How To Make Nail Polish Last On and Off The Nail

I decided to make a post about how I make my essie polish last on and off the nail. There are some simple and easy ways to pro long the life of your polish bottles and the life of your manicure and I have gone into detail about how I personally do this below!

A lot of you message me asking how I have some essie bottles that I have had for over four years and how they still have great formulas and are the original color. Coming from someone who has around 300 bottles of polish it definitley takes time and following the right steps to keep them all in tip top shape are a must! Below are a a few tips and tricks on how to make your polish last off the nail!

• Always store your polishes upright. They were made to sit up for a reason and to not be left on their side or upside down. This can get the formula/pigmentation all out of wack and sometimes it just doesn’t go back to how it should be even after trying to shake it into place. Storing it on its side can also make the polish pool around the neck of the bottle and make your bottle impossible to open. Sometimes this leads to having to throw that polish out completely and who wants that!
• Never store your polish in direct sunlight or in hot temperatures. Polish is supposed to be kept at room temperature in order to keep the formula of the polish from going bad. Storing in a place where the temperature changes frequently like in a bathroom or car is also not a great idea. Heat can change the color and the formula of your polish so make sure to always store yours at room temperature to get the best results.
• Roll each polish in your collection back and forth at least once a month in order to get the formula back into place. Make sure to roll and never shake as shaking can create air bubbles in the polish which can lead to bad application and chipping from air bubbles on your nail. I go through my collection and roll my polishes often and it is time consuming but oh so worth it!
• Keep the lid on your bottle closed tight in order to prevent air from getting inside the bottle. If air gets in it can thicken your polish and ruin the formula. Simply closing your lid tightly when done can be one of the easiest ways to make sure your beloved polish lasts.

Now that you have long lasting polish the next question is how do you get it to last long on your nails! Below I have a few tricks that I use to keep my manis looking fresh all week long.

• Always wrap the tip (outer edge) of your nail with polish. This includes your base coat, main color, and top coat. Wrapping the free edge of your nail helps to keep the tips from wearing and can ultimately make your mani last longer.
• Make sure to always use a base coat and a top coat. I am a huge believer that a base coat is just as important as a top coat and that both should always be used together. Why would all nail polish companies create both and tell you to use both if it wasn’t necessary? These products are made to help you so use them and let them do their job!
• When applying polish make sure to apply thin coats rather than thick. Even if it takes you twice as many thin coats to get the same opaqueness that you could have received in two thick coats do it. Having too thick of polish can lead to chips early on in your manicure. It also takes much longer for thick coats to dry than thin coats so it’s really just a win win for you, a longer lasting manicure and quicker drying time!
• Always protect your nails from harm. This means wearing gloves when you do the dishes, asking someone else to open your soda can for you, and never putting your nails in any imminent danger. This can be a hard thing to do but the more conscious you are about what you are putting your nails through the less they will break.
• Always, always, always apply cuticle oil to hydrate your cuticle and your nail. Without hydration your nail becomes brittle and more prone to chipping. When using an oil you hydrate your nail and this helps to make sure that you don’t give the polish a reason to chip.
• Use base coats that are formulated to help your nail stay strong. I use the essie TLC line as a base coat underneath all of my manicures. Using this as a base helps to strengthen my nails, while also giving my main polish something to stick to.

All of the things that I mentioned above are actual tips and tricks that I use to help my manis and the polish in my collection last longer. Let me know on Instagram what you do to help you make your nails/polish last!