Hey guys, it's Sandi!
Welcome back to CutePolish.
Do you love the look of glossy and thick gel nails?
But only have regular nail polish at home?
Well, in today's nail tutorial, Erin will be showing you some tricks that will have
your regular nail polish manicure looking like you just got gel nails done at the salon!
If you guys enjoy these nail hack videos, be sure to leave us a like below.
Hey guys, it's Erin!
The first step to getting a perfect manicure is by prepping your nails.
I'm starting off by pushing back my cuticles with this wooden orange stick and also using
it to scrape away any dead skin.
Next I'm taking a glass nail file and I'm just making sure my nails are perfectly shaped.
A nail tech at the salon will make sure that their clients' nails are perfectly shaped,
so when you're doing your own manicure at home, it's best to do the same.
Because I like to keep my nails square, I just file them straight across the bottom
of my nail.
You can do whatever shape you prefer!
Now I'm taking this cuticle oil pen and moisturizing my cuticles.
It's important to keep your cuticles moisturized to keep your nails looking fresh and healthy.
And I'm just rubbing this into my cuticles and my nails.
After letting the oil sit for a few minutes to moisturize my nails, I'm taking a cotton
ball dipped into rubbing alcohol and cleaning off my nails.
You want to make sure your nails are completely rid of any oils or dirt just to make sure
that the nail polish adheres to it well.
Now I'm taking a long-wearing base coat and applying that to all my nails.
If you want to fake a high-shine-like manicure at home, it's best to shop for nail polishes
that are advertised as being super shiny.
This line by Butter London always looks super shiny on my nails and lasts longer than other
nail polishes, so I'm using this color called "Bang On!".
Now I'm doing the first coat of color on my nails.
Don't be afraid to take your time when painting your nails just to make sure you don't make
any mistakes or flood your cuticles like I did here.
Make sure you let that first coat of color dry completely before you do another.
You want to make sure each coat of color is completely dried because that's the best way
to make sure your mani is long-lasting.
Now I'm going in with my second coat of color and this coat I'm doing a little bit thicker
than my last one, just to make sure that it has a little bit thicker of an appearance
like gel, and I also think that it helps the nail look smoother and shinier on the final
coat.
Just make sure that you don't put too thick of a coat and let this layer dry completely
before you do the next step.
One of the best ways to fake that perfect, salon-quality manicure is by going in with
a small brush and nail polish remover to clean up around your nail.
Here I'm taking this angled brush and just going around my cuticle line and cleaning
up any little bits or edges of nail polish that shouldn't be there.
This just helps you get a really crisp and clean line, so it looks like you just got
your nails done at the salon.
Top coat is really important when you're doing a shiny, gel-like manicure like this.
A lot of brands are coming out with gel-like top coats like Sally Hansen and Essie.
Today I'm going to be using the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat, just because it really
helps get that volume and super shine of a gel manicure.
So I'm applying a layer of this top coat to all of my nails.
And also, a little tip to keep your manicure lasting longer is to seal the free edge of
your manicure.
So once you apply the top coat to all your nail, just take the brush and lightly drag
it along the bottom of your nail to make sure to cap that free edge.
To keep your at-home gel manicure lasting as long as possible, you can also re-apply
the top coat every few days to keep your mani looking fresh.
Just to make sure everything is looking perfect, I'm going back in with that small angled brush
and nail polish remover, just to make sure everything is perfectly cleaned up.
And there you have your at-home, gel-like shine manicure.
Make sure you keep your nails looking healthy by reapplying just to make sure your cuticles
are moisturized.
Of course, do this step after your nails are dry.
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