My Manicure

Some nail polishes are more useful than others. While it’s nice to have a bold blue or opaque orange, it seems that sheer colors can offer up a lot more versatility.

Pictured is four coats of OPI’s “Significant Other Color.” When I purchased the bottle I had no idea it would go on so sheer, and was initially disappointed I’d have to apply so many coats for it to show up. 

If you happen to own a color like that, more sheer than you expected, there are several ways you can get the most of it. Try applying a coat of your sheer color over black, white, silver or gold nail polish. For the above color I’d even try purple or green. Your color will show up much brighter and you’ll only need to apply two coats - the base and your sheer. 

Another option is to use your sheer nail polish for more interesting French Manicures. Rather than coating my tips with my normal nude-tinted clear, I instead used the same “Significant Other Color” as pictured above, and it changed my dark red polish to a shimmery warm brown. Experiment by using one coat of your sheer over different polishes to get the effect of new colors without having to purchase new bottles.

Extending your nail polish color or clear topcoat past the “free edge” of your nail is one of the best ways to keep your manicures chip-free. This is a technique I always use when applying nail polish, and I’m chip-free for five days. (I’m sure the manicure would last longer, but that’s about the time I like to remove my polish and wear a new design.)

After you apply your coat of color down the nail vertically, hold the brush horizontally and swipe along the tip, or “free edge” of your nail. This one simple extra step is going to make a huge difference in how long your manicures will last.

Normally I paint one coat of color and add this horizontal swipe while the nail polish is still wet. That way the “vertical” and the “horizontal” swipes blend together seamlessly. I skipped the first step for ease of viewing.

Once your first coat of color is dry you can apply your second coat of color as you normally would. There’s no need to cover the free edge of your nail again.

As you can see from this underside shot, extending your polish past the free edge of your nail makes your polish end underneath it. Chips start right where your polish ends; that’s why having the polish end safely underneath, (where bangs and taps can’t occur) works better than having your polish end on top of the nail, where it’s constantly bumping against things.

Look at your nails from this angle to see if you’ve completely wrapped your free edge in polish.

I paint on my first coat of color this way, and also my clear top coat. (It’s fine if you just seal your free edge in clear topcoat instead if you don’t like seeing color underneath your nails.) The durability you need depends on how long you like to wear your polish, so for longer lasting manicures try this technique with your color and your topcoat. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section.

For most people, the hardest part about working with complicated nail art designs is painting with your non-dominant hand. I’m right handed, and for me applying designs to my right hand takes twice as long to do as my left. There are a few techniques you can try to make painting with your non-dominant hand a little easier and more successful.

- Be prepared. Take a few minutes to set up your polishes, nail polish remover, paintbrushes, etc, before you begin. The quickest way to ruin your manicure is to dig around while your nail polish is still wet. Setting up everything beforehand doesn’t necessarily help you paint with your non-dominant hand, but that’s already hard enough without ruining your work and having to start over because you left your cotton swabs under the bathroom sink. :)

- Go slow. Like I said, it takes me twice as long to apply nail art if I’m using my left hand. I take the extra time because I know my non-dominant hand isn’t as skilled as my right. Making slow movements somewhat makes up for the fact that my left hand isn’t as steady. Give yourself a manicure when you have plenty of time available to do it right. If all you have is 30 minutes you’re better off waiting until you can set aside enough time and avoid frustrating yourself.

- Get comfortable. Figure out what’s comfortable for you and go with that. A low table, a high table, arms flat or elbow supported, it’s all subjective. Personally, I sit in a chair with all my materials on a desk in front of me, and lay the hand I’m painting over my propped up knee. I prop up my other knee when I switch hands. It works for me because I can see things better when they’re right in front of my face, and I’m not saying it’ll work for everyone. Just get your arms into a comfortable position and your non-dominant hand will be much more likely to work with you if it’s not in an awkward position.

Along the same lines is how you decide to hold your brushes. When I work with a paintbrush I hold it incredibly low, right near the bristles because it allows me more control. Try different things and you’ll find something that works for you.

- Warm-up. I find that after I paint a few fingers with my left hand, things look better and are more even, but by then I’m finished and I hate the first nails I “warmed up” on. Now that I’m aware that my left hand requires a little warm up time regardless of what design I’m applying, I paint the shapes I’ll be working with on a piece of paper using my non-dominant hand. This allows me to make my early mistakes and start on my actual nails after my left hand has caught up to what the right hand can do right away. Most cake decorators apply a few dots and swirls of frosting on tin-foil before they hit the actual cake; this is the same system. :)

- Make mistakes. I always accidentally add little smudges here and there around my nails while I’m painting them. If you’re a messy manicurist it doesn’t mean you’re not good. Just dip a cotton swab in nail polish remover to clean up polish left on the skin around your nails after everything has dried. Knowing you can easily correct your mistakes after you’re finished applying your design makes it easier to focus on what your painting, and not on staying within the lines. Acrylic paint washes right off with soap and water, so after you seal your design in a clear topcoat and let it completely dry, simply wash off the mistakes and no one will know how messy the process was.

- Practice. I know this one is obvious, but you’re not going to be professionally ambidextrous right away. Use your non-dominant hand to paint your toes whenever you can, because it’s a great way to strengthen your skills. I was absolutely horrible at applying nail polish with my left hand when I first got into nail art, but after a couple of months of refusing to paint my toes with my “good hand,” I was set. You will get better, it just takes practice.

- Recruit help. Eventually your non-dominant hand’s skills will improve, but until then you might want to wear a fancy design on both hands. Have a friend paint your non-dominant hand and you can paint your friend’s. If that’s not going to work, try nail stickers. Nail stickers, nail decals, gems, etc, are a great way to add decorations that will look the same on both hands. I use little white flower nail stickers when I don’t have the time to hand-paint embellishments. This may be the easy way out, but it’s probably the fastest and quickest way to get both hands done identically. :)