How I get my manicures to last a week

So, this is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while.

I get asked — a lot, actually — how I do my nails since I pretty much always have them done. I worked at a bar throughout college, and health codes don’t allow for nail polish usage in the food service industry. So, all through college, I couldn’t ever paint my nails. If I did, it was for a two-day span and then the polish had to come right back off for my shift. Long-lasting manicures weren’t really necessary.

Once I graduated college and got fired from my bar job (long story), I started painting my nails again. I was a reporter so I always had my notebook and pen out in front of me, and had a lot of attention on my hands. I started making more of an effort to keep my nails polished. I started getting acrylics done right after college, but didn’t like the feel of them, and thought they looked a little too high-maintenance. Plus, they were expensive! I started painting my own nails instead. And, after a few years of trail-and-error, I finally figured out what products work and what don’t.

Here’s my step-by-step.

Prep your nail. Remove any old polish if there’s some left (I try to use acetone-free remover), clip off any errant cuticles and buff out any uneven edges. My nails flake really easily, so I usually have to buff the tips out. I don’t worry too much about ridges, though, since polish kind of settles into those and evens the nail surface out.

If you didn’t have nail polish to remove, dip a cotton ball into nail polish remover and swipe it over each nail regardless. This helps get rid of some of the natural oils on your nails, which helps your polish stick better.

Base coat: I use OPI’s Ridge Filler. Just one coat. I really like the wide brush design of OPI’s polishes. It makes it easy to coat my entire nail in just one swipe.

Polish time! My favorite brand is Essie, so I have dozens of bottles of it in my bathroom. I do two- to- three coats depending on the opacity of the polish. I use thinner layers, so I don’t have to wait too long between layers to dry. I just start back at the beginning once I finish painting, actually!

Top coat. I use a single coat of Seche Vite. I will never, ever use a different top coat again. This stuff dries super, super fast. It’s a little bit pricier than a generic brand, but it’s really worth the extra few dollars.

And, that’s it! I usually paint my nails before bed on Sunday nights. My manicure will easily last me the entire week. The Seche dries fast enough that if I give myself about 30 minutes before bed, I don’t get sheet marks or smudges or anything. I’m honestly kind of lazy, so I don’t bother using q-tips or orange sticks to clean up errant polish or anything — I just peel it off in the shower the next morning.

I kid you not, though. Sometimes my manicures will last me two straight weeks. I’ll actually have to re-paint my nails — not because the polish chipped, but because they’ve grown out so much! And, every few months, I take a break from nail polish for a week or two, just for the health of my nails.

I started making the transition to fall shades earlier this month, and these are a few of my favorites. I love neutral colors that pair well with just about anything I wear, and these are some of the bottles that get heavy rotation in my collection.