My Nail Care Routine

I kind of have an obsession with nail polish and doing nails. It started about three years ago, when I bought my first higher-end polish. I think it was OPI's Sweetheart since at the time, JuicyStar07 and AllThatGlitters21 had been raving about it and they were some of my favorite people to watch on YouTube. Now, I own something like 45 nail polishes and I constantly keep my nails painted.

I definitely don't think I've perfected my nail routine yet, but it's better than it used to be. I would say I paint my nails twice a week or so, depending on how long they last before chipping.

| CURRENT PRODUCTS |

• Non-acetone nail polish remover
• Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover
• Cuticle pusher
• Nail clippers
• Metal nail file
• OPI Nail Envy
• Orly Rubberized Bonder
• Seche Vite
• J.R. Watkins Hand & Cuticle Salve 

| ROUTINE |

The first thing I do to prep my nails is remove my old nail polish (relatively obvious, I know). 

Next, I apply my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle remover to my cuticles all the way around my nails (in a "U" shape). I let that sit for 15 seconds, like it instructs (I'm kind of terrified to leave it on for too long), then I use my cheap cuticle pusher.

I start in the middle of my nail and push up and down all around the U of my nails to make sure that the whole nail is smooth. Afterwards, I quickly wash my hands with soap and water. While I dry them, I use the rag and push back my cuticles again to make sure they're all dry.
After my cuticles are all done, I'll cut my nails in a square shape. Since I have super weak nails, I always file the square edges a little to make them rounder, changing them into more of a "squoval" shape.

Once I'm all done with prepping, I paint a coat of OPI's Nail Envy on all of my nails, keeping a tiny gap from my cuticles.

After that dries, I apply a relatively thin coat of the Orly Rubberized Bonder to my nails and wait for it to dry. It dries pretty quick.

I then paint a coat of my polish of choice, wait for it to dry, and paint a second coat.

Once it's (pretty) dry, I'll do a generous coat of Seche Vite and apply my J.R. Watkins Hand & Cuticle Salve on my cuticles and all over my hands to restore their lost moisture.
And that's all I do! They usually last for 4-5 days, depending on my activity. I'm
almost out of my Orly bonder, so I may be purchasing a new base coat pretty quick. I'm not sure which one I'm going to buy next. Hopefully a trip to Sally's Beauty Supply will be in order pretty soon! :D The picture of my nails (actually from my Instagram) is attempting to show the shape and also how perfect and beautiful Essie's On a Silver Platter is. The glitter is basically holographic- it reflects freakin' rainbow! My non-accent nails are also an Essie nail polish, Boxer Shorts.
Anyways, thanks for reading! xo