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20
Dec

The French Manicure

By Christina 3 Comments
Categories: Manicures, Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step

If you are not aware, the only difference between a “regular” manicure and a French manicure is the polish. With a French Manicure, you are going to use a flesh colored polish over your whole nail, and a one of variety of colors of white polish on the tip, and sometimes the moon. You can do this on fingernails as well as toenails. The French Manicure has been popular for a very long time on your fingernails, and is currently extremely popular for the toes.

Choose your flesh colored polish carefully, taking note of your skin color. If your skin color is warm (you look and feel your best in yellows, oranges, browns, or the lighter shades of these colors) you will want to choose something peach colored. If your skin color is cool (blues, purples, fuchsia, black), you will want a light pink shade.  You have many choices in the white department too. There are whites that are very translucent, and very opaque. There are ivories and snow whites. Generally speaking, if you are a warm skin tone, you will choose an ivory, and a cool skin tone will want a white. If you are more dramatic personality you will want a more opaque white, and if you are more subdued, a more translucent shade will suit you best. Of course, you are free as a bird to choose what you like best!   Just use this as a guide if you have not decided what you like as of yet. Here is a post from eBeautyDaily that talks a little more in depth about colors.  After applying your base coat, you want to apply two coats of flesh colored polish, using the three stroke technique I described earlier. At this point, I will suggest that you let your polish dry for about 10 minutes before you begin with the white. 

The best way to do your white tips is to really support both hands, and starting at one side of your nail, swipe the brush slowly across the tip of your nail, following the natural line where your nail separates from the tip of your finger. The most important thing here is supporting BOTH hands. I rest the finger that is to be painted on the edge of a table, and the heel of my working hand either on the table, or sometimes somewhere on the hand that is getting polished. Hold them very still with the edge of the lightly loaded brush on the starting side of the nail and gently rotate the finger that is getting polished under the brush. You might find a better way to do it, but this is what works well for me, especially when working with my non-dominant
hand. Allow the white polish to dry for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the topcoat, as the topcoat brush will often pick up some white and paint it onto the flesh color. Not pretty!

If you would like to paint the moons, start at one side, just like the tips, and with the very tip of the brush, paint a teensy moon on your nail right next to the cuticle, and if you have moons there naturally, right over them. Wait until your polish is totally dry to clean up any mess on your cuticles. Mess on your cuticles is pretty much unavoidable when painting moons!

20
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Four: Top Coat

By Christina 0 Comments
Categories: Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step


I am assuming you are using Seche Vite, or Out The Door. You will probably find these topcoats to be thicker than you are accustomed to; this is ok, and normal. You will be amazed at how quickly these polishes dry, even though they are so thick. They also will help dry the bottom layers of your polish.

With topcoat, you want a nice even coat, applied not so thick that it globs, and not so thin that it leaves streaks and holes. You may have to load your brush a few times to get the hang of how much polish to leave on there, but your aim is to have enough polish on the brush to cover the entire nail without re-dipping, but not so much that it wants to drip before you put the brush to the nail.

When you first pull your brush out of the polish, you will want to wipe off the brush on the sides of the rim, just like you did with the base coat and the polish, and then redip your brush to the top of the bristles. If there is a big drip getting ready to come off the brush, let it drip back into the bottle, if not, then go ahead and apply to your nail. You should be able to get your nail coated in the same “three strokes” manner as your color, but if not, that is ok. Be absolutely sure to run the brush across the tip end of your nail, this is the coat that you do NOT want to forget to do that with.

19
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Three: Color!

By Christina 0 Comments
Categories: Manicures, Pedicures, Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step

Unlike other people that might tell you to let your polish dry between coats, I am going to tell you to put it all on in one fell swoop. Polish is chemically designed to bond together, and as it all dries, it forms a coating that is much more durable if it all dries together. I promise that your nails will be dry enough to function just as quickly this way as they would be if you let your polish dry between coats.

The application of color is slightly different than that of the basecoat. Prepare the bottle by rolling it across the table, or between your palms, turning it upside down a time or two. NEVER shake your polish; this will almost definitely cause bubbles to appear in your polish. Prepare the brush the same way as you did the base coat, wiping the brush well when you first pull it out of the bottle, then redip the brush just to the top of the bristles. This time, rather than just letting that first drop go and then applying the polish, you want to slightly wipe one side of the brush against the rim, leaving just slightly less color on the brush than you did with the base coat. As you might expect, you will be putting thinner coats of color on than you did with the base coat.

Strokes to polish your nails
Starting again with the pinky of your “right” hand, apply the color in three strokes only, the first down the center, and then one more on each side. Again, always start right next to the cuticle and pull the brush straight out, all the way off the end of the nail. After you have your three strokes done, run your brush across the tip end of the nail, just like you did with the base coat. Over my 18 years of doing nails, most of my clients have told me that they have never had polish stay on like mine does, and also that I am the only manicurist they have ever had who polished the tip ends of the nails. See the connection?

Now, the polish is going to look streaky and terrible to you now, and most mistakes in polishing are made right here, when people try to make the first coat look perfect. Just let it go for now. I promise the next coat will make it look much better. Go for that second coat, just as soon as you are done with the first one. Do it exactly the same way, remembering to coat those ends! Doesn’t it look much better now? If you are doing your toenails, STOP HERE! If you are doing your fingernails, then you are ready to immediately carry on to the Top Coat step.

16
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Two: Base Coat

By Christina 4 Comments
Categories: Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step

You should have already chosen your treatment base coat, for dry nails, brittle nails or the elusive normal nails.

Do not shake your base coat bottle, but turn it upside down slowly just a couple of times. Pull the brush out of the bottle, wipe the brush off on the rim of the bottle, making sure there isn’t a lot of polish running down the neck of the brush, then dip the brush back in just to the top of the bristles. Let the drop of polish that will want to come off the brush come on off, but other than that one drop, you want your brush nice and loaded with polish.

Starting with the pinky of your “right” hand (your dominant hand – this could be your left hand, if you are left handed!), paint a coat of medium thickness on your nails, beginning right next to your cuticle, and pulling your brush straight out, all the way off of the end of your nail. Be sure and cover your whole nail, from side to side, and cuticle to end, always going from cuticle to end, never putting “plops” of polish down, then spreading it out. When the top of your nail is covered, take the brush and slide it right across the tip end of your nail, coating the edge with base coat. If you have any spots that want to run, wipe them off and do them over. You will get the hang of this quickly.

15
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step One: Clean, Clean, Clean!

By Christina 0 Comments
Categories: Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step

Your hands and nails should be nice and clean and dry and ready for the application of Polish That Lasts now. Double check to make absolutely sure your nails are completely free of oils. This is probably the MOST important reason your polish might not wear well. If you have any peely spots on your nail, go over them one more time with your 4 way buffer, and if you did not buff your nails during your manicure, do so right now, starting with the most abrasive side and finishing with the smoothest side, being sure to cover the whole nail surface lightly. This will make a tremendous difference in the overall look of your polish, I cannot stress it enough.

Make sure you have everything you might need for the polish sitting out (don’t forget your cuticle pusher and acetone to clean up the inevitable mistakes), and anything you might need in the next two hours handy. Yes, two hours. When you are happy with the look of your nails, put some acetone on a gauze square, and go over your nails one time very well, getting into the grooves on each side of your nails, and underneath as well. This will cause any bit of water left in your nails to evaporate, and will clean off any unseen residual oils from your Spa Manicure or Treatments.

15
Dec

Polish That Lasts! - Introduction

By Christina 3 Comments
Categories: Polish that Lasts! and Step by Step

Polish That Lasts!
Today I will start the series called Polish That Lasts! Please feel free to leave comments or email me anytime with any questions, or any need to clarify something. It is hard sometimes to get down in words what would be much easier to show you one on one, so let me know how I can help!

12
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Seven: Prepare to Polish

By Christina 0 Comments
Categories: Manicures and Step by Step

Go to the bathroom and use that scrub brush and the liquid soap and warm running water one more time. Get all of the oils off those nails, top, sides and underneath. Dry hands and nails well with a towel, pushing cuticles one more time. Check for missed cuticle as well as ragged edges and take care of these things now, as we are preparing to polish!

Take a gauze pad with just a little acetone to dampen it, and quickly go over the nails (don’t forget the side grooves and underside). Now you are ready for polish! If you are at a friends house, or you need to go somewhere within the
hour, make sure your keys are handy and everything else you need is as convenient as possible. Go to the potty (don’t laugh, that is how I mess my nails up most often, by far!).

Stay tuned to learn about Polish That Lasts!

12
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Six: Final Cleanup

By Christina 2 Comments
Categories: Manicures and Step by Step

When you are finished with whichever treatment you choose, take your lap towel and with your finger behind the towel, give those cuticles a push back and you will find a good deal of any remaining cuticle rubs off. Get the lotion out from under your nails and out of the groves on the side of your nails. At this point, go over the surface of your nails with your 4 way buffer, starting with the most abrasive side, using it lightly, and ending with the smoothest side, which you will use with a little more vigor. Make sure that you completely cover your whole nail surface, from cuticle to tip end and from side to side. When you are finished with this, your nails should be smooth and pink and glossy all over. This is important for your polish to look its best for the longest time, and it increases circulation in your nails which is good for their (and YOUR) overall health. With your cuticle nippers nip ONLY what is sticking up and begging to be clipped off. You may think that your cuticles are thick and ugly, but just wait until they are filled with scar tissue from live skin being cut off.

09
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Five: Treatment choices

By Christina 3 Comments
Categories: Manicures and Step by Step

At this point there are a couple of things you can do, or you can do them both. This is also the time where you could perform the treatments that I will talk about when we are finished with the Basic Manicure, the Facial for the Hands and/or the Paraffin Treatment. I will include these two treatments here because they are simpler, require much less preparation and mess, and go with a basic spa manicure easily. You can prepare a salt scrub by putting a couple of tablespoons of salt in a small dish. Cover the salt with your oil, and a drop of essential oil, if you wish. Massage this into your hands for several minutes. Don’t skimp on the time. A good deal of the difference between a plain old manicure and a spa manicure is the activation of your senses through touch and smell. This is the essence of a currently popular, VERY expensive treatment. The popular version smells delightful and exotic, that is the only difference (well, besides that ours cost a few pennies, theirs costs about $30 for an 8 oz jar. You can slip your hand into your warmed mitts or your heating pad if you wish here. I have mixed feelings about this service however. From what I know about chemistry (which is relatively limited), salt pulls moisture out of your cells, and that is not my idea of a great idea for more moisturized skin. Nevertheless, this treatment remains a very popular service; give it a try if you like, the salt IS an extremely good exfoliant. When you are finished, wash up one more time, using your scrub brush to get each and every salt granule off of your skin and out from your nails. My preferred treatment for almost everyone, including myself, is to rub your favorite, preferably wonderful scented, lotion all over your hands and wrists, really give yourself a good 5 full minute massage, wrap them up with a sheet of plastic wrap and slide them into the heated mitts/heating pad for about 10 minutes. There is no need to rinse your hands yet.

09
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Four: Push Your Cuticles Back

By Christina 0 Comments
Categories: Manicures and Step by Step

Going back to the first hand, put it back into the warm water for about 2 minutes. Remove it, dry it off, and then spray the fingertips with a spray or two of your Blue Cross Cuticle Remover. This is the best product out there (if you didn’t get that earlier—I am not a representative for them at all, just a very satisfied customer). With your metal pusher, GENTLY push your cuticles back. Spray more Blue Cross as your cuticles dry out. Watch for the cuticle skin that is very tightly attached to your nail. This is what needs to be pushed back. If this is a first time manicure, you may have a thin tough layer of cuticle grown nearly all the way up your nail. Scrape off what you can scrape off, and push back what you cannot scrape off. If you are fighting with this step, put your fingertips back into the warm water for a few minutes, then spray some more Blue Cross on them. Do not obsess about this, more damage can be done here than anywhere else in the manicure process. This skin will become trained to stay back after a few manicures, and your work here will be greatly minimized. Whatever you do, do not push back cuticles so aggressively that you cut your skin. Save clipping with cuticle nippers for later. Repeat with the other hand.

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