A little bit about me - I am a certified Pilates instructor but am currently attending massage therapy school full-time. I don't have a job at the moment, which makes playing nail polish even more frequent and fun. As a massage therapist, you MUST keep your nails short (like, to the quick short) to avoid scratching your clients. And I believe well-kept nails are not only a great fashion accessory, but show that you really care about your appearance and personal hygiene.
So without further ado - today's jobby! We are going with Sephora's gel nail kit (the greatest thing EVER. Seriously; F-U sliced bread!) with a twist - french tips. I've figured this one out some time ago but like playing with new tip colors (which DO NOT have to be the OPI gel) so I was thinking maybe something patriotic for the 4th of July... Nah.
Today's recipe:
- Gel Nail kit (light, nail buffer, nail cleaner, cuticle oil.)
- Gel colors: Base coat, clear top coat, Bare to Be Different color.
- Manicure kit: cuticle nippers (ESSENTIAL), clippers, 4-sided file, cuticle pushing stick, and stick-on french manicure tip guides. (You can buy these at your local beauty supply store or online - think Amazon or Drugstore.com. Buy in bulk if you like french tips as they are SO handy!!!)
- Tip colors: NARS Ecume (opaque white,) Chanel Intermezzo (sheer iridescent pearl,) and Deborah Lippman Stairway to Heaven (clear iridescent glitter.)**
**I normally do not use this many colors on my tips - one is best, two at most, so we'll see how this turns out. I am thinking I will have to do two coats of gel color to match the thickness of the tips but - WE'LL SEE.**
Steps:
- Remove old gels by peeling off (this is why Sephora's kit is so amazing - little nail damage and no soaking in polish remover, hooray!
- Remove old tip color with polish remover.
- Groom nails using manicure set (always trimming due to massage, as well as getting those cuticles as short as possible!)
- Buff with gel buffer or regular manicure buffer.
- Wipe nails clean using Sephora nail cleaner (which is regular isopropyl alcohol, BTW.)
- Apply OPI Bond-Aid to natural nail bed, concentrating on tips. (This is hard to find; if you have a manicurist you are close with they can sell it to you, otherwise look online - it's a "professional only" deal.)
- Apply French tip stickers to each finger EXCEPT thumbs. Make sure they are fully stuck on (no gaps at the top) or else your tips will "bleed" and not come away with a clean line (defeats the whole purpose and wastes stickers.)
- Paint tips - one coat NARS, one coat Chanel, one to two THICK coats Deborah Lippman to really catch the glitter.
- ALLOW TO DRY - COMPLETELY. Watch "Teen Mom" or something free on Amazon Prime while they dry.
- Peel off stickers at a 90 degree angle to nail to avoid bleeding colors (see above.)
- Apply thin OPI gel base coat, cook.
- Apply Bare to Be Different color, cook.
- Repeat above if necessary to achieve uniform thickness with tips.
- Apply thin OPI gel top coat, cook.
- Wipe clean with cleaner.
- Do your thumbs.
Voila! It looks like a lot of steps but once you've done it a time or two it's really quick. I find leaving the thumbs till last is handy because A) you have to cook them separately anyway, and 2) you might need them for cleaning up errant polish. If this happens, remove and prep as stated above.
