How to Fix Old Manicures

I am a big fan of Shellac manicures because of their strength and resilience, but I am always disappointed when they grow out.  So, I devised a way to make my manicure look better longer!

My manicure has grown out considerably, as you can see.  Too noticeable, unfortunately

Place a small piece of tape (cut with scissors for a straight edge) at a diagonal across your nail. Repeat for each nail, making sure the bottom edge is securely adhered.

 Paint the colors you'd like on the bottom of your nail.  It's okay if you go on the tape - that's why it's there!

Remove tape and clean up edges with a Q-tip soaked in non-acetone polish remover.  Shellac can only be removed by soaking your nails in acetone, so using non-acetone remover to clean up the edges won't damage your original manicure.  If you don't like the color you chose, you can take it off easily that way too.

Time to break out my favorite nail accessory of all time - skinny brushes. I like the silver accent line, it jazzes up the colors a bit and adds more definition.  When you are finished, add a clear coat of polish on top.

Now you can enjoy your shellac manicure longer!  My favorite color combination so far is a bright pink manicure with a deep royal blue/silver accent.  Make sure to use good-quality opaque polish that will cover your original colors

Colorful nail tips

As a nurse who washes her hands what seems like several hundred times a day, my nail polish tends to chip very quickly.  Instead of completely taking my polish off and starting over, sometimes I choose to just fix the tips.  When I do,  I get lots of comments from people who can't believe I do it myself.  With practice and the right brushes, it really isn't that difficult. Here is one of the ways I do it!

Supply list: 

-Base coat (purple)

-2 colors with small brushes (Pink/green), or your own small brushes

- Clear top coat

The small brushes are the secret to my success.  They make it very easy to do thin, sharp lines. Pretty much any place you can buy nail polish sells these now.  WalMart has a decent selection.

 Step 1: Apply first color, making quick, confident strokes.  If you try to go really slowly and precisely, chances are you'll end up with a wobbly line.  Experiment with brush positions to see what works best for you.

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Step 2: Apply second color after first is completely dry

Step 3: Apply clear top coat

It's as easy as that!  I sometimes do patterns like this, other times just solid french manicure tips. Have fun painting!