Prepping my nails

Thought I would share how I get my nails ready for a new color/polish. And to be honest, I don't do this EVERY time I change my color but I do it about 90% of time.

1st I will remove the current polish that I have on, I used to use regular Polish Remover but realized the more I started experimenting with glitter..the harder it was to remove the polish. A friend recommended to try Pure Acetone Remover. And I love it. Removes polish so much faster and easier. Purchased it at Target for around $2.00. (please excuse the mess of nail polish on the bottle) And I just use regular cotton balls to remove the polish.

Next I will use Orly Cutique- Cuticle & Stain Remover Purchased at Sally Beauty for $6.99 The purpose of this step is to gently remove dead tissue, making cuticles soft and pliable and also leaves your nails whiter. I apply it to my nail and let it sit for 30-60 seconds and than use a cuticle pusher to push back the cuticles and remove any dead skin.

The cuticle pusher I use was purchased at Sally Beauty for .59 cents! What a steal. (to the right of pic) the other end of it is used to remove any grim or dirt from under the nails. After I clean off all the Orly Cutique I use this 4 sided nail file (on the left) that was purchased at Ulta (their website does not show the file but it was around $3.00) I do all four steps on the file 1.Even Out 2. Smooth 3. Buff 4.Shine.

Once the nail filing is complete, I go ahead and use a base coat to keep my nails from turning yellow. I was told that one time at a Nail Salon. They said to ALWAYS use a base coat because if you change your polish often (like I do ;) ) the nail can turn yellow. Which believe me..it is true!!!

The one to the left is the Orly Cutique I mentioned before. Next to it is Sally Hansen Double Duty which doubles up as a base coat and a top coat, so you would only need to use the one bottle for before and after :) It costs around $4.50 and can be purchased at Target, Walgreens, Ulta etc. Next to that is O.P.I Base Coat...yes I know it has a tint of pink. LOL that was my fault. I used it once accidently as a top coat and my nails weren't completely dry so it turned it pink. Womp womp womp. ha! And that can be purchased at Ulta or Target (Sally Beauty does not sell O.P.I.) and finally China Glaze Top Coat that was purchased at Sally Beauty for $4.99.

So after all of that...I go ahead a pick a pretty color from my 100's of polishes and paint away. And of course once they dry you go ahead and use the Top Coat.

Note 1: After I complete my polish and if there are spots that I missed (went out of the lines) or got polish on my skin...I will use a small make up brush (also learned this from a friend!)  dip it in the acetone and use it to carefully remove the polish from my skin. Recommend using the tiniest make-up brush or paint brush you can find.

Note2: Be very careful with the Acetone...its extremely strong and can damage furniture (I know from personal experience) so be sure once you use the cotton balls toss them in the garbage and don't lay the bottle down, it could slightly be open and spill.

Note 3: This is just the way that I prepare my nails..everyone is different. But thought I would share my way and feel free to share any other tips that you use, I would love to hear them :) 


Happy Painting! :)