Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, been busy with school and other stuff and I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment, but I'm going go ahead with this post anyway. I'm going to be walking you through how I do my manicures. I don't claim to be an expert by any means, I just like having nice nails, and by keeping them manicured they don't break as often, especially right at the quick. Ouch.
My mom also just bought me one of the new Too Faced Christmas 2013 sets!!!! I won't tell you which one, but I promise I will post a review and a makeup look soon!!!
Essie Nail Polishes
I've only just recently gotten into Essie polishes. And let me tell you, I've been missing out. Her polishes are amazing. They're such great quality and she has a lot of different colors in her collection. The one thing that I do think is lacking is more metallics, yellows and odd colors, neons, etc. But I do think she has a fantastic French Manicure collection out, more so than any other company I've seen.
I bought quite a few polishes to try out. In the French Manicure section, I bought Blanc and Marshmallow for the white tips. I've only tried Blanc so far and it's basically your standard white tip. I hear Marshmallow is supposed to be more see-through-ish than Blanc. Like you'd probably need two coats. For the pinks, I got Mademoiselle, which is basically the most popular color out of the whole collections, or so says the internet (it is in fact a very nice color, I tried this out first), Vanity Fairest, which is a lightly shimmered pink (which is the focus of today's manicure, the shimmer is ever so faint and it just adds a little something extra to the manicure), and lastly I got Ballet Slippers, which I haven't tried yet, but looks equally nice. I've been very impressed with the French Manicure nail polishes. So many different colors and finishes to choose from!!
For the normal color nail polishes, I bought Muchi Muchi, which is a light pink, it's a tad too thick to be a French Manicure color, but you will need more than one coat to get a nice coat of color, Mint Candy Apple, which is a light green color (and possibly my favorite), Turcs and Caicos, which is a metallic teal color, that I thought looked a hell of a lot better in the bottle than out, and Lilacism, which is a light purple. I've tried all of them except Lilacism. I tried Muchi Muchi and then on my ring fingers I put Green Candy Apple, and they looked amazing together. I got compliments all week on them. But unfortunately it got ruined before I was able to make a post (this was back when I was working everyday). But I promise that I will do a post on that someday.
How I Prep My Nails for a Manicure
I started out by filing my nails with my brand new mini crystal nail file, that I got from Sephora for about 10$CAD. I read a lot about crystal files being very good for your nails and that they last quite a while. So I thought I would at least give it a try, and I'm glad I did, because it made a huge difference on my nails. After filing I grab my Sephora 4-in-1 nail block and I continue on from 2-4, polishing my nails, etc. After that's done, I apply some of Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil to my cuticles (I like to apply it to my nails as well) and I take my Tweezerman Cuticle Pusher and I gently push down on the cuticles. Then I take my Tweezerman Cuticle Trimmer and I trim off whatever excess cuticle I have. I don't go crazy on trimming them, I only really trim off the excess. I don't trim the whole darn thing off. Then I wash off the oil. Now it's polish time!
Nail Polish Time
I start out by using Essie's Millionails Treatment. I apply two coats of it onto my nails to prepare them for the polish. My nails get very brittle from all the nail polish and remover. I only do my nails every 2-3 weeks and they are still extremely brittle and they hurt and my nails break. But since I've been using Millionails, my nails have changed and become stronger in between manis. It really helps your nails and I recommend it if you're having the same problem as me. If not, you can skip that step. They also have products for your nails to grow faster, etc. Next, I use Essie's Grow Stronger basecoat. I apply one coat of that. I forgot to mention that in between each coat, I use my lamp as a nail heater by placing my hand as close to the lightbulb as I can without touching it. This accelerates the drying process. Now it's time for the fun stuff! Take Essie's Blanc, this is what we're using to paint the white lines. To get that nice, smooth, perfect line; make sure you apply it using one stroke. By using one smooth stroke you get a perfect line. After this dries, use Essie's Vanity Fairest for the pink. Vanity Fairest is a shimmery light pink, but the shimmer isn't that strong or visible. If you look at it in the light, you can see the shimmer, but it isn't obvious. Apply two coats of it to the entire nail. After this dries, I like to apply two coats of Essie Good To Go fast-drying top coat. This ensures that the polish is sealed and hardened and dry. So by now you should have a wonderful looking French Manicure using Essie polishes.
I also want to state that the pictures of my manicure have been taken at least 5-6 days after I did them. I haven't gotten a single chip since doing them. Sorry about the delay.
The Manicure Itself
Products Used
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| Sephora 4 Step Nail Buffer - 7$CAD File and Buff sides |
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| Sephora 4 Step Nail Buffer - 7$CAD Polish and Shine sides |
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| Sephora Mini Crystal Nail File - 10$CAD, fullsize is 12$CAD |
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| Tweezerman Hot Pink Nail Rescue Kit - 24$CAD includes: mini nail file, cuticle pushes/nail cleaner, cuticle nipper |
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| Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Millionails Treatment - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Grow Stronger Base Coat - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Good To Go Fast-Drying Top Coat - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Blanc Nail Polish - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Vanity Fairest Nail Polish - 9$CAD |
Thanks for reading and I hope this post was interesting for you! It's a little spin on the classic french manicure by using a slightly shimmery pink nail polish. I promise that the next nail tutorial won't be a french manicure haha. And yes, I am aware that my nails are growing out. Good thing I took the pics when I did, the day after I chipped a nail. I honestly don't do my nails until they start chipping really bad or I get tired of the color. What nail polishes and brands do you use for your ideal french manicure? And what is your nail care routine? I gotta say, I highly recommend getting the crystal nail file and the Tweezerman nail set. For polishes, I highly recommend Essie. This is the first brand that I've used that hasn't chipped in the first few days (since I've been using fast-drying top coats anyway). Also, the treatment and base coat are helping my nails to be stronger, which is great, because I hated how they felt so brittle after I'd take my polish off.
So again, let me know what your favorite Essie polishes are! And check back, because I'll be posting a Christmas Collection post talking about all the awesome Christmas collections coming out this holiday season. I'll also be doing a review and a makeup look using my new Too Faced Christmas Collection Palette (not sayin which one just yet!)
Steph xo.
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