Nails! This has to be the most girly thread I've ever started - but I need your help!

[DottyDot]

Right, so I'm inheriting a beautiful diamond ring in a few weeks time (it was my Mum's engagement ring) - it's currently being re-set and sized and should be ready soon.

It's a lovely present and I'm getting quite excited about it. But my fingers and nails are hideous and I'm wondering what I can do to make my hands look at least half presentable so that they match the lovely ring

I pick down the sides of my fingers and thumbs - have tried to stop doing it but it's a lifetime's habit - I'm putting cream on every time I remember and have got the picking down to a minimum so hopefully my fingers won't look so red and horrible.

My nails are very short - I clip them with a nail clipper - no varnish, no filing, no nothing.

I've never ever done anything with them - so where do I start? Is it worth getting a manicure and what would I ask for? I'm imagining that they just look nice and smart with maybe clear varnish on? How do you get them to be a nice shape - mine are bumpy as I clip them fairly randomly . I've never been to a nail bar or beauty salon-type place, so if I'm going to venture in one, I need to know what I should ask for...!

I've got about 4 weeks before the ring is ready - HELP!

I had to start taking care of my nails when I got engaged - I couldn't let my ring be surrounded by peeling, unkempt nails!! My top tips for elegant nails are:

Get a great nail file - i use the leighton denny one but I think most of the crystal files work just as well. They are super smooth and turn your nails to dust, thereby sealing them at the ends.

Get Buffing!! - I use the cheapest of the cheap nail buffers (pack of 4 from poundland - they work fine for me). Buffed nails look like the most perfect clear polish on their own, and hold nail laquer much better.

Use a base coat - I use OPI nail envy because my nails are prone to peeling

Apply an oil as often as possible. I have a cheapie pen version in every handbag and a bottle of NUXE dry oil on my side table so that I can apply it while I watch tv. Then take a hoof stick and gently push your cuticles back.

Use a good hand cream and massage it into your cuticles. Make sure you have hand cream by every sink and your bedside, then you have no excuse not to use it - I buy mini Loccitane ones and then have the decleor big pump by the bed.

and finally...

SECHE VITE is BY FAR the BEST top coat I have ever found. It is quite thick and needs to be put on in a thicker than average coat but it dries in less than a minute and gives an amazing shine. Best of all, it lasts. I buy mine from Ebay - I pay about £5 a bottle (it's about £12 in boots).

Sounds like a big routine but I can do a colour manicure in 10mins now (and be able to wash-up, go shopping etc straight after) and everything else takes seconds.

oh good lord - am feeling the need to Buy Things...

Buying things is my FAVOURITE thing! Very bad for my bank balance and sometimes a little trying on my relationship ('why do you need another foundation/eyeliner/mascara/nail polish/shampoo....' answer 'erm...because it is different and I NEED IT!). Anyhow, its my money and I don't drink (he does), I don't drive (he does) and I don't smoke (he does - abit). Swings and roundabouts but the upshot is:-

Spending on beautification feels great!! :o

Me too. I've lost 35lbs over the past few months and have had to buy lots of new clothes... ahem. (Never mind the fact that I've still got another couple of stone to lose ). So I've been discovering dresses recently - flipping brilliant but very bad for the bank account.

So the nails are just another step towards inevitable girlyness

Doing fairly well not picking - a whole 24 hours without any new red bits on my fingers. Haven't ordered any nail stuff yet - might have a browse in Boots over the weekend...

Hey get how are you doing with your fingers? I'm doing OK - cold weather doesn't help though with fingers drying out - am trying to slather a load of hand cream on as often as possible....

Hi Dotty - sorry, been laid low with the flu for nearly two weeks. Bleugh. Fingeres are rubbish, unfortunately being poorly was not a good time for me to have the willpower to try and stop biting/picking/etc etc! Funny though, I just was thinking about it yesterday so I need to restart. Sorry!

Just found this thread at the right time. I have been going to a proper place and had gelicure on (I think its the same as shellac, but a different company who makes them), but need to stop so thinking of doing something else with my nails at home.

So going from this thread I need to use plenty of moisturiser which I do anyway, then what? Ive always found my nail varnish to come off ever so easily. Whats the best one for staying? Or any tips to make them last longer?

Thanks.

Sorry OP hope you dont mind me crashing your thread.

notvery

To make your nail polish last you need to...

*buff your nails
*shape with a good nail file
*wash your hands and dry thoroughly
*use a base coat
*2 thin layers of polish - make sure the first layer is dry before painting the next one
*use a good top coat - I personally recommend the seche vite but have heard good things about sally hansen (top coat is better when applied straight after the 2nd coat of colour as it penetrates through all the previous layers and binds them together).

• make sure you paint the edge of your nail too - that is where water and oils can get in and lift your polish

If that still doesn't work then you can buy bottles of the opi version of shellac for about £24 on ebay and amazon - pricey but if you always go for the same colour then it could be worth it?

Thanks mrsmartin :)

I do all of that MrsM, crystal file, buff, clean nails, nail envy, 2 x colour then Seche Vite. I do the 2nd colour coat and SV on the edges too and still only get 48 hours without chipping, how long does yours last? I just can't seem to avoid rubbing the polsh off the edges when I pick paper up off my desk at work.

I have been doing a comparison recently between Seche Vite and Sally Hansen Insta Dry which is cheaper. SV is slightly more hardwearing and SH is touch dry more quickly, but a bit slower to be totally hard.

Also what activities make it come off?

See that is what I find odd as until I found SV I was lucky to get 2 hours out of a manicure!! Now I can get a full 7 days. The only thing I would maybe question is the base coat? I use opi nail envy as my base. Also, even though I do a thick coat of SV, I still find it is touch dry in seconds. I don't wear my nails really long though - maybe 5 or 6 mm past the skin - perhaps that is where we differ? Otherwise I'm at abit of a loss....

I'm going to have to keep experimenting I think, my nails are short, max 3mm of white tip, maybe I'm not putting the top coat on thickly enough. I do all 10 nails in each layer, was thinking about doing the 2nd colour coat and immediate SV before moving to the next nail.

I lay a line of SV over the end of my nail and then a thick coat over the nail - abit like a gel coat (or if you have had acryilcs - abit like when they put the acrylic overlay on). I dont wipe the brush on the inside of the bottle, except for when I do my little finger. I dot the tip when I watched the qvc presentation of SV and a session stylist who worked for them said that was how you should apply it.

Burts Bees Lemon Cuticle Cream and eat jelly!! - - absolutely NO PICKING !

geta. Sorry you've been poorly - hope you're feeling better? I'm doing pretty well for me - 9 fingers are great and 1 thumb has a tiny pick..! I went to Boots and got one of those nail block things with 6 different types of surface - thank god they're all helpfully labelled .

I also got some clear nail varnish so my nails look almost presentable. It's freaky - I keep glancing at them and getting a surprise!

Haven't got my ring yet though - hopefully in the next couple of weeks while the fingers and nails are relatively presentable!

Dotty - well done, I am making a real effort not to pick mine, have managed to stop nibbling the skin but still find myself picking a bit.

Geta - hope you are feeling better now

MrsM - I've never had a manicure in my life, so not sure about gel and acrylic application, what I don't like is that really thick look that you get with a lot of salon nails, but having looked at a few SV videos on YouTube it seems as though that is exactly the look you will get with it if you want it to last. I'm going to try it again tonight anyway.

who it is a thicker look but mine dont look like jordan nails - I think it has alot to do with shape (I hate square nails - I know they are more fashionable but I think they look tacky) mine are an almond shape and look pretty damn good if i do say so myself. I hope you manage to get the effect you want though...(I used to swab my polish with polish remover in the past to get a matte finish - maybe you could thin the sv out using that method and then get the gloss back with the SH?)...happy experimenting!!

I don't do square either, just doesn't suit me as my white tips (which are very white) curve back steeply at the sides and as I keep them short it looks very odd indeed. I shape them in the same curve as the line between the white bit and nail bed, which also mirrors the cuticle shape. I will report back again tomorrow!

Does it matter what base coat and colour you use or are there better ones less likely to peel? Is it all in the top coat?

i would go and get shellac - its very strong and stays on for about 3 weeks. The fact you have your nails done will perhaps stop you from picking. shellac comes in some fab colours.

Notvery I think the main thing is to actually use a base and topcoat, every time. It depends a bit on your colour choices too, dark ones will show chips and wear more quickly than nudes/clears. The fast drying topcoats are very good, but dearer than the regular ones.

Some brands of polish are much better than others too, for High Street budget brands I think Rimmel are the best.

Thanks whoknows I am popping shopping tomorrow so will look to get a base coat a pale nail varnish and a good top coat. I was thinking of getting Sally Hansen base coat and try to find some SV, but boots dont sell it grrrrr.

my boots have SV...I buy it off ebay though as it is half the price. I use opi nail envy as my nails need the strengthener so that has just automatically become my base coat - it seems to work well though. I personally think the key is the prep work (see above post) and giving yourself enough time to do it.

Sally hansen has just brought out a manicure in a bottle which has had great reviews in the mags - worth a try for those who don't like faff/are short on time