nail art to be too practical...and that's okay.  I get you.  So here's a post on the basic manicure! :D It will be picture heavy, but I hope it's crazy helpful because if it's helpful, then I did my job right :)

If this interests you, please read on after the jump! :)

So before you start any manicure, it is imperative that your cuticles be lookin' fine!  Awesome cuticles really do make a difference, since when your nails are painted, everyone's going to be staring at your nails, so any minor imperfections around that area will be like 10000 times more noticeable then.  This link will show you how I prefer to treat my cuticles.

And now onto the basic manicure! :)

You will need:

• nail polish remover - I prefer those that are acetone-based
• cotton swabs
• orange stick
• small brush - this will be used for clean up
• base coat - I used Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen
• top coat - I used Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen
• nail color of your choice - I used Too Yacht to Handle by China Glaze & Easy Going by Sinful Colors

Alright, you will notice that I use two different nail polish removers.  I will explain that later.

Step 1: rid your nails of any oils and other residues.  This is simply done by dipping your cotton swab in the nail polish remover and wiping it over all your nails.  This step ensures that the base coat stays on longer.

Step 2: apply your base coat.  The base coat doesn't have to be too thick, but don't skimp out on it either because a lack of base coat means your manicure doesn't last for as long and you can end up with a serious case of nail staining.  The base coat usually dries within 5 minutes of application.

Step 3: apply your first coat of polish.  The first coat is supposed to be thin, meaning your first coat is gonna look streaky.  And that's okay, because it'll dry quickly that way, so you can apply your second coat soon after!  Here's a breakdown of the first coat of polish:

See that little glob of polish on the right side of the brush?  That's about how much polish you want to use for the first coat (maybe more for the thumb nail...thumbs are weird).  It's just enough to lay down a coat of polish onto which the second coat may grip, but not too much where the drying time is ridiculous.

When I apply nail polish to the entire nail, I start out with one stroke down the middle of the nail.  Just like that picture there.

And then I add a stroke down either side of the nail.  Try really hard not to flood your cuticles, but if you do, you can quickly undo that mistake by using your orange stick.  Either end will work.  Just "draw" around your nails with the orange stick to rid the cuticles of nail polish.

This is what a typical first coat looks like.  Extremely patchy, not wearable, very unprofessional...the list is endless.  I would not wear these nails like this.  But that's good, because now we can continue on with this manicure.

Step 4: apply your second coat of polish.  For my second coat, I prefer to use a little bit more polish than for my first coat.  Again, you don't want to use too much polish though or else the drying time will be ridiculous.  The second coat of polish usually covers the patchiness of the first coat and levels out the polish.  Most polishes I work with are opaque in 2 coats - however, some polishes do require 3 or even 4 coats!  And there are rare breeds of polishes that are magical one-coaters...those are rare indeed.  If you flood your cuticles again, just clean them out again.  No need to freak out.

Step 5: clean up around your nails.  For bigger messes, I would first start out with the cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover, but I don't have big messes on this manicure.  To clean up these nails, I would use the small brush dipped in pure acetone to clean up around my cuticles.  The reason I have two different nail polish removers is because the blue one is good for general clean up, but the pure acetone one is for specific and detailed clean up.  Pure acetone is way better at its job since nail polish removers with strengtheners or nutrients are more diluted (in terms of acetone), so not as pure and not as efficient.  However, pure acetone is a little bit more damaging to your skin, so there's that.

Step 6: apply your top coat.  This too is important as it helps prevents your nails from chipping too much and helps your manicure last longer.  Think of it as a shield.  A very flammable shield.  But a shield nonetheless.  There are tons of different top coats out there, so don't feel limited to just one.  In my picture below, I only applied topcoat to the finger on the left (the turquoise one).  You can't really tell the difference, but in my heart I can feel the difference.

And that's it!  A manicure on both of my hands generally takes me an hour to do.  And then, of course, you have to wait for it to dry.  And speaking of drying, when you're waiting for your nails to dry, DO NOT wave your hands around and DO NOT put them in front of a fan.  The currents of air (or the foolishness of the act, really) can potentially ruin your manicure.  And we don't want that work put to waste, right?

I am not the type to be wearing simple manicures, so I decorated my nails a bit:

The water marble was done using Saaya by Julep & Laree by Julep.  I added orange rhinestones to the other fingers.  Yeah :D

Approximate Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Surprisingly, my right hand looks better than my left hand.  It's rare when this happens, but it's not unusual.  Miracles really do happen, friends.

If you have any questions, please let me know!  I don't want you to be confused is all.

Thank you for taking the time to read this long post!  You are awesome and I hope you know that about yourself.  I hope you all have a wonderful day! :)