Nail Repair Rescue!

Today on the blog I'm going to show you how to repair a nail that has a tear. It's a sad day when this happens but it's not a total loss! You don't have to cut your nail down to the tear and have one nail shorter than the rest....or worse....trim them all down!  

So, today I come to you with a tutorial solution! This is not a permanent fix but it usually lasts for about 2-3 weeks (or 2-3 manis) on me. It's also only intended to be used until you feel comfortable with filing the nail down to the tear. 

As you can see in the photo below, the tear in my nail is on my thumb and would be pretty painful if I tried to cut/file it down that much. 

Allow me to show you how I deal with this situation.

First you'll need to gather your supplies.

Here's what I use: 

- A tea bag (does not have to be Lipton...you'll be dumping the contents)

- scissors

- a nail buffer (my favorite is the Tropical Shine 4-way buffer from Sally's)

- a bottle of brush-on nail glue

- an orange stick

- a base coat (I used Orly Bonder for this tutorial)

- a nail color (I chose OPI "Goldeneye" from the James Bond collection)

- a top coat (I don't use anything but Seche Vite!)

Open the tea bag by cutting the top of it off.

Dump and dispose the tea. You only nead the actual bag for the repair.

Open the tea bag up and cut one side so that you have one flat piece. (You're only going to use a small portion of the tea bag per repair. Save the material for future use!)

My tea bag once it has been cut open. 

Next, you are going to cut a small piece out to fit over the tear in your nail and little bit around it. My piece is about the size of half of my tumb nail.

Take your nail glue and brush some onto the nail where you'll be applying the tea bag. Try not to get the glue on your skin or cuticle...it's not easy to get off!

Working quickly, lay the tea bag on your nail covering the tear. Being careful not to let it overhang your cuticle or the side edge of the nail. If it hangs over the tip of the nail it can always be filed off.

Use your orange stick to gently press the sides of the tea bag onto the nail. 

Chances are you will need to apply more nail glue as it dries pretty quickly. No problem. Just brush some more glue on top of the tea bag being careful not to fold, wrinkle or pull the tea bag off the nail.

Using your orange stick again, gently press down all sides of the tea bag (focusing on the tear) and work out any bubbles or wrinkles.

At this point in the process, your nail will probably look something like this. Kind of rough, not really pretty. Don't worry though! We're not done yet. ;)

Once you're sure the nail glue has dried completely use your buffer and gently buff over the surface that you've just repaired. Don't go too crazy with the buffing! You just want to smooth the surface, not remove the tea bag entirely.

My repaired and buffed nail....not finished yet!

Next you're going to take your base coat and apply a thin layer over the whole nail and allow it to dry.

It should start looking much better at this stage of the process!

Take the polish of your choice and apply two thin layers and finish it off with a top coat!

Voila! Just like new! :)

I hope this tutorial was helpful to you! Let me know if there are other nail care issues you would like me to cover on the blog. Thanks for reading!

;) Lindsay

Jamberry Nail Lacquer Review!

Well, hello there! 

I was recently given the opportunity by a friend to try out Jamberry's new line of nail lacquers and I promised to write a review on the blog about how I liked them and how well they wear. You might know Jamberry from their cute nail shields. Well, they're now expanding to nail lacquers! Yay!

Last Monday I decided to paint my nails with Jamberry's "Kiss". It's a beautiful bright pink with blue undertones. I usually find pinks and reds hard for me to wear because my skin has pink undertones and those shades tend to make me look like I have "lobster hands". This pink was perfect for me though. It's fun and bright but still manages to be classic. Something everyone could pull off. 

Below is a picture of my nails right after I painted them. I did three thin coats. I also used Jamberry's base coat and a top coat of Seche Vite. LOVE this shade!

So, how did it wear over the course of this week? 

WONDERFULLY!

I was NOT easy on my nails this week by any means! I had done a lot of cleaning around the house including cleaning with bleach and other harsh chemicals. I think this polish held up very well!

See for yourself!

Below are two pictures of my nails taken today, exactly one week after painting.

There is some obvious tip wear and nail growth but nothing that isn't to be expected from a week old mani! Also, I always have more tip wear on my right hand than I do on my left. Not sure why though because I'm left-handed! :P

As you can see, there is absolutely NO chipping! I did nothing to refresh the top coat and did not touch up this mani throughout the week because I wanted to give an accurate review on the product. 

Overall, I give this product an 8.5 out of 10.

I did not give it a 10 because of two factors: 

1. Price. At $15 a bottle, it's at the higher end of most brands of polish. Maybe not affordable for everyone but it's long wear time makes it good buy in my opinion.

2. I feel the opacity of this particular color could have been better. Like I said, I used 3 coats for this manicure to get the opacity I was happy with. When paying $15 a bottle, I don't really like to use up a ton of the product after only the first use.

Would I spend my own money on this nail polish?

Yes! I think that this color is unique enough that I don't have anything like it in my collection and it is a good quality polish.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Jamberry nail lacquers, I can put you in contact with my friend who is a Jamberry consultant. :) These polishes are not available in stores but you can view the entire line on Jamberry's website, jamberrynails.net. :) 

Have a wonderful day! :) 

Lindsay

GO RAVENS! Super Bowl 2013 Manicure!

As promised, here is my Ravens Super Bowl manicure! :) 

 I told my husband and my dad that if the Ravens made it to the Super Bowl that I would do a Ravens manicure! I'm not a football fan but I do love Baltimore.

I decided to do the menacing Raven's eyes on my middle and ring nails with some "explosion" accent nails.

I used Orly Charged Up, Sinful Colors Black On Black, OPI Dazzled By Gold, Essie Laquered Up, Sinful Colors Snow Me White and (of course) Seche Vite as my top coat.

Hope you enjoyed this mani and have a great Super Bowl weekend!

GO RAVENS!

Lindsay

Happy Birthday to ME...and my BLOG!

That's right! My blog turns 1 today! ;)

Oh, and I turn 29. :P Obviously I did my nails for the occasion!

So, here is my birthday manicure. Nothing too crazy. I wanted to go with a chic but sparkly look today so I did a Half Moon manicure using Layla Holographic in Flash Black and a new polish that my husband gave me for Christmas from the new OPI Mariah Carey collection in Anti-Bleak. I love both of these polishes and would highly recommend them. (Mariah Carey Collection is in stores now...go by it!) 

I hope you all enjoy my birthday as much as I will! haha

;) Lindsay

GO O's!!!

Well, Hello there! Two blog posts in one week?! Am I feeling alright?! :P

Today I have a Baltimore ORIOLES manicure to show you! I am not a huge sports fan but the one sport I can understand and enjoy going to watch is baseball...and since I am from Baltimore I like the O's...naturally! They happen to be doing pretty well this season and I know everyone in Baltimore is pretty stoked about it. 

Besides the fact that they are doing well, I have a few other reasons to have my nails like this!

Tonight I will be going to the O's game with my dad, sister and my husband. It's a special game because they will be unveiling the statue of Cal Ripken Jr. at Camden Yards. (Today is also the 17th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played...2131!) Oh, and they're playing the Yankees...bringing my team spirit is a must!!!

 On Saturday, my husband's cousin is getting married and the wedding has an Oriole theme (Congrats Jenn and Derek! :D) and I will be going to another Oriole game next Tuesday! 

So, I hope you enjoy the design I came up with! It was a tough one! The striped nails are done with tape and the "O" and The Bird are painted by hand...

Yes...I'm crazy. ;)

GO O'S!!!!!!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to click the blue button on the right that says "Join this site" so that you can follow Manicure What Ails You! 

Peace, Love and Home runs! 

.....for the O's...not the Yankees! :P

Lindsay

A Rainbow Dotticure!

For today's post I have a spotty dotty manicure...or a "dotticure"! :P I was feeling really uninspired when it came to my nails this weekend so I decided to try something new. I wanted to go for a rainbow look so I used a few different shades of each color and a dotting tool and this is what I came up with! I thought it was fun and different than my usual mani. I may be trying this in other colors soon! It's SO easy! Look how cheery the rainbow colors are! :)

Thanks for reading! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! :D

Converse nails!

Our friends, Ben and Laura had a lovely converse themed wedding yesterday and I just HAD to have nails to match the theme! 

 With my shoe. :P

With my trusty bottle of Seche Vite!

Me and the bride. :)

Congrats to the happy couple! :D

I'm so glad I was able to be there (with an appropriate manicure!) to celebrate such a special day! 

The mother of all top coats!

Out of all the questions I get asked about nails "What top coat do you use?" is definitely number one on the list. The more often you paint your nails the more you will realize how quickly they chip without a nice top coat.
So without further ado...the mother of all top coats:

Seche Vite!!!

If there is anything you need the most in your manicure arsenal...it's this! Seche Vite is a fast dry top coat that will give your manicure the shiny look you get after you have your nails done in the salon! Seche Vite is guaranteed not to yellow and makes your nails stronger and resistant to chipping and peeling.

The trick with Seche Vite is to make sure you apply it before your polish is completely dry. The nail polish needs to be "wet" (let it dry for about 3 minutes before applying Seche Vite) so that the Seche Vite can penetrate through the nail polish to the base coat forming a single solid layer over the nail plate. This is what makes your manicure much more durable. Also, be sure to wrap the free edge of your nail with the top coat. (Run the brush along the edge of your nail.) This also helps to prevent chipping.

Where to buy it! 

I have seen Seche Vite sold in many cosmetic stores/sections such as Ulta, Target and Walmart but it's a least $9.95 there. I buy mine at Sally Beauty Supply for $6.99!

Hope this helps! :)

Lindsay

Starry, Starry Nails

Hello there!
I have a new mani on this lovely Sunday evening! I was able to make a trip to my local Sephora this weekend to check out their new nail bar! (Super exciting! :P)  Along with their own Sephora by OPI line, they are now selling Julep, Nails Inc. London, Dior, NARS, Perfect Formula and Illamasqua. I've also heard that they will be carrying Ciate (the brand that Adele was wearing at the Grammy Awards) but my Sephora didn't have it yet.

I decided to pick up two Nails Inc. colors and I am wearing one in this manicure that I have for you today.  It is a beautiful cobalt blue called "Baker Street". I also added two accent nails using Icing "Written In The Stars". I am quite pleased with the end result. :) Just look...

 So pretty! See the little stars in Written In The Stars? So cute!

(in direct sun)

 Pretty bottle in the sun.

It just glows! :D

 I used one coat of Seche Clear for my base, Two coats of Baker Street and one coat of Seche Vite. 

Indoors, shade. Lovely. ;)

Hope you enjoyed my new mani! I definitely recommend Nails Inc as a brand. This was my first time trying it out and I loved the formula. Baker Street was opaque in two coats and pretty glossy before I even added Seche Vite. 

Smiles,

Lindsay