HOW TO MAKE YOUR NAIL POLISH LAST THE WEEK!

This year I decided I needed to try and focus my beauty regime to include the following:

* looking after my hair (I am TERRIBLE at getting it cut)
* moisturising my body
* Manicures!

So today I thought I would write about manicures and my attempts at making nail polish last the whole week (something I am not very good at!).

Where I work there are a few girls who have the most fabulous nails...always polished and never chipped. Then I found out it was down to acrylics so that explained it all! You'd think it as obvious but doh..not to me.

I toyed with the idea of getting false nails but as my attendance of any appointment is a chore for me I decided against it. Plus I use to have some years ago and the recovery time it took for my normal nails to get back to a semi decent appearance just wasn't worth it.

Instead I decided to master the art of the one week manicure....DIY!

One fabulous friend always had natural nails with polish that lasted forever and she told me her secret was to apply a coat every day after your initial manicure.

So I did this and was impressed that my nails seemed to go the distance but the coating was getting a bit thick and TBH a CHORE!

So I did a bit of googling and researching until I found the perfect "formula" for me...and here it is...simple I know but it works!

1)Clean your nails and use some nail polish remover to remove all traces of old polish and oil.

2)Next get yourself one of those 3 way nail buffers and follow the instructions until your nails are shiny like glass!

3)Invest in a good base coat. I swear by OPI's Natural Base Coat. Apply 2 layers making sure you let each one dry first. Make sure you go slightly over the ridge...this might mean you get it on your finger tips but that's easy to remove afterwards.

4)Invest in a good nail polish. I love OPI again (fab colours and not tested on animals). Apply 2-3 coats depending on the pigment.

5)Invest in a good top coat..again for me it's all about OPI!

When I follow this method my manicure will last me a whole week. I paint my nails on a Sunday and remove the polish on a Saturday so my nails have a little breather before applying next week's coat.

Admittedly my nails are short...and I prefer them that way. But I think it has something to do with buffing the nails first so that the surface of the nail is prepped and ready for the polish...plus painting over the ridge too...something like that anyway!

Anyway...I hope this works for you...I'd be intrigued to know.