Lacquer up: The Self Made Nail Artists.

From LuciesLocket

It's not a secret that I love nail polish. I talk about it all the time. I take pride in painting my nails weekly and can often be found spamming my instagram feed with images of said handiwork. 

I am not the only one either. I found out quite recently that the sales of nail polish outstripped sales of lipstick, the first cosmetic for an instant pick me up. 

I know why I am buying three nail polishes a month, and one lipstick a month; but why is everyone else?

All images from LuciesLocket

From Top To Bottom:
One Nail To Rule Them All
Nailed It
The Nailasaurus

I have already mentioned in a previous post there is a ritual involved when painting your nails. It's very similar to putting on a slick of lipstick; it's calming, transformative and makes you feel amazing. However, with a manicure it's a little more subtle. It can only be seen when you sign document, wave, or extravagantly text on your phone. Your lipstick is there for the world to see, whether you want the attention or not. 

The internet has also had a dramatic effect on the explosion of manicures. Websites like One Nail to Rule them all (a favourite of mine and one I constantly refer to) and Nailed It & The Nailasurus provide wonderful  product reviews, tutorials and trend reports for nails that would have been hard to come by a few years ago and make it easy for you to replicate yourself. 

Nails have become a big deal, with the likes of fashion manicurist extrodinare, Sophy Robson reaching an Instagram audience of  22,300 and Lily Allen proudly displaying her 3D talons on an almost fortnightly basis.



It's easy to see why the world has gone nuts for nails. They are fun, it's an hour of being self indulgent (whether in a salon or in front of Netflix) and gives you a bit of cheer when you are furiously tapping away on a laptop on a Wednesday afternoon when all you really want to do is be in the park with a Solero.

With bottle of nail polish averaging £7 per bottle against £14 for a lipstick you can see why people (well me) would  buy a couple of bottles of lacquer every other week, it's an excuse to wear your mood at the end of sleeve (quite literally).

All Images from LuciesLocket

 So I thought I would share my secrets with you, so you are ready and armed for your next self indulgent manicure sessions, because you know you want to get on board too!

All items available from Boots 

Before you begin, you must prepare your nails and cuticles. You'll need a good, strong course nail file,a fine emery board, a pair of cuticle scissors (my preference) or orange sticks and a nail clipper. You can get all of these from any pharmacist (I normally get mine from here, because points) however, I would invest in a professional pair of cuticle scissors like these because they last longer and are incredibly agile.  

Once your nails are prepped and cut, I would use coconut oil to soften my nails and cuticles. Coconut oil is good for EVERYTHING I use it for everything, my hair, my body, my food. It is a miracle oil. pure and simple. Leave your nails to dry and then you are ready to get painting!

From Boots

So you do not stain your nails you should always use a base-coat. I have spoken about my favourite base-coat already from Save The Nail. They have a couple of varieties, but this is by far my favourite.

This not only provides a protective base for any nail colour, but also fills in uneven nail ridges to make each and every nail is perfect and solid.
If you wanted it to be plain this has a cute rose colour so your nails look healthy and happy.


Once your base-coat is dry you can go wild with your colour choices. Like I had said before, your nail colour should reflect your mood and your fashion choices. But there are a few colours that will span the test of time.

Nudes
Nudes are important. They can elongate your fingers and if you wanted REALLY loud nails you can embellish the hell out of your finger tips with an assuming base.
These ones are my all time favourites:

(From L-R) OPI, Butter London, OPI & Essie 

Pinks

Pinks are great for all nail types. They can range from loud and proud to subtle. 

I vary between a loud pink and ballet shoe pink. 

These ones are my go tos:

(From L-R) Essie, China Glaze, Morgan Taylor 

If you have gone for one of my classics above or your own wild choice of your own, you'll need a topcoat to make sure it lasts for the week. I have spent FOREVER looking for a decent topcoat, that will not only last, but will make your nails look amazing. I have narrowed it down to a few of the absolute best (in my opinion):

(From L-R) Essie, Sally Hansen

These provide long lasting, high shine finish which will last for days, you just can't go wrong!

So there your have it. You now know all of my secrets. Use them wisely, Everyone will be envious of your instagram posts from here on out!