Manicure for Mommas Without a Lot of Extra Time

Although I love doing my nails (and I totally wish I was a nail tech) this working mom of two just doesn't have a lot of time on her hands.

But I've found that by following this routine, if I'm done painting my nails by 9 pm, I can go to sleep at 10 and not have any sheet marks at all. Plus, my mani will last 4-5 days with no chips- I usually just have to repaint because of new growth and tip wear.

So without further ado, my nail routine:

1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. I apply this all around my nails, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.

3. Orly Bonder. This is fab- takes any oily residue off your nails and gives your polish something to stick to. Key to a long-lasting mani.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle. Love this as a basecoat. Watch for CVS to have their BOGO or BOGO half off on Sally products and stock up.


5. OPI polish (2 coats). In my non-professional opinion, the best polish there is. One of my faves is I'm Not Really a Waitress.

6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat. This is a super-fast dry topcoat with a fab shine. Expensive, but worth it!

7. Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser. Keeping your cuticles neat and clean is one of the keys to making your manicure last longer. This product is fabulous and I massage this into my cuticles a few times a day to prevent hangnails and prevent cuticle buildup.

With these products, you can achieve a salon-quality manicure at home!

NOTD: Zoya Matte Loredana

Zoya Matte Loredana

This one applied so much better than the Posh- or maybe I was just more used to it! It seemed thinner and easier to apply. Love love love.

That's two coats over a coat of Orly Bonder that I allowed to dry for about 10 minutes.

How gorgeous is that?

Posh: Day 3 (or is it 4?)

Zoya Matte Posh on Sunday night

Zoya Matte Posh on Wednesday afternoon

I'm super impressed with the wear, although you can see the finish has changed a little. I wouldn't call it shiny like normal polish, but it's lost a little of it's super-matte finish. But I have absolutely no chips and just a small amount of tip wear.

I am pretty sure I took both of these in my bathroom in identical lighting.

This is basically day 4 and I've showered three times (each morning) and applied lotion and cuticle cream as usual- no way I can give that up.

I'm satisfied with this polish and can't wait to try the other two Zoya mattes!

Sephora Mattes!

Looks like even Sephora is jumping on the matte bandwagon! I really want Matte Domestic Goddess! They show as "temporarily out of stock" for now.

NOTD: Zoya Matte Posh

Zoya Matte Posh

Girls, I just don't know about this polish.... it was kind of hard to apply, and you can't use a topcoat, and that kind of freaks me out. It does dry awfully fast..... But it was kind of thick and gloppy.

Looking at it today, I do like the way it looks. I am anxious to see how long it lasts without chipping, since other bloggers said it chips pretty quick. I did use Orly Bonder underneath it, although they tell you not to. One blogger said to go ahead and do it because it makes it wear better.

On Zoya's website, they say not to use hand lotion, but that's plum crazy. I applied lotion as usual this AM and also used my CND Cuticle Eraser, and it doesn't look any different... so we shall see. Not sure of the final verdict yet.

Lip Gloss Giveaway

Do any of you nail-polishes junkies like lip gloss too?

If so, go check out my Fresh Sugar Lip Gloss giveaway at my giveaway site.

Good luck!

NOTD: OPI DS Extravagance

OPI DS Extravagance

You know I love this polish if I'm using it yet again when I still have a ton of untrieds! Truly, this is my HG polish- simply gorgeous and the best application ever.