So I “recently” went camping for ten days and wanted to try out Cristine’s (SimplyNailogical) tips to make your mani last. She used these tips to make her nails last during her trip to Vid Con, and I wanted to test out how they’d hold up to the untamed wilderness.
I started out with her prep tips: clean dry nails (I used an alcohol wipe packet), cuticles pushed back, non-peel-off base coat (Orly Bonder).
I then painted my nails with a coat of white (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear: White On) and two coats of Orly’s Melt Your Popsicle.
During the trip I admit that nail care wasn’t my main priority. Applying nail oil while hiking through the woods or along ridgelines tends to result in dust sticking to your nails. Also inconvenience and laziness. Hey, it was a vacation 😉
However, I did apply a couple of additional layers of topcoat and this is where I ran into some trouble. See, with a peel-off basecoat using a touch-up coat of quick-dry topcoat usually causes the polish to lift up off the edges and base of my nails and then the whole thing flakes off. I figured that wouldn’t happen with a standard basecoat. I was wrong.
It wasn’t quite as bad as with a peel-off base, but I had to re-stick a couple nails back on, especially on my right hand, and by the end of the trip I only had polish on half my thumb and my ring finger on my right hand. My left hand fared a little better but was still pretty gross. This is the reason I’m posting this as an update here rather than as a standalone pic on insta – I don’t want anyone to scroll past and think this is what my opinion of a good mani looks like!
These pics are after ten days of wear and I removed the polish immediately after taking them. I would not have lasted another three days.
All in all, my only addition to Cristine’s tips would be to either use a quick-dry top coat that doesn’t shrink at all or to use a standard top coat or polish refresher. As for my results compared to hers: I was camping. I set up and packed up a trailer several times, carried firewood and built fires, went hiking on single-track paths, and did all the other chores associated with camping that always seem more messy and inconvenient compared to doing them at home. Honestly I am still shocked that the biggest issue came from the whole mani lifting from my nails rather than chipping off, even on my right hand!
Requests: recs for (1) more sticky basecoat that won’t flake and (2) quick-dry top coats? I only own Orly’s Bonder as a non-peel-off base, and for top coats I’ve tried Seche Vite as well as G&G’s HK Girl and they both shrink for me. I want to test some other options, as well as regular top coat and polish refreshed using a peel-off base coat to see whether or not they cause curling/flaking.
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I’ve been using the Revlon color stay gel envy top coat and I’m super impressed at how well it works on regular polish. … Its one of the 2 part gel polish and top coat things that have been coming out for people who don’t want to or don’t have the money to invest in “real” gel polish and the lamp. I wasn’t sure at first if it would work with other types of nail polish but it’s been lasting longer than I actually want to keep the design on Lol so now I don’t have any excuse for how often I change my nails… One thing. ..it can get a little bubbly but it seems to only do that if I shake too hard or put it on too fast. Hope this helps a little… As for base coats I haves literally just started using them I thought they were a gimmick but alas I was mistaken (won’t be the first or last time I’ve been wrong) so I don’t have any suggestions : -)
Thanks Taryn, I’ll definitely check out the Revlon one. I have the Sally Hansen version but never thought to use it as a top coat over regular polish! And now I want to try it over foil to see if it prevents that fracturing issue that happens with non-gel top coats 🙂