Hello Dahlings!
Today's mani & DIY base coat info
is from way back in early April,
before da Neverending Pile challenge.
Da Emily De Molly was a birthday pressie
from my Dahling Polish Daughter,
when she went looking for polish pressies for me!
I had decided to give doing a negative space mani a try
& use one of my b-day polishes to do it!
I applied 2 coats of my custom DIY base coat
then painted a heart using a really tiny
(trimmed down) paint brush & Ana Carolina.
I then filled in with AC around da heart.
I then did French tips on my other nails.
It took 2 coats to have reasonable opacity.
I went back with da tiny brush & da Shany to outline da heart
& add da line on da French tips.
(I call this a double line funky French
& it's kinda my signature mani
even tho I haven't done one in awhile.)
Once all this was dry to da touch
I added a coat of Seche Vite to seal in da goodness.
Da line up ~ Emily De Molly Ana Carolina & Shany 15
plus my customer DIY base coat. (see below for deets)
This is my go to base coat.
These are my nekkid nails
right after I removed da polish from da previous mani.
Yeah, I have a bit of yellowing from dark polish tho it's not too bad
& I have some ridges cuz that's what nails do as one gets older.
This is one coat of my DIY base.
Da current mix doesn't do much for da yellowing,
but it fills da ridges nicely.
It also keeps my polish from chipping or peeling
plus slows down tip wear.
While my color may wear off on da corners a bit from typing,
I rarely get tip wear down to da raw nail, even after a week.
It contains...
Orly Nail Armor & Nail Defense
L.A. Colors Calcium Builder & Strengthener
Ruby Kisses Nail Strengthener w/calcium & wheat protein,
Nail Hardener & Nail Strengthener w/garlic & vitamin E
(Since I took these pics in April, I also added Orly Nailtrition,
Nail Tek Foundation 1 & Ruby Kisses Ultra Growth
& their blue tinted base coat.)
I usually top off the bottle when it gets halfway empty.
It looks pretty nifty as I add the various ingredients...
sorta like a lava lamp.
I usually pick up new base coats & treatments
when they're on sale or free with a promo
since it doesn't seem to matter what brands I use
as long as I use a ridge filler, strengthener & hardener.
Da colors of these products does matter
if you want your base to be sheer or nude.
I often use pink & blue products
since they blend to a pale lavender that can help
lessen da appearance of da yellowing.
(when I remember to add them lol)
Why should you use base coat?
Base coat serves several purposes!
It helps your polish stick to your nails better,
thus potentially lessening chips, peeling & tip wear.
It can also help protect your nails from pigment staining.
Dark polish tends to leave a yellow stain on nails over time
plus some pigment colors like blue & green
in cheaper polish have a tendency to stain as well.
It helps smooth da surface of the nail
by filling in ridges & other imperfections,
so your polish looks better.
(ridge filler is my friend!)
It also helps to keep your nails from drying out.
Dry nails are more prone to cracking, peeling & breaking.
Many believe that using base coats containing
certain types of ingredients will help their nails grow better.
They're hoping for thicker, stronger nails
that crack, peel & break less.
I'm not a biologist or a cosmetic chemist,
so I don't really know how much we actually absorb
these ingredients into our nails.
Considering how often I see peeps change their base coat
cuz it isn't 'fixing' their nail health & polish issues,
I suspect that we don't absorb all that much
& that many, if not most,
claims nail treatments & base coats make
are more hype & sales pitch than reality.
From all I've read
a healthy diet & added moisture to your nails
thru using lotions, crèmes & oils
will do more for your nail health than spending
big bucks on products that promise more than they deliver.
So after stating all of the above,
why do I do mix all these treatments & base coats together?
If you read a lot of nail blogs,
you can't help but have noticed
that when peeps write about their base coat
they often love it...right up until it no longer works as desired.
They may be using several of a large number of available products
to strengthen, harden & help promote healthy nail growth.
Some of them may rotate several products
as they try to get da best results.
I started mixing everything together when I realized
that rotating thru all da various bottles
& trying to keep track of what I used
was going to be a major pita!
Plus I noticed that no one product
was giving me da results I wanted!
Once upon a time
I mixed a bunch of shampoos & conditioners
from samples, travel sizes & leftovers
into one bottle for convenience.
Know what?
It worked better than any of da individual products!
My Aunt (who owns 2 salons & did my hair at the time)
asked what I had been using
that had improved da condition of my hair
so much since da last trim a few months before.
When I told her, she paused a mo' then said she didn't know
of any reason why that should work but it obviously did
& to keep doing it.
So I decided to try blending
my assorted base coats & nail treatments.
I haven't had any cracking or peeling of my nails
since I started doing this & my polish stays on my nails
with no chipping or peeling off in chunks.
(I used to have both these issues pre-mixed bc.)
Does my bc mix make my nails stronger or healthier?
Maybe?
I know I no longer have many of da common issues with my nails,
but it may be my routine of lots of lube
has helped more than my base coat
other than to help seal in da moisture
& keep my polish on my nails.
This has worked for me for over a year & a half
with no negative side effects to date.
I can't give you any guarantees,
but it might help you too, so give it a try!
>^. .^<
Go away...I hunting bugs!
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Why da heck not?
Don't you like shopping for polish?
Well...get to it!!!
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky
That is one crazy base coat bajillions of babies must be in that bottle! I need to use my anna carolina
ReplyDeleteOh yeah & the recipe changes based on what I have around at the time of mixing. LOL However, odd as this DIY base coat concept seems, I really don't have polish peeling & chipping issues even after a week of wear.
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