My Nail Routine

Inspired by Dain of Ars Aromatica's meticulous explanation of her manicure, and the fact that this is way overdue anyway, here's a post detailing my nail care routine. Most of what I learned was from Rescue Your Nails by Ji Baek of Rescue Beauty Lounge and observations from my few visits to nail salons.

The Routine

L-R: Zoya Remove+, cotton, cuticle stick, Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Remover, Buffing Block, Rescue Beauty Lounge Nail File

I file my nails using the Rescue Beauty Lounge Nail File ($65), my preferred shape being the squared oval (squoval?). I try to stay away from nail clippers since it usually chips my nails. 

Pardon the yellowness – as you might expect, I paint my nails too often and leave the polish on for too long at a time. Occupational hazards, I say.

Then, I buff my nails to ensure a smooth surface for the polish. Any buffing tool will do. I currently use the (discontinued) 4-Step Buffer from Sephora. 

I realized cuticle work is the second most important aspect of the manicure after polish application, and arguably the hardest to master. First, I apply a drop of Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Remover on each cuticle, then I use a disposable cuticle stick wrapped with loose cotton (with a smidgen of polish remover to help adherence) to push the cuticles in. 

I use the leftover bit of cotton with Zoya Remove+ to wipe off the excess product on the nail.

The Base

I use the Rescue Beauty Lounge Treatment System (Base Coat Prep, Base Coat, Top Coat) with all my nail polishes. The Base Coat Prep ensures the nail is completely dry (no oil residue) before I begin painting my nails. This makes the polish last longer. The Base and Top Coat are pretty self-explanatory.  So far, I've gone through two Base Coats and three Top Coats, and I foresee many more in the future.

The Result

Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge

An example from yore. I'm still very proud of this manicure

Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge

The Removal

I remove my nail polish with Zoya Remove+. Teen Vogue Beauty Director Eva Chen (whom I adore) suggested in a recent tumblr post to fold a piece of square cotton into quarters and only wipe on the nail during removal to avoid drying out cuticles, which I will begin to practice from now on.

I'm Back! + Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light

It is odd to be back in the fray after one of the most decadent weeks I've had in a very long time. I graduated on Monday (where Bobbi Brown accepted an honorary degree! Random trivia: Bobbi Brown went to Emerson College as an undergraduate), and brought my parents around New York, Niagara Falls, and took a (sort of embarrassing but super fun) Segway tour through Washington, DC. I wanted to look at more memorials (other fun facts: I actually have a minor in Visual Studies and the Arts and took a class on urban public art in my final year) and visit more museums and was really excited to see all those works I've only studied on screen and paper, but alas my family was less amused by twisted colored metal and odd shapes on the grass. Perhaps I'll return to DC anon. It is architecturally a breathtaking city.

After my parents left, I spent the entire weekend quite guiltily indulging in, well, fun that I haven't had time to have for the earlier part of the year. I spent the past two days in equal amounts of playing Diablo III, watching Mad Men, and reading The Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire. Imagine my alternating fist pumps to killing decayed monsters, Peggy Olsen (and goodness I want to move like Christina Hendricks), and crying "Winter is coming!!" to the stubborn warring kings. It was such a good weekend, but once school ends vacations become short. And unemployed graduates need to find jobs (sigh).

I figured a quick one will do after a week of absence, and I checked to make sure this was still available before I posted it. Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light is part of their spring release, an intriguing confection of indigo navy polish with what looks like copper flakies in the bottle.

A shot to show how it looks in the bottle

On application and closer inspection, the flakies are actually red/orange/yellow/green, though when directly in the light it reflects copper. The indigo navy base is jelly-ish, and the formula seems to be thicker than usual, so it was not a breeze to apply. It requires two coats for full opacity.

I received many compliments when wearing this color, and wore it a full five days with nary a chip. It's one of the more intriguing colors that came out for spring, and if you don't mind suffering a little during application (and have an ardent weakness for flakies), I say get it before it's gone!

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light retails for $18 and can still be found on nordstrom.com and neimanmarcus.com.

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like and Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie

As soon as I am unable to easily describe a color, I know I have to have it. 

One such hue is Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like. I want to say it's a purple-blue creme, but that is such a lackluster description compared what it actually is. All I know is I might wear it to my graduation in May because it bears a startling resemblance to my school colors. 

On the other hand (or shall we say, finger), Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie is a pearlescent white gold that adds a touch of class to fingernails. This type of color is usually a nightmare in application because of the obvious brushstrokes that remain after drying. Moxie is among the good ones: you'll see the faintest traces of a brush after it dries, but I think that's as good as it can get with such colors.

Both polishes feature beautiful formulas. I did two coats each though I believe I Know What Boys Like could be a one-coater.

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like retails for $16 and is available at neimanmarcus.com, whereas Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie retails for $18 and is exclusively available at rescuebeauty.com.

Deborah Lippmann Brick House

I'm home! A celebratory dance should ensue but every muscle in my body is aching like you wouldn't believe. I'm still jet lagged (which isn't all that surprising since it has only been two days) and decided not to unpack since I'll be flying off in a week. Let's just say I've been using the same shade of eyeshadow for the past three days because it's just so hard to dig through the luggage. Eek!

Here's a quick look at Brick House, one of Deborah Lippmann's fall offerings, which I thought I should post up while it's still available in stores.

Brick House is a metallic orange-red that personally feels more appropriate for Christmas. (That said, a little bird told me as long as you dip your nails into anything metallic or foil-y you'll be right on trend for this fall.) This is my first Deborah Lippmann polish, and I was glad it lived up to its name. Application was so smooth I could have sworn the color glided right into place on its own.  

I didn't put a top coat over this and went to sleep before it completely dried and took the pictures the day after, which might explain why the polish looks scratched. I believe with a layer of top coat (or longer drying time) that wouldn't have happened. The entire Deborah Lippmann nail line as a whole has a wonderful reputation. Now that I had my first taste, I'm almost afraid of what's to come after.

Once again, I apologize for my current lack of updates. I am/will be traveling for the next three weeks so it'll be really hard for me to update frequently, if at all. I added a new Tutorials page on top for easy access to my previous tutorials if you would like to visit/revisit them. I will also be hosting my first ever "I'm sorry for being MIA" giveaway soon! Check back within the next two weeks for more details on how to enter and what's the prize. I promise it'll be worth the hiatus.