What color polish are you rocking right now?

[KristinTech]

Oh wow that's impressive. Did you use it like a to coat over polish?

Yes! If I do my mani at home, I also use it as a base coat. This mani was done at my local shop last week, and I just apply one coat every day. It is very shiny and dries fast! Much faster than I expected. It’s a pricey little bottle ($13?), but I’m impressed so far!

 

[baby monster]

Nice color! Did you put to coat on it or does it dry like that?

This one has lots of fine silver shimmer so it looks slightly pearlescent.

 

[Cockatiel]

Yes! If I do my mani at home, I also use it as a base coat. This mani was done at my local shop last week, and I just apply one coat every day. It is very shiny and dries fast! Much faster than I expected. It’s a pricey little bottle ($13?), but I’m impressed so far!

I think i tried doing the same w OPI Nail Envy before. With Nail Envy the problem was as the coats got thicker the stuff didn't dry properly or would peel off in flakes. I also think Nail Envy got stained past certain amount of time. I will need to give Nailtiques a shot!

 

[Cockatiel]

Essie Splash of Grenadine

 

[Krisking]

Does anybody have recommendations for a top coat that is NOT Seche Vite or Seche Vive. I'd been using Seche Vite for several years now, recently switched to Seche Vive, I've always had love/hate relationship with these. I love it for how quick it dries, the glossiness and the self leveling action. I also hate it for shrinkage (has become unacceptable to me in this regard) and a lot of my polishes seem to react with it, resulting in color change. Plus it not being a 3-free formula really sucks so I am ditching it finally. Are there any good 3-free top coats?

Yes - have you tried the "Out the Door" topcoat?

 

[Cockatiel]

Yes - have you tried the "Out the Door" topcoat?

Nope, but it's on my shopping list for next time. I just got a bottle of China Glaze Fast Forward because that was the only fast dry top coat the local store had on the day I needed it, and I must say I like it better than Seche products. Applies way thinner than Seche and no shrinkage yet!

 

[Krisking]

Nope, but it's on my shopping list for next time. I just got a bottle of China Glaze Fast Forward because that was the only fast dry top coat the local store had on the day I needed it, and I must say I like it better than Seche products. Applies way thinner than Seche and no shrinkage yet!

Good tip! I haven't tried the CG Fast Forward! Compared to Seche, Out the Door takes a bit longer to dry but is three-free, I think.

 

[ecf8503]

Good tip! I haven't tried the CG Fast Forward! Compared to Seche, Out the Door takes a bit longer to dry but is three-free, I think.

Have you tried Poshe? I love it - dries fast, shiny, no shrinkage, and 3-free plus UV blockers

 

[Krisking]

Ooh, no @ecf8503, I haven't! It sounds great, especially UV blockers! Thanks

 

[Cockatiel]

Oh I forgot to tell you, CG Fast Forward did change the color of the polish. I applied it over Essie Splash of Grenadine, and it lightened it by a shade, and made it murky looking. For a moment I was horrified and thought it was gonna turn it into OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender. It was really noticeable until I finished applying the top coat on all fingers. Then my eyes got used to them and I forgot about that. But yes after the top coat application, the polish lost its Essie-ness and looked more like some OPI creme finish.

 

[baby monster]

From Hello Kitty collection. OPI So Cute in Pink.

 

[babs23r]

Just got this Essie mooning!

 

[Cockatiel]

Color Club Peppermint Twist. I don't think it's an appropriate manicure color for me. Ok for pedicure.

 

[September_Blue]

Black. For the summer I may change it to gray, maybe a dark purple.

 

[baby monster]

Color Club Peppermint Twist. I don't think it's an appropriate manicure color for me. Ok for pedicure.

Nice pink. Too neon for work?

 

[Cockatiel]

Nice pink. Too neon for work?

Yeah too neon for work. I thought it was gonna be bubble gum/barbie pink from swatches. It's really neon in real life!

 

[baby monster]

Sally Hansen Gigabryte.

 

[alpha238]

Does anyone have any suggestions or tricks as to how to take off shellac polish without ruining my natural nails?In the past I’ve taken pieces of cotton balls soaked in nail polish remover, then wrapped in aluminum foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then scraped shellac off.

 

[Krisking]

Does anyone have any suggestions or tricks as to how to take off shellac polish without ruining my natural nails?In the past I’ve taken pieces of cotton balls soaked in nail polish remover, then wrapped in aluminum foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then scraped shellac off.

Following! (I do something similar but file the top layer off first to speed up the process...)

 

[Cockatiel]

Jessica Love Story



This one gets a one star from me for the formula. I am kind of angry because I bought 11 Jessica nail polishes quite a while ago and this one is the first one I am finally wearing. Now I am thinking they are all gonna suck as much as this one.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Following! (I do something similar but file the top layer off first to speed up the process...)

I second using a filing block to break the seal on the top layer, and heat helps A TON. After I put the foil/cotton things on I wrap my hand in a heating pad. The polish falls right off in chunks. Makes a world of difference in terms of not having to scrape. Before, when I scraped, they were thin underneath, but since I started doing it this way my nails are as strong as they are without doing gel.

 

[alpha238]

Thanks Dee*Jay, I’ll try your suggestions.

 

[KaeKae]

I second using a filing block to break the seal on the top layer, and heat helps A TON. After I put the foil/cotton things on I wrap my hand in a heating pad. The polish falls right off in chunks. Makes a world of difference in terms of not having to scrape. Before, when I scraped, they were thin underneath, but since I started doing it this way my nails are as strong as they are without doing gel.

DeeJay, That's brilliant.
A couple years ago, I was getting and loving gel polish, but my manicurist and I found the damage to be bad and I stopped. I wonder if I were to have tried the heating pad, if the removal would have been easier an the damage minimized? Maybe I'll try it again, once my caseload grows.

 

[Dee*Jay]

DeeJay, That's brilliant.
A couple years ago, I was getting and loving gel polish, but my manicurist and I found the damage to be bad and I stopped. I wonder if I were to have tried the heating pad, if the removal would have been easier an the damage minimized? Maybe I'll try it again, once my caseload grows.

I figured it out by accident. One time when I used to get my nails done (before I started doing the gel myself) a manicurest put the small soaking bowl of acetone in a bigger bowl of warm water (so the acetone heated up too) and it made a huge difference. It cooled really fast though, and I use the cotton/foil things anyway, so this was my adaptation of the process. Necessity is the mother of invention!

 

[LJsapphire]

I second using a filing block to break the seal on the top layer, and heat helps A TON. After I put the foil/cotton things on I wrap my hand in a heating pad. The polish falls right off in chunks. Makes a world of difference in terms of not having to scrape. Before, when I scraped, they were thin underneath, but since I started doing it this way my nails are as strong as they are without doing gel.

I haven't tried heating, I bought some foils from Amazon and they came with a metal tool. I buff the top layer off, soak with the foils and plastic clippy things over the top to keep them tight. Most of it peels off after about 10 mins or so. Sometimes have to scrape a little, then use the buffer again. I've been using gel weekly since March & they aren't too bad.

This week's manicure - quite pale for me but I like the holo Lavender Sachet by POP Polish.

 

[baby monster]

Any tips on applying the nail polish strips better? I have tried Sally Hanson, Jamberry, and Essie, but I cannot seem to apply them very well. I get tearing and creases at the tips. I love the colors and the designs, but feel like an idiot after I put them on and they look awful.

I haven't tried those nail strips yet. What do you like about them? I imagine beyond the smell, putting them on takes about the same time as regular polish. Do they last longer?

 

[LJsapphire]

I've seen others using Jamberry and I have wondered about them myself. I like the designs they have but I'm pretty clumsy as it is. At least with polish you can clean up any mistakes. I've read about people getting fungal infections under nail wraps as well.

 

[KaeKae]

For a while I was using another brand of polish strips, I think they were by Incoco? They lasted longer than polish for me, but after a couple years, I couldn't find them anymore. Then, for a while, Sally Hansen had a line of strips that could be used with their gel polish, I liked them, too, but again, no longer available. After a short learning curve, I thought they were fairly easy to use, and they lasted longer for me than regular polish. Now I just use the SH or Essie non-uv machine gel, and get a few days to a week out of them, but the polish by my cuticles is never as neat as with the strips.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Have you ever tried putting the strips over gel polish? I just thinking (typing!) out loud here, but I wonder if you could do a gel base and top coat and then put the strip over that... ? I'm looking for nail strength with this, as my nails are a lot harder with the gel polish on, but I do agree that my cuticles aren't perfect doing them myself. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[Cockatiel]

On an unrelated note, is there a way to repair the gap due to nail growth near the cuticles. My manicure used to fall apart on day two due to polish lifting from the sides and peeling in sheets. I seriously had like two polishes that lasted more than two days. Now I switched to a different top coat and I wear polishes for a week with no chipping. But the nails grow so much in a week and I start wanting to redo the nails maybe after three days. I am on day five here and there's too much gap already it's been driving me nuts.


At social viewing distance you can easily see the gap.