Showing posts with label topcoat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label topcoat. Show all posts
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tips and tricks part 2: Polishing and cleanup!
Dear lacqueristas,
There are many ways to apply polish to your tips, here is how I like to do it.
Polishing
Preparing
Choose your workplace, I like to work on a table with a bendable lamp. I use a placemat to protect the surface of my table. Put all the products you need in front of you. I know this might be obvious, but believe me how many times I was in a hurry and scr*wed up my fresh polish by reaching for the topcoat...
Make sure your nails are oil free (wipe them with remover) and your cuticles are pushed back.
Products you might need
*nail polish remover
*cottons or pads
*Q tips or small brush ( For cleanup. Real hairs, no plastic as this might melt in aceton!)
*base coat or ridge filler
*your nail polish of choise
*topcoat
*you might want to use fast drying drops
Base coat
There are several reasons why you would use a base coat: it protects the nail from stains and discolorations, it provides the right grip for your polish, it makes applying your polish more smooth.
You can use clear base coat, tinted ones, or a special sticky base coat. Most nail hardeners are also suitable to use as a base. Be aware with highly pigmented polishes: to be sure they won't stain your nails, you can put two layers of base coat for maximum protection.
Ridgefiller is a base coat that contains small particles like nylonpowders to fill ridges and smooth out the nail plate surface. A ridgefiller typically dries to a matte finish and most have a milky white hue. If you don't have a matte topcoat but you would like to achieve a matte look for your polish, you could apply a ridgefiller instead of a topcoat. Be aware of the milky finish, it will effect the color of your nailpolish!
Another tip: If you want to apply neons, pastels or any light color, starting off with 2 layers of ridgefillers as a base helps you to achieve a blanc canvas on wich the actual polish stands out better.
Polishing
I am also still in the process of experimenting how to achieve perfect polished nails. Let me share with you what I found out so far.
You will have to mix the formula of your polish but try not to tempt yourself to shake the bottle. (if you do, let the bottle rest standing up for about 5 minutes to allow bubbles to surface) It works just fine to either roll your bottle on a flat surface, or gently swing the bottle in your hand. This way you won't get bubbles.
Now you open your bottle and thover the brush above the opening, allowing the exess polish to drip back into the bottle. It's ok if you feel like you need to scare the exess off on the bottles neck but I like to start with a bead of polish.
Now you either detect the wide side of your polish brush (OPI pro wide) or you just go ahead and place your brush right in the lower middle of your nail. If you work with a bead like me,
There are many ways to apply polish to your tips, here is how I like to do it.
Polishing
Preparing
Choose your workplace, I like to work on a table with a bendable lamp. I use a placemat to protect the surface of my table. Put all the products you need in front of you. I know this might be obvious, but believe me how many times I was in a hurry and scr*wed up my fresh polish by reaching for the topcoat...
Make sure your nails are oil free (wipe them with remover) and your cuticles are pushed back.
Products you might need
*nail polish remover
*cottons or pads
*Q tips or small brush ( For cleanup. Real hairs, no plastic as this might melt in aceton!)
*base coat or ridge filler
*your nail polish of choise
*topcoat
*you might want to use fast drying drops
Base coat
There are several reasons why you would use a base coat: it protects the nail from stains and discolorations, it provides the right grip for your polish, it makes applying your polish more smooth.
You can use clear base coat, tinted ones, or a special sticky base coat. Most nail hardeners are also suitable to use as a base. Be aware with highly pigmented polishes: to be sure they won't stain your nails, you can put two layers of base coat for maximum protection.
Ridgefiller is a base coat that contains small particles like nylonpowders to fill ridges and smooth out the nail plate surface. A ridgefiller typically dries to a matte finish and most have a milky white hue. If you don't have a matte topcoat but you would like to achieve a matte look for your polish, you could apply a ridgefiller instead of a topcoat. Be aware of the milky finish, it will effect the color of your nailpolish!
Another tip: If you want to apply neons, pastels or any light color, starting off with 2 layers of ridgefillers as a base helps you to achieve a blanc canvas on wich the actual polish stands out better.
Polishing
I am also still in the process of experimenting how to achieve perfect polished nails. Let me share with you what I found out so far.
You will have to mix the formula of your polish but try not to tempt yourself to shake the bottle. (if you do, let the bottle rest standing up for about 5 minutes to allow bubbles to surface) It works just fine to either roll your bottle on a flat surface, or gently swing the bottle in your hand. This way you won't get bubbles.
Now you open your bottle and thover the brush above the opening, allowing the exess polish to drip back into the bottle. It's ok if you feel like you need to scare the exess off on the bottles neck but I like to start with a bead of polish.
Now you either detect the wide side of your polish brush (OPI pro wide) or you just go ahead and place your brush right in the lower middle of your nail. If you work with a bead like me,
Click on the "read more" button to check out the rest of this tutorial
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