Getting the Most Out of your Mani With my Top 3 Favorite Polish Lines

I love a good gel manicure, but they can be really expensive to upkeep! I typically have my nails painted, however it is very time consuming to paint your nails for them to just chip the next day. In this post I have written up a few of my favorite polishes as well as tips for keeping a long lasting manicure.

A good quality polish is key. I know, I know. they can be expensive, but SO worth it and still much cheaper than the price of a gel manicure every two weeks. 

These are my top three favorite picks! 

1. CND Vinylux Weekly Polish 

2. Essie's Gel Couture 

2. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

I am obsessed with Essie's Gel Couture line and also CND Vinylux Weekly Polish line. They both are really incredible. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel is also a great line. I use and love them all. Essie and CND Vinylux however, seem to last longer and both have a cleaner, glossier finish. I can get at least a week out of these. None of the polishes require a light, which is amazing. All of them have a huge selection of colors, and you must make sure to buy the top coat for the line you choose. 

I typically buy Essie Gel Couture at Ulta and Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel from Rite Aid. You can find CND Vinylux at Ulta, and also at CVS, Rite Aid etc.

Here are my tips for keeping your polish lasting strong for at least a week:

1. Make sure your nails are completely clean. 
This means not an ounce of old polish. After removing my old polish, I typically will file my nails, wash my hands with soap, then I put some alcohol or nail polish remover on a cotton ball and run it over my nails to ensure there are no oils left on my nails. I rub nail polish remover or alcohol over my nails, even if they didn't have polish on them.

2. Lightly buff the nails with a soft file. 
This helps smooth the nails out and the polish lays better on them.

3. Roll the bottle
My mom always said to roll the bottle of nail polish instead of shaking it. It goes on more smoothly with less bubbles, that would eventually make your nails chip sooner.

     SIDE NOTE: A lot of people swear by a base coat - they never worked for me. I can honestly say I never saw a difference in the duration of my polish when using them. So I don't waste my time or money on them.)

4. Always ensure that each coat dries before applying the next coat. 
I am impatient, especially waiting for my nails to dry, but this works!

5. Never skip a top coat.
And reapply it every two or three days.

6. Don't neglect the tips.
I run the color across the tips of my nails and then make sure to also do that with the top coat.

      SIDE NOTE: Demert Nail Enamel Dryer is amazing! My mom used this when she had her salon. It dries your nails so incredibly fast. However with these polish lines, I find I don't even need it. They dry pretty quickly.

7. Use rubber gloves when washing the dishes. 
I have noticed a huge difference in the duration of my mani when using these babies!

Hope these tips help!

Malina xo