You all made me blush yesterday with your sweet comments and love for our home office makeover! It's got me all excited to share the rest of our home with you in my Home Tour series!
Now to today's post...how to perfect gel nails at home. If you're like me, you paint your nails to turn around and have them chip the next day. If you're lucky they won't chip for two days. The first time I had my nails done with gel was two days before I got married. The polish never chipped and lasted me well through my honeymoon. Not even the Caribbean salt water made my nails lose their luster.
The downside of a gel nail manicure in a salon is the cost. It's not crazy expensive, but it's also not a habit that I can afford to do twice a month. So instead I vowed to figure out a combination of nail products that would allow me to give myself the salon nails, but at home and for a much more affordable price. That's when I stumbled upon nail bonder at Sally's. I couldn't decide between ORLY Bonder or American Classics GELOUS, so I went with both. Truth be told, I'm not sure one is better than the other. The price is also comparable. So grab one, and follow my steps!
After I clean, file/shape, and pamper my nails I apply one coat of one of the above bonders. Let it mostly dry, then paint one coat of your preferred nail polish over it. I'm a second (sometimes third) coat kind of gal, so repeat this process (adding coats of the colored polish) until you have your nails painted just the way you like. Once the very top coat has dried, use the bonder again. Let it dry completely (this is important)! Then apply a top coat of clear polish. I'm a fan of Revlon's Multi Care Base + Top Coat.
If you're at a loss for nail color selection, here are some of my favorites. You can also check out a broader selection of my top nail polish colors HERE.
Once your top coat has dried, you're good to go. This doesn't mean you can stick your hands in a pocket or wrap them up in a blanket. Be careful with them so they dry completely and you don't end up with fuzz and patterned marks in your newly at-home gel nails. However if this does happen, another layer of top coat should smooth the unwanted patterns in your nails out! As far as the fuzz, well you might be out of luck.
And I might mention that this is easy to get off with your regular nail polish remover! It takes a little more elbow grease sometimes, but I've never had an issue!
And I might mention that this is easy to get off with your regular nail polish remover! It takes a little more elbow grease sometimes, but I've never had an issue!
Now it's your turn! Share your nail painting tips and tricks. Just grab the button below, and link up with Rachel, myself, and some other fabulous bloggers! I'm always looking for a good tip on how to do my nails, and I'm looking forward to reading yours! If you're taking your tips and tricks to Instagram, be sure to use this hashtag so we can find you: #everygirl2015
Be sure to check out the future link-up dates for the Every Girl series! And if you missed today's link-up, sign up to receive email reminders from us to keep you up-to-date on what link-up is coming and when! Just send an email with your blog address to everygirllinkup@gmail.com
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