Wednesday, January 30, 2008

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

So I don't know if I've ever told you, but about mid-way through college I decided I'd love to be a nail tech. Seriously, that's my dream job. Sadly, my dad seemed to think I needed to go ahead and finish college, seeing as how I was more than halfway through and had a full scholarship. But I still dream....

I've recently decided it's time to start painting my nails again! Now, you and I both know that I don't have a lot of free time. But I've found that if I follow this routine, I can paint them at 8 pm, go to sleep at 10, and not have any sheet marks at all. Plus, my mani will last 4-5 days with no chips- I usually just have to repaint because of new growth.

So without further ado, my nail routine:

1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remove. I apply this all around my nails, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. Works awesome.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.

3. Orly Bonder. This is fab- takes any oily residue off your nails and gives your polish something to stick to.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle.


5. OPI polish (2 coats). In my non-professional opinion, the best polish there is. One of my faves is I'm Not Really a Waitress.


Or my all time fave, Chile O Caliente (discontinued, of course!)


6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat.

11 comments:

Carie said...

How cool is that? I do the exact same nail routine! Ha! I found out about it from a blog I read though, so I can't take credit for it! It truly does last at least 5 days if you use the orly bonder and the Seche Vite top coat!

Melissa said...

I love that cuticle remover, and OPI nail polish is great! I need to try the bonder!

Laural Out Loud said...

I can't afford manicures anymore (plus, I get super anxious because I just KNOW they're talking about me and my fat fingers). I had no idea what to do on my own. Thanks for the recommendations!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Opi too!

If you happen to come across Bubble Bath, grab me a bottle and I'll happily get that money to ya ASAP!

Rachael said...

I never do my nails, but LOVE to get pedicures, and never have undone toes. Weird, huh, since fingers are much more exposed (usually) than toes. I think it's because I have to wash my hands so much at work, I think they'd get messed up too easily, so don't bother. Maybe I need to try the bonder/topcoat routine...

P.S. That "I'm not really a waitress" is one of my faves too (for toes).

Traci Anne said...

Okay, this is awesome. One of the two things I ALWAYS have issues with (one of them being liquid liner - I can do it on other people, but not myself!) is manicures - they always end up smudging and looking retarded!

So... thanks :)

Unknown said...

Ooohh! I love doing my nails! I'll definitely be trying your routine. Isn't it funny when sometimes our "dream jobs" are such polar opposites to what we are actually doing for a living?! :)

A.D. said...

Thanks for the tips. My polish always chips in a day so I'm definitely going to try these!

clemsongirlandthecoach said...

will you come to the casa de chaos and do me? i mean mine?

Slacker Mama said...

Quick question...do you wait in between coats of things or slap all of it on at once?

And, I'm not really a waitress is my toe polish of choice.

Kate said...

I need to go pick up that cuticle remover - mine are so ragged right now. Thanks for the tip!