Basic Nail Care &amp; Tools

I was recently contacted by Elizabeth a follower with questions about my basic nail care and tools. This is a long overdue idea for a post, so here we go!

How often do you buy polish? Do you usually get it in bulk?

I don't buy polish that often. I buy things from new collections when I'm fairly confident that it's unique and not like something I already have. Also, I'll only buy it if I see myself using it. I refuse to buy the entire collection, just to swatch it on the blog. I feel like that would be irresponsible with my money. I drift through the polish isles any time that I'm in the store, but I don't buy unless it's a great deal or something I need. Thankfully I have pretty good self control. I usually just buy a few here and there. If I ever do buy in bulk because I like a lot of a certain collection.... I use a website like nailderoyale.com for example.

How do your nails keep so healthy? Don't they dry up after you wipe it off?

Thankfully I'm blessed with good nails to work with. I don't have to do too much to keep them healthy. I have oily skin/hair/nails naturally, so they don't dry out. I always use a nail strengthener/fortifier as my base coat. I've found OPI Nail Envy works well for me, as well as Orly Nail Defense. When I use other base coats I find that my nails peel and split. :( With those two base coats I've noticed that my nails grow longer and stronger, faster and without any visible damage from my frequent polish changes.

This is my old and a new back up bottle I just bought of Nail Defense. Don't ask me why they're different colors..... I don't know! I stuck with this for my back up bottle because it's slightly cheaper than OPI Nail Envy.

Do you think those base coats help to prevent the polish from chipping?

Base coats are really important I think. They make them in so many variations to fit any problem area! You can get ones that strengthen, ones that smooth out ridges, or ones that say they will help the polish stick or cling better and resist chipping. I do think that base coats help to minimize chipping, to a certain extent. I still can only get a manicure to last 2-3 days before I have chips and need to change it. That is regardless to what base coat I use.

You never show the actual tools that you use to do the detailed work in your pictures huh?

I've done these posts concerning my tools:

Why I use acrylic paints and what dotting tools I use.

What brushes I use.

I have not been taking great care of my brushes, so they were pretty deplorable. I recently bought some new ones at Sally's Beauty Supply. The skinny striper is almost too long and skinny. It's a little flimsy and that makes it hard to control.