I have such bad luck with having my nails done. Tips please.

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

DP paid for me to have a pedicure today and it went wrong …twice. I really seem to have bad luck with my nails so rarely do them. Has anyone found a really foolproof way to apply nail varnish that’s long lasting and doesn’t take ages?

What went wrong OP?

If DP paid for you to have them done at a Salon, the salon should make sure everything is ok before they let you leave.

If you did them at home (its a bit unclear from your post as you say DP paid but then ask for tips on application) you need to wait ages on normal polish drying before you can rely on it not smudging or having pressure marks - it takes much longer than you think!

Yeah, I feel like you need to explain what went wrong?

How does gel go wrong? I’ve never had an issue and cannot think of what could be wrong.

Invest in a uv lamp and buy semi cured gel strips, absolute game changer!

My nails are horrible and even when I get them done professionally they don’t last long!
if you done gel polish at home it won’t work unless you cure them under a UV light

Maybe elaborate on what goes ‘wrong’ ?

i do actually have a UV lamp. That’s a good idea!

They used Opi nail polish but I assume it was too thick. Both times I waited hours to put on my shoes but directly anything touched the big toe nail the polish just shifted and crumpled. Not the first time I’ve paid to have my nails done and the sand has happened. We’re going home tomorrow so I’m just going to leave it now. I just want a way to do my nails at home and it actually look nice.

That should not happen. I’d use gel as it’s more stable. OPI is a good brand and should be stable but thick coats don’t work. Two or three thin coats snd top coat work best. Wear very loose shoes!

I would always get a gel polish, particularly for toes.

I wonder if it’s an issue of your foot shape/shoe choices. Do you have much wiggle room for your toes? Do you wear socks?

Flip flops. Even in winter. Or just gel.

I wouldn’t ever bother getting a manicure with normal paint now- it’s still expensive and chips/looks rubbish within a week. I feel gel once a month after payday and they always look nice!

It will take a while for normal polish to ‘set’. Even when touch dry it will still be soft. No matter how thin the coats of polish are if you put shoes on not long after, they’ll smudge.

I do my own pedicures and walk around in flip flops for hours before even attempting to put shoes on. And when I used to get them done at the salon, I’d wear flip flops even in the middle of winter. Mine last for weeks.

Fingernails on the other hand….

gel all the way! Ask friends for a local salon recommendation though, they do really vary.

I’d only ever get my nails done (manicure or pedicure) with a gel polish. My nail tech only uses The Gel Bottle now but used to use CND Shellac. Both are fantastic and would never smudge even if you put your socks straight on as soon as they’ve been done.
Seems like you’ve had just a standard polish applied so next time go for a gel polish.

Surely no one puts shoes on after having a pedi with regular polish? It takes several hours to properly dry and when you say you waited hours I'm assuming it wasn't actually hours.

You have to go home in slides or flip flops and even then you have to be careful as you can slide out a bit and scrape them on the edge of the sandal

It was actually hours, but that was the second time. The first time it was twenty minutes.

I’d never had a pedicure before so I had honestly given it zero thought. It was a gift.

How many hours did you sit at the nail place after having them done?

It was part of the resort we were at. So I was able to walk back to the accommodation in my sliders and then kept my feet bare from 2.20pm - around 5pm. Then I put my shoes on and one nail was knackered when I took it off.

I’ll show you a photo 🤣

Don't do this UV damage can cause allergies that affect dental and orthopaedic treatments.

I tend to get a gel pedi pre holiday. When I'm not on holiday I do them myself. I'll do them early evening. Wander around the house barefooted and go to bed.
In the morning I'll put my shoes on when I go out. So that's a long time after.

But I have to say that even if I do them at say 7:00pm and go to bed at 11pm I still sometimes wake with sheet marks on them.

It's seems to me that some colours dry more hard than others. I've had some polishes that seem to never completely go rock solid. Like I could press a nail into them 2 days later.

Back to bare nails lol.

I do my own pedicure with normal nail polish. I do it about an hour before bed. I’m careful for that hour and then it dries fully overnight. A quick dry polish will help too. (No bedsocks though!)

it may smudge a little (eg see the pattern of the sheet threads on the big toe nail) but only if you look really closely…and no one ever does.

My nail polish on my toes lasts so long it grows out before it chips off.

I’d never get gel polish on my toes. I really can’t see the point.