My nails and manicures (routine)

If you've been reading my blog, you had to notice that I have a huge love for nails, manicures and everything else involving these topics. This blog actually started as "Honey's Royalty Nails" and I only posted my manicures and how I did them with the products I used.

Now that I've taken my blog a bit further, I felt the need to tell you more about my nail routine and my nails in general. So, here are my nail facts.

• Painting my nails

I just love love love to paint my nails. I usually do it every week (Sunday is my day for this) as I like to have different colors and styles quite often. Depending on my mood and time that I have, my manicures go from plain one-colored to more complicated ones drawn with lots of nail polishes and stripers and all kinds of accessories. See it all under the category nails.

• Duration of my polishes

As you're able to see from my posts, I usually use Essence nail polishes. They have so many colors, great wide brushes, amazing coverage and are cheap as cheap goes. I've heard a lot of people complaining about short lasting nail polishes (not just Essence) so I'm here to break that chain. My manicures stay on for more than two weeks (!!). Sometimes, I'm just too lazy to remove my manicure or I like it that much so I was able to test this. I see some chipped parts, but only after a week and a half, sometimes more. So, it's not about the polish. I guess it's about your nails.

• Filing or cutting nails

When I decide to shorten my nails, I always choose filing them. If they're extremely long and it would take me too long to file them to the desired length, I cut only the top and I file them to the end, but not to smoothen them, but to shorten them some more. I always leave about 2.5 mm if I cut them. This way non of the side-effects of the cutting is going to affect my nails. Cutting your nails can cause breakage and splitting.

• Shape

Since I can remember, I have filed my nails into square/squoval. I think this is the best shape for any manicures, including basic french one which I don't like on most of other shapes. Also, I find it easier to accomplish as if you want almond or round ones, wanting all nails to be perfectly symmetric would probably kill me. I did try coffin nails (which you can see on my instagram or read here).

• Protection

I always use base coat. Always! I heard that base coat prevents your nails turning yellow under all the dark polishes, so this is the main reason why I used it too. But now it's turned into my habit so I can't have a manicure without base coat. On the other hand, I rarely use top coat. I use it only if I draw something and my nails has more coat of different polishes so everything would be secured and leveled.

Share your nail routine or some tricks, if you have them! :*