manicures & pedicures at home?

Manicures and pedicures are addictive. But we all know that not everyone can afford those on a weekly basis. As such, many turn to home manicures as a viable option. The topic I'm mainly dealing with today is nail polish. Walk into a pharmacy or a department store and you will be floored by the variety of nail polish available for you to choose from. So how are you, as a consumer, supposed to know which brands are good and which aren't?

Through my teenage years, I've gone through many bottles and many brands of nail polish. I'll tell you, the best nail polish, in my humble opinion, is still OPI. Not only do you get your money's worth, OPI nail polish is the only nail polish I've ever applied to have lasted me more than 2 weeks. Everything else starts to chip before the weekend even begins.

Even more expensive brands such as Chanel can't compare to OPI. Granted, I'll give Chanel the credit that their shades are too gorgeous to pass up but Chanel definitely lacks when it comes to the long-lasting department. I'm such a huge fan of Chanel that it took me several stubborn attempts and failures before I finally had to grudgingly admit that Chanel's nail polish just wasn't performing as well as OPI. Its application wand is also a lot trickier to handle than OPI's, leaving my nails uneven and even streaky on occasion.

Another brand that is on my highly recommended list is Anna Sui. Not only will your nails smell ridiculously good, no seriously, it will, its fast-drying and long-lasting. This is due to the fact that Anna Sui infuses rose and peony extracts with its products. You'll look like an idiot smelling your nails but trust me, you won't be able to resist. Not to mention, the bottles are super adorable.

On several occasions, I've had friends and family members inquire how I keep my nail polish on for so long and the process that I use is no different than that of a manicurist:

1. Apply a base coat. I would recommend one that doubles as a strengthening coat as well. A MUST! It protects your nails whilst keeping your nail polish coats even. 
2. Apply the first coat of nail polish. Allow it to dry. Even better, allow it to dry overnight. It'll make applying and drying the later coats much easier.
3. Apply the second coat of nail polish. Allow it to dry.
4. Apply a top coat. This is ESSENTIAL to ensuring that your nail polish lasts longer. Do not miss out on this step!

EXTRA TIPS:

• To accelerate drying time, dip your freshly painted nails into a bowl filled with ice-cold water. I'm lazy so I just run mine under cold tap water for a few minutes and it usually does the trick. 
• To check whether your nails are dry enough so you can continue your daily activities, gently touch your nails together and if it still feels sticky, leave it alone to let it dry or you'll get massive annoying indents on your shiny nails.
• If you aren't so steady when it comes to giving yourself a manicure, no worries. Just make sure to cover all areas evenly and then use a Q-tip, dip it into a little nail-polish remover and slowly clean up all your mistakes.

Happy Home Manicures!

Until next time, darls!