nail varnish

[addictedisback]

My mum never taught me about makeup, hair, nails, etc so I'm very sorry for plaguing the board with what seems like silly but at the age of 25 and with 2dds who may have questions later on (or may not be intrested and that's fine too!) I now need to learn, because I want to and it makes me feel good!

What nail varnish to use? Is there a blog or an idiots guide to great looking nails?

Thanks

Do you mean what colours or what brands?

Nails Inc top and base coats are amazing.
OPI colours and formula are great.
And I am in heaven now Boots sell Essie. Essie is a good place to start for gentle pinks and natural colours, OPI colours are more exciting :)
Some Chanel colours are gorgeous but mostly they are a rip off for £17 when the formula is no better than OPI/Essie/Nails Inc.

Also, there are about ten million nail blogs out there but don't start reading them or you'll get obsessed like me. (Good place to start

Oh, and for looking after your cuticles (because there's no point having nice nail varnish on raggedy looking nails) I love Burt's Bees Lemon Butter cuticle balm. Apply it once or twice a day and push back your cuticles every so often.

Hope this is helpful!

Rimmel makes really good polish for just a few squid a bottle. For a real budget option, NYC (in Superdrug) nail varnish is less than £2 a bottle, with a good range of colours.

OPI is totally fab stuff but a lot more expensive so more of an investment if it's a colour you really love. I have heard that Chanel chips like there's no tomorrow so not worth the £££ at all.

Agree with TheBirds - keep nails well moisturised. Rub handcream into your cuticles at least twice a day. Oil is good too - try olive or avocado oil, rub in when you can.

Oh I forgot about BARRY M from Superdrug! Very cheap and great colours - good place to start. I get all my OPI off Amazon or eBay, usually around £7 a bottle inc. postage.

Agree about Barry M

I like Barry M too. I am also a fan of Essie as they have sooo many lovely colours HOWEVER, some are a real hit and miss and don't apply well so you need to do some research before buying. Never buy Essie in Boots, there are cheaper ones on Amazon/Ebay.

Agree you can find Essie a bit cheaper, but I like prefer the wide brush and the less watery formula of the new Boots ones - don't know if anyone else has found this? Plus I can't resist buying one when I walk past the counter

Please ignore the superfluous 'like'!

Essie, Opi and Nails Inc are all nail polish brands that I have seen in TK Maxx. They are usually sold in sets but the prices are sometimes less or just slightly more than one bottle at full price.

the birds, i like the wide brush too, it makes a massive difference! think its rimmel, will have to check.

i use almond oil on my nails which is very cheap, and if i am feeling very virtuous i remember my toe nails too and oil those:)

A top tip I was given the other day, was first apply a base coat and then the first colour coat needs to be applied really thinly so that it dries, before applying the next coat. Once that coat is dry, apply a good top coat such as Seche Vete. Hope that helps

Applying nail polish well does take some practice but is easily done. Always apply a base cost as this evens out the nail base and stops nails from becoming stained. Try to apply the colour in 3 strokes of the brush, starting in the middle and then one either side. Apply 2 coats and then use a good top coat to seal it. I like to do nail art on my nails and do use Star Nails Nail Art Finishing Sealer as it literally seals the colour on to the nail. It's also great as just a top coat on colour.
As for which brands are best, I've not always found the most expensive polishes to be the best with them chipping easily. I buy any brand depending on what colour takes my eye and it's just pot luck sometimes although Barry M seems to be the brand I have most of!

OP, I don't know if it's a possibility for you, but I would recommend getting a professional manicure done. I've got much better at painting my nails from watching how they do it in the salon.

I bought a no7 nude colour, really liked the colour but after 1 day its all chipped and pealing off :( I only got it because its 3 for 2 at the moment and I didnt have another item. I think I'll have to try some of the brands you reecommended.

thankyou.

I'm not bad at applying nail polish, its more the whole nail care thing, pushing back cuticles, filing, buffing and sanding?

I really hate No 7 varnishes, it's like using wet cement imo.

OPI
Leighton Denny
Barry M
Nails Inc

I usually buy from ebay as much much cheaper :)

I agree that No 7 are not very good because they are too thick. You need a varnish that is thin so you can build up the layers. Also a good top coat helps enormously.