Pretty much after any fresh manicure, you ask me about my nails. 🙂

You generally ask me about my nail polish colors, tips to grow your nails, and if my nails are real.

So it’s time to finally put all the curiosity to rest.

Let’s start with my latest manicure, and how I do my nails.
Then we’ll get to some of your frequently asked nail questions.

Latest Manicure

This week’s manicure features:

Base Coat: Essie All In One Top & Base Coat
Color: 3 coats of Bourjois Rosée du Satin, 1 coat of Bourjois Lady Nude
Top Coat: Seche Vive Gel Effect

Previous Manicure

Two weeks ago my manicure featured:

Base Coat: Essie All In One Top & Base Coat
Color: 3 coats of Bourjois Lady Nude (it’s matte, but I follow with a glossy top coat)
Top Coat: Seche Vive Gel Effect

How I Do My Nails

I always do my own nails every 10-14 days; it’s fun and relaxing, and I create the results I want.

I begin by removing my old nail polish. Then I file my nails into my desired length and shape. It’s all about the shape, so I recommend that you figure out what shape suits your hands and your lifestyle the best. I tend to avoid trending nail shapes, and just stick to what works for me (or my mood).

I’m kind of known for my long nails, but lately, I’ve been veeeery tempted to rock short nails. I may cut them very short soon *muahahaha*.

If I need to trim my nails (which I do at least 1-2x a month), then I use a clipper that catches the clippings inside so that I don’t poke out an eye. I clip them straight across, then once on each side to round it out.

After clipping, I use a simple nail file to file my nails and make sure they don’t snag on any of my clothes. My nail files aren’t too coarse (they’re no name, not fancy). I know lots of people love glass nail files, and I’ve tried them in the past and couldn’t get past the nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling. *shudder*

After filing my nails to my desired shape (this part takes the longest because I’m a tad annoying about how the shape looks from every angle), I move on to my cuticles.

There are two ways of doing your cuticles: cut them off or push them back.

Honestly, the cutting them off way has been my way my entire life. It’s all I knew growing up. But I’ve seen beautiful cuticles maintained by simply pushing them back and moisturizing them regularly.

So most recently, I’ve decided to grow out my cuticles. Plus, this way is much easier and safer since some people totally butcher their cuticles, don’t disinfect their tools, and cause all kinds of infections and damage.

I use either a metal instrument like this one or those cheap wooden sticks to push back my cuticles. I also found

If I ever get nail polish on my cuticle, I finish painting the nail and then use one of those pointy wooden sticks to clean it up while it’s still wet. This has to be done quickly.

And then I always do a topcoat making sure to cover all the nail polish underneath. I’ll try not to do anything with my hands until my topcoat is fully dry, and afterward, I’m still pretty gentle and won’t be putting too much pressure on the nails for an hour or so.

The topcoat is what makes it look like my nails are gel or fake. This particular top coat works to fuse all the previous coats into one, and thickens the nail as well, giving your nails a wet gel look.

I find that without a topcoat, my nail polish barely lasts a few days.

With a top coat, my nail polish has lasted 18 days without chipping (my personal record) — it would have lasted even longer but I couldn’t stand the look of my nails all grown out.

Note: I haven’t seriously washed the dishes in ages because we have a dishwasher. But even back in the day when I did all the dishes by hand, I didn’t use gloves and my polish lasted around 10-14 days.

Random Nail Tips & Secrets

If you want to prolong the fresh-mani-lewk then you can paint a fresh coat of your topcoat like 5-7 days into your manicure.

If my polish seriously chips on one nail, I usually just remove all of it and start over.

If a nail ever breaks, I clip it, then file it down. If I have time, I may cut/file the rest of the nails down a bit too (but not as short as the broken nail).

It can be easier to see the nail shape with nail polish on, so I sometimes will file a new shape at the end of my manicure without removing my nail polish yet.

By using opaque nail polishes you can make your nails appear even longer (sheer nail polish shows where your nail bed ends and doesn’t always suit people).

If your nails are very wide, you don’t have to paint them entirely — leave some space on the sides to give the illusion of a longer nail (my uncle taught me this when I was a teenager).

If you have any tips, tricks, secrets make sure to share them in the comments!

Frequently Asked Nail Questions

Here are some of the most common nail questions that you ask me.

Are your nails real?

Yes.

I’ve had gel nails done 2-3 times in my life and I absolutely hated the removal process, and how thin and fragile my nails would feel afterward.

I only use conventional nail polish and do my own manicures from then on.

How can I grow my nails if I bite them, or if they’re weak and brittle?

I think nail polish can be a good trick to stop nail-biting. I used to be a huge nail biter, but nail-biting with nail polish on was the grossest thing ever so I stopped putting my manicured nails in my mouth.

Also, nail polish can protect your nails from breaking, giving them a bit of extra reinforcement (depending of course on your products and technique).

Practicing good nail hygiene is also a good idea. That means cutting your nails regularly, and filing them so that you don’t have rough edges that catch on things.

Finally, make sure you have enough protein, vitamins & minerals in your diet. I wouldn’t obsess over this point though (like don’t start living your life around your nails). You don’t need supplements that promise nail growth — your nails will grow regardless.

What are your fave nail polish brands?

I have used nail polish that costs 1 euro all the way to Chanel, and for me it’s not about the brand, the price, or the hype. For me, it’s all about the color and the brush.

If I had to choose I’d say I like Essie the most, Color Club, Bourjois, and Sally Hensen are also pretty good. Zara has some beautiful colors as well — my fave shade is Clarity but their brushes are not the best. If I had money to burn then I’d probably be buying Chanel and Dior polishes because the colors are quite gorgeous (but marketing doesn’t work on me that well anymore).

Essie faves:
Fiji (off-white pink, wore it for my wedding)
Vanity Fairest (pale beige, great for the beach)

Bourjois faves:
Rosée du Satin (pale peachy pink, my fave for my toes)
Lady Nude (natural pale pink)
Rouge Défendu (bright, summery red)

Color Club faves:
Wham! Pow! (most electric, radioactive orange)

Why not OPI?

Weirdly, I never got into it. I tried a couple, but hated the brush and wasn’t super blown away by neither the formula nor the colors.

Nowadays, I just stick to my favorite few neutral shades and am not looking for anything else. I stay away from any nail polish that says “gel” on it (with the exception of my topcoat), like the Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy for example, because they cause my nails to peel and the polish itself doesn’t last very long.

I definitely avoid any “natural”, “clean”, and “organic” nail polishes too because *barf* I can’t with the lies.

I hope that answers all your questions, but if I missed anything please let me know below in the comments!

Love,
Olena