As a beauty editor, I’m constantly picking up tricks of the trade from experts in the industry, whether it be backstage at fashion week or on a shoot with a team of pros. But after eight years, I was sure I had heard them all. I know how to avoid lipstick from getting on my teeth (suck your thumb after application) and the rules for shaping my eyebrows. I know how to massage my face to help with de-puffing and I know to use a sulphate-free shampoo to keep my hair colour vibrant.
When it comes to my at-home manicures, I follow every rule in the book. I always use a glass nail file to avoid damaging my natural nail, I take care of my cuticles, I use good quality nail polish and I never fail to ‘seal the edges’ (and insider trick that applies a thin layer of nail polish to the tip of the nail to help prevent chipping). And yet, I just couldn’t get my nail polish to last. At best, I would get a day of chip-free finish.
I thought it was just something I was going to have to accept. Maybe I have incredibly oily nail beds and I just have to deal with it, which is disappointing because I love doing my nails but hate wasting my time.
Then, when I was attending GLAMOUR’s Big Beauty Call, our virtual event that took place earlier in the year, I stumbled into one of the greatest titbits of beauty knowledge that would solve all my manicure miseries. The best bit? It’s so simple.
At the event, we were listening to Michelle Humphries, celebrity manicurist, teaching us how to do some at-home nail art trends and I seized the opportunity to ask about my predicament. “It’s not the nail polish you’re using or the way you’re applying it,” she said. “It will be because of the nail polish remover you’re using beforehand.”
I was sceptical but intrigued. I always splash out on the very best, long lasting nail polish, but grab the cheapest remover available, assuming it was all the same stuff. Not one to argue with the world’s finest, I immediately bought a good quality nail polish remover (I went for Essie Good As Gone Remover) and used it to remove my existing polish as well as prep my nails before applying the base coat of my new manicure. To say the results have changed my life might be a little dramatic, but they have certainly changed my beauty maintenance routine and impressed me to no end.
Now, my nail polish lasts around six days without chipping. Six days. I can create cute designs and spend time making sure my manicure is perfect because it’s actually worth the investment for such a long pay off.
If you’re struggling to make your nails last, check out our step-by-step guide to getting the most our of your at home manicure.