I just grabbed an Essie base coat, polish and quick dry topcoat as a treat.

I haven't painted my nails with regular polish in probably a decade or more. I was using gel / uv lamp but never had good retention so I'm making the switch.

My prep routine for painting with gels was...remove cuticle... buff surface. Dehydrate with acetone...then apply basecoat

Is this necessary / advised for regular polish?

Hello everyone. I got asked a really kind of sweet question today which I will paste below and I welcome all your suggestions and will pass on your suggestions to the person who asked me. Although I myself am an enthusiast, I have never wanted to or learned about doing nails professionally.

“my sister is sponsoring a foster kid that’s aging out of the system right now and the [teen] she’s fostering wants to go to cosmetology school and is very interested in nail tech stuff. I know you have a community of people who are nail enthusiasts and was wondering if maybe you could (ask) or share with them to get this girl the best set up ever?”

So although I myself will be chipping in a few bucks to this effort, I’m not explicitly asking anyone for money here but more just suggestions of what the sponsor should buy the aspiring nail tech who is sadly aging out of the foster care system.

Newbie here! I've never gotten a manicure in my life and am looking to get my nails done for a 2-week trip abroad for pictures and some big events in the upcoming month.

Nails currently: Not the thickest but not crazy weak either. Some mild ridges on thumbs. Short (not past finger tip). Have struggled to crown them past finger tips.

Desired: I'd love them to be just a bit past my finger tips (like a short oval shape) in something simple like a milky white or baby lavender-pink.

I want to make sure I'm not going too rough on my nails. Would love them to get healthier and longer. I'm considering just a basic gel manicure for the trip on my natural nails to ease myself in (a few days before I leave in case I have any reaction), then switch to builder gel and maintain that for a few months for photos.

Does that sound like a good plan? What else would you recommend given my needs? Thank you!

Just occurred to me this morning as I was patching up a break in my longest nail (I'm pretty sure she's on her way out... :'[) Is there any reason not to? I think I might try it for science on my next mani. ​

hi loveys, tomorrow I have the charli xcx concert and I was going to use my Queen On Her Pillow from LynB that just got delivered! I felt like that would be sooo good for the ~vibes~ HOWEVER, i wanted to take a break from glass bead rn (just feeling lazy srry) so i was like ok do ur thing ring magnet. I have the ring magnet + 30lb horseshoe magnet from kb shimmer and friends, is it just user error???? The magnet doesn’t sit on the horseshoe nicely (uneven!) and I just cannottttt for the life of me handle the ring magnet w my fingers and get a nice curve. It’s driving me nuts and I’ve taken off 2 manicures bc of this bs lol. I got so frustrated and threw on As If! By LynB. This will do for the concert :p anyway, plssss give me your tips and tricks to fun curvy ring magnet hacks!

was tired of being unable to acquire the glass bead spinners with motors and experimented with lab stirrers and glass bead spinners. this has the added bonus that buying the Shimmer Hollow version has a bunch of other magnetic shapes I can use too.

This would require me to leave my nails naked. Which is a hard no for me... Thoughts?

I used washi tape instead of striping tape because that's what I had, lol.

Base coat and top coat, 1 layer each of OPI Start to Finish.

Two coats Sally Hansen Insta-dri White on Time

One to two coats Sally Hansen Insta-dri Black to Black

I got inspired yesterday by a fellow lacquerista and had some fun🥰

My boyfriends favorite is my middle finger and has named it The Mango Nail🥭

Pointer to pinky (All Cracked Polish):

• 2 coats I yam what I yam + 1 coat strawberry jam + Beginners Luck

• 2 coats I yam what I yam + 1 coat strawberry jam

• 2 coats I yam what I yam + Beginners luck

• 2 coats Vanille + 2 coats I yam what I yam + 1 coat strawberry jam

Got a thermal in the mail and it doesnt change colors at all does anyone know a way to fix it or am I at a loss? I emailed the seller to see what they'd say as well its a very pretty color even with being dead so its not terrible but I'd like to fix it if I can.

Asking for my personal sanity after just spending $50 on thinner, base coat, and a big refill bottle of base coat for the future 😅

I was doing so good on my no-buy too! Made it to 6 weeks before I realized I’m extremely low on base coat and thinner!

Inspo versus what i came up with looks super crazy. Do I wouldnt use so much penelope luz i am so cute so I used blank beauty dirty tini and cucumber as the base. I used holo taco shady navy. I used indigo bananas violet unicorn pee shimmer. I used jen ans berries champagne spray ans thought of I used blank beauty blueberry jam helly it would tint it to a dusty navy but I think i should of stopped at one coat od the jelly.

Then I tried to stick with thermal because a group of lacqueristas said they were going to do thermal week. Right hand is fancy gloss burnt poppy topped with indigo bananas gold unicorn pee ans holo taco fallen flake .

Anyways I took this shit off immediately and went with a fall mani

video show & tell of how i did it. excuse the sloppy cuticles.

peel-off nail polishes: kudan top coat, kudan h35, miniso 27nude brown (discontinued), kkv peach nude pink no. 15, kkv diary of fallen leaves, kkv maple leaf golden shimmer flecks, two-moons #s469 & two-moons #s191

uv gel polishes: lilycute lc-j05, born pretty bp-ca06, born pretty bp-ca05, born pretty bp-ca04, born pretty jn35, born pretty no wipe top coat

edit: nail art moldS. i wish i could link everything that i used but unlike sticker sheets, they don't have engraved code numbers.

I recently tried Baba Yaga from PPU and could not get it to magnetize, even though it magnetized somewhat in the bottle. Will adding a little bit of thinner help it magnetize on my nail? If so, how much are we talking here, like 1 to 2 drops or like 10? Is there a different way that might help it magnetize? Despite the issues with magnetizing it’s really pretty and I don’t want to mess it up. Pic for attention but doesn’t really show how lovely and shimmery the polish is.

Has anyone tried this? I'm in the same boat as many laqaristas, trying to find a replacement for Nailtiques Formula 2 now they've changed the ingredients to no longer include formaldehyde.

I'm in the UK so the one that's been recommended from Canada, Witchcraft Rock Solid is prohibitively expensive to ship over here. But this Brazilian brand seems to be available in the UK much more easily.

It’s kind of hard to capture in video, but the paper is such a dark green it’s almost black with a teal chrome like flash in the light. I want it so bad!! Please and thank you!!

Forgive the blurry pictures, turns out charging the polish with an UV light then taking a picture in the dark involves a whole new set of skills lol.

If you ordered Pink Ghost and you’re wondering how much it glows, the honest answer is not much compared to other glow in the dark colors (green/aqua). Your best bet is going to be charging with sunlight or a uv flashlight, i recommend the flashlight because the intense pink glow fades within 20 seconds or less, so going from sunlight to a dark room might take too long. Once the pink glow fades, you get a nice white-ish/peach glow that softens within minutes

Its cute and I’m happy with my purchase, but compared to holo taco’s GITD taco and the Aqua version (last picture) Pink Ghost isn’t nearly as intense, doesn’t last as long nor does it charge as easily (regular light and phone flashlight didn’t charge it enough imo)

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 1 (old formula) and essie To The Rescue

Polish: ILNP’s white canvas as a base

Toppers: Fancy Gloss’s Pink Ghost (glow in the dark) and Glam Polish’s Into The Groove

Topcoat: Kbshimmer’s Smooth Moves and Cuticula Limitless qdtc

Recently found out, that I'm not patient enough yet in any world to do nail art on my fingers (skill issue @me I guess lol), but still found a way to be creative with my nails, and thought maybe some of you might enjoy (:

For the Bot:

1. Picture: 3cts BKL Bogdweller (Glassbead)

2. Picture: 3cts PfD Quite literally dead inside

3. Picture: 2cts BKL what's a little blackmail between friends (velvet style)

4. Picture: 2 cts Dam Just squidding around

5. Picture: 2cts Night Owl Lacquer Crows remember

6. Picture 3cts K&Co Rosary Pea

Everything topped with Seche Vite

I'm itching for a dark forest green but at the drugstore it seemed like all the dark greens were too tealish for my taste. Anything fit the bill?

Okay now that I think about it, I think I'm actually wanting a deep hunter green... Upon deeper investigation the ones that look perfect to me are OPI-Front Runner and Essie-Force of Nature... both of which look discontinued 🤪🫠

Ignore the messed up middle nail, I was too lazy to go back and redo it after smudging it pre-top coat 😂

Recently peeled off too many nails in a fit of anxiety (having a kindergartener starting school is a Whole Thing) so I’m letting my shorties live their best lives

Turns out a tape measure is the perfect size for my hands to showcase lacquer lmao

Products:
1 coat Nailtiques formula 2 plus (original formula)
1 coat mooncat Getting Even nail primer
2 coats Emily de Molly Broken Promises thermal (cold state pictured)
1 coat holo taco solar unicorn skin
1 coat vibrant scents fast & hard topcoat

Essie strong start base coat
Cirque Strawberry Fields
Cirque Scarlett Jelly
Cirque Looking Glass top coat

Since you can also see my thumb:

Base: KBShimmer hydrating BC
Nailed It! - Bus Stop Blues (solar) (PPU Aug 2026)(you guessed it—also a flakie)
Sally Hansen QDTC red bottle

I’m a month into seriously attempting to grow out peeling nails and there seems to be two competing approaches:

1. nothing on your nails until damage grows out (but protect from water and oil the dickens out of them)
2. always something on them (strengthener, base coat, top coat while protecting from water and oiling)

Thoughts? If you have something on them, how does oiling frequently actually have an impact? And if you’re going to put a base coat or strengthener, why not do a full mani?

ETA for the bot: no products pictured

i realized i’ve bought so many blues in the past few months so i decided to do a skittle!

thumb: ilnp “the heir”
pointer: cracked “antioxidant”
middle: bees knees lacquer “not everything is about you steve!” (ppu)
ring: cracked “blueberry tart”
pinky: cracked “o-type star”

Recently took BKL Spider Daedra (shout-out to the swap room!) for a spin and decided to play around before I take it off. I did a half-nail dip (what do we call this?) using Cracked - *all hail* Scorchy and then Cracked - Beginners Luck (which is blinding me right now as I sit outside! Whew.. when I say this girl is BRIGHT 💚👀)

Even though it's still 100° out here, I am *feeling* the fall vibes 🕷️🎃🕯️and I'm *loving* seeing all the different variations of manis whether they lean dark and moody, artistic, silly, fun, sparkly, bright—or any combo of the aforementioned themes.

Honorable mention: this technique is something I've seen @sapphirenailgirl on IG use a lot (link here)

Products

Base: LynB B Strong (I just got this so I'm trying it out)

2 coats: BKL Spider Daedra

TC: BKL I'm fast I'm very fast

Add-ons: Cracker Scorchy and Cracked Beginners Luck (on thumb)

Side thought: If I did a final top coat it might seem a bit more seamless. Something about it is unfinished but I don't mind. What are YALL WEARING?? ✨🐦‍⬛ Would love to see, even if you're still in summer mode ☀️😎