If you do your own nails…

[jackie011]

What are some essentials? I’ve recently started polishing my nails and I kind of like it! Looking for some items to add to my wish list for DH. Not necessarily polish, but more of the “extras” that are nice to have.

[memenee]

I use cuticle nippers, cuticle oil and one of those pumice things to push back the cuticles each time I do my nails.

[al dente]

A nice file. Glass ones are good, I can't stand the feeling of them though so I have a high grit and lower grit files.
Cuticle clippers.
Cuticle pusher.
If you want to get I to designs there's stamps and stuff that can be fun.

[notreal]

I recently discovered peel off basecoat and it's so much fun after 2 days to peel off my nail polish and be ready for something else. Also nail oil. Something with jojoba oil in it.

[Patsy Baloney]

Maybe a hand treatment or, if you’re feeling super-fancy, something to do a paraffin wax treatment at home. I looove when the place where I get my nails done starts offering the “winter manicure” with the wax.

[Leeham Rimes]

Cuticle oil and a stick to push back cuticle overgrowth. Never ever ever cut them. Like ever ever.

A silicon mat to rest your hand on as you paint your nails

Nail files. Never trim nails to shape them. You should trim nails to get their length down, then file to shape.

A nail polish caddy, once I started buying polish, it quickly turned into an avalanche of polish bottles.

Nail strengthening treatment, nail envy by OPI is good.

A quick dry clear polish is a must.

A good base coat and a good top coat.

a small brush and a little container for remover to clean up the sides of your nails unless you’re better at it than I am, lol.

If you like doing art on your nails, you’ll need a dot tool, striping tape, and brushes. I’m bad at nail art so all I need is the tape and the dotting tool.

I’ll look through my stuff later to see if I forgot anything

[Deleted]

A cleanser/dehydrator!

With a base coat, top coat and polish its the best thing for your polish to last a week. Make sure that all of haven't reached their shelf life...generally as long as you don't see creases products are still good. If you see creases after a bit of dry time, toss it.


I use this dehydrator:
tinyurl.com/z6fdmars

[fivechickens]

I use Orly Bonder as base coat and Seche Vite as a top coat (this combo works a lot better than anything else I have used including HK Girl/Glisten & Glow top coat)

Glass nail file, I use these (It’s a lot but it’s like socks, constantly losing them): www.amazon.com/EAONE-Crystal-Professional-Gradients-Manicure/dp/B081Q4NY73/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=glass+nail+file&qid=1639323048&sr=8-6

Burt’s Bees lemon butter cuticle cream

A buffer (I do not buff often but as needed

Cuticle pushers/orange stick

Sally Hansen cuticle remover

Elf concealer brush for clean up www.target.com/p/e-l-f-concealer-brush/-/A-13958833#lnk=sametab

I use 100% acetone nail polish remover and also use it to dehydrate my nails before polish. You can also use rubbing alcohol as a nail dehydrator.

I have a glass dappen dish to put acetone in for clean up:
www.sallybeauty.com/nails/acrylic-nails-and-polygel/drills-acrylic-brushes-and-accessories/glass-dappen-dish/SBS-154855.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvYDzmcze9AIV4jo4Ch3fyA8EEAQYASABEgIH0vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds




I use a old hand towel and papercloth when doing my nails. I do trim my nails with clippers but only when they get too long. It’s not great to clip your nails but sometimes it is necessary.

[cville]

I've been doing my nails for years but really stepped it up during the pandemic. I do not use or need much.

-glass nail file (my favorite is the MiDenso brand)

-Seche vite quick dry top coat

-orange sticks (I prefer the wood ones, just get them at Target or CVS)

-Orly bonder (I alternate using this with OPI nail envy)

-cheap flat top brush. An eyeliner makeup brush will work. I use this to dip into the remover and clean up edges


And I don't have any nail-specific oils etc. I use Aquafor for everything. Lol. In fact, if I do my nails towards the end of the evening, I will sort of rub it over my nails before I go to bed to keep them from getting marked by the sheets. When it's humid.

[kittenponypony]

Seche vita as a topcoat is amazing, total game changer.

Also, the shape of the brush makes a huge difference (the smaller pointer brushes are much harder than the broader flat ones.)

I need to buy a base coat; I’ve never used one. I also am not really good at shaping my nails evenly. But using this technique for painting upped my ability immensely — img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web05/2012/10/8/11/enhanced-buzz-17792-1349710727-3.jpg

I also use a eyeliner brush dipped in polish remover (pure acetone) to clean up the edges

[jackie011]

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

[cville]

Dec 12, 2021 12:19:47 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

I have. I put the color polish on the edge/tip of the nail, use a generous amount of Seche vite, and I thin it out (in the bottle) with the Seche restore when it starts to get thicker. Seche restore works well to degloop color polish too. It's pure chemical and smells like hell so use someplace ventilated.

[fivechickens]

Dec 12, 2021 12:19:47 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

There are times when I put it on and it shrinks and times it doesn’t. I read that if you put seche vite when the polish is too wet it will shrink. I don’t know how true that it is.

[Bernadine]

Dec 12, 2021 12:19:47 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

I switched to the Sally Hansen quick dry top coat in the red bottle. I prefer it to Seche Vite.

[sadlebred]

Can anyone recommend a good, small nail polish caddy where you can see the colors and not a "bag" style? Something that can hold about a dozen?

[Leeham Rimes]

Dec 12, 2021 18:17:33 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Can anyone recommend a good, small nail polish caddy where you can see the colors and not a "bag" style? Something that can hold about a dozen?

This is probably too big for you but I love mine

DreamGenius Portable Nail Polish Clear Organizer for 48 Bottles, Double Side and Locking Lids Gel Polish Storage Holder, Space Saver with 8 Adjustable Dividers www.amazon.com/dp/B07PM1DZNL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6CFQVCYH4ZXQS7AHFRJZ

[sadlebred]

Dec 12, 2021 18:29:35 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

Dec 12, 2021 18:17:33 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Can anyone recommend a good, small nail polish caddy where you can see the colors and not a "bag" style? Something that can hold about a dozen?

This is probably too big for you but I love mine

DreamGenius Portable Nail Polish Clear Organizer for 48 Bottles, Double Side and Locking Lids Gel Polish Storage Holder, Space Saver with 8 Adjustable Dividers www.amazon.com/dp/B07PM1DZNL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6CFQVCYH4ZXQS7AHFRJZ

It looks nice, but it holds 4x the amount of nail polish I have! LOL!!!

[kittenponypony]

Dec 12, 2021 12:19:47 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

Yep, if you wrap the tips it won’t shrink (put Seche Vita on the top edge of your nail)

[Leeham Rimes]

Dec 12, 2021 18:50:28 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Dec 12, 2021 18:29:35 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

This is probably too big for you but I love mine

DreamGenius Portable Nail Polish Clear Organizer for 48 Bottles, Double Side and Locking Lids Gel Polish Storage Holder, Space Saver with 8 Adjustable Dividers www.amazon.com/dp/B07PM1DZNL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6CFQVCYH4ZXQS7AHFRJZ

It looks nice, but it holds 4x the amount of nail polish I have! LOL!!!

I have a nail polish problem because I had exactly 0 polishes back in July. Lol

[RoxMonster]

Each time I do my nails, I use:
-polish remover and cotton pads
-Nail file
-Clippers
-Wooden nail stick/cuticle pusher
-Cuticle oil
-Buffer
And then a top coat (my polish doesn't require base coat)

[Violet]

Another Seche trick is to make sure you are applying while your color is still damp. It’s not supposed to be applied to dry polish or it will peel too.

[followyourarrow]

I really like this clear polish holder. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPOOJL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[So_Fetch]

Dec 12, 2021 12:19:47 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Thank you all!! I have a lot to add to my list!

I love Seche Vite, but does anyone else notice that it “shrinks” the polish after a few days? Has anyone found a solution?

Definitely noticed that. it's kind of annoying.  I switched to using the Essie Gel top coat and it's even better (goes on thinner, still protects and comes off easily without shrinkage). 

www.essie.com/base-and-top-coats/top-coats/gel-couture-top-coat

[glitzy07]

I really like the Olive & June Poppy to help paint your dominant hand.

I've never been able to paint my own nails until this summer, when I learned using the Poppy and watching the O&J videos. I almost never don't have polish on now!

[esdreturns]

Dec 13, 2021 14:17:10 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

I really like the Olive & June Poppy to help paint your dominant hand.

I've never been able to paint my own nails until this summer, when I learned using the Poppy and watching the O&J videos. I almost never don't have polish on now!

I just bought this and a mani kit thanks to you! Can't wait to try it as I'm awful painting with my left hand.

[glitzy07]

Dec 14, 2021 12:14:28 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Dec 13, 2021 14:17:10 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

I really like the Olive & June Poppy to help paint your dominant hand.

I've never been able to paint my own nails until this summer, when I learned using the Poppy and watching the O&J videos. I almost never don't have polish on now!

I just bought this and a mani kit thanks to you! Can't wait to try it as I'm awful painting with my left hand.

Yay! My biggest piece of advice is to give yourself grace as you're learning. I am such a perfectionist so I would always be so annoyed with how terrible my right hand looked and I would remove the polish and give up. After learning how to use the Poppy and watching their videos for how to apply the polish without flooding your cuticles (and lots of practice), I've gotten so much better. I have short nails and it's inevitable that I end up with polish on my skin, so I use the clean-up brush a lot and since I usually paint my nails at night, I can get any remaining polish on my skin off in the shower in the morning once the polish has fully hardened.

[protozoa]

I have a good one for this! I asked DH last year to get me a light for Christmas to use to do my nails. He got me a Ryobi shop light which is not cute but is amazing to have really good light on my nails, gamechanger.

[fivechickens]

Dec 14, 2021 12:37:25 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

Yay! My biggest piece of advice is to give yourself grace as you're learning. I am such a perfectionist so I would always be so annoyed with how terrible my right hand looked and I would remove the polish and give up.

This is good advice. I am not a perfectionist and I am very impatient. It took me some practice but I eventually got to the point that I very rarely have to do any cleanup even when using my non-dominant hand. Most of cleanup is is on the tip of my finger because my nails are short and when I wrap the polish I also get it there.

I do my nails a lot because I hate when my polish chips but luckily I enjoy it.