How to give yourself a Vinylux Manicure

Our Resident mani-queen’s top pick for perfect nails that last? Vinylux. This “weekly polish” is by CND, the creators of Shellac and gives many of the benefits of a gel mani, without the need for UV lights and long, arduous removal techniques. Here she gives us the run down on how to give yourself a flawless, last-the-distance mani. Just in time for the weekend.

Step 1: After removing any existing polish, file nails down to desired length and shape. (Opt for a short soft-square shape for stronger nails and longer lasting polish) follow with cuticle remover cream massaged into to the nail bed.

Step 2: Soak fingers in lukewarm water for one minute to soften cuticles. You can add a drop of peppermint or tea tree oil to the water to purify and refresh. Use a cuticle pusher or orange stick to gently push your cuticles down.

Step 3: Massage a cuticle balm  or oil into your each of your nails, let it soak in for few minutes to hydrate nails before you begin. Then wash hands with soap and water and dry well.

Step 4: Wipe the nail plate super clean with acetone nail polish remover to remove the oil, as well as natural oil from the nail plate. Using a cotton pad soaked in acetone nail polish remover actually ‘scrub’ the nail and push it right around to the cuticles and under the free edge. This is really important as it will help the polish to anchor better to your nail.

Step 5: Skip the base coat. Yep! Skip it. Vinylux contains adhesion promoters in the color coat so you can go straight to color. For the perfect pale pale pastel pink, we did a base coat of Studio White and followed with Romantique. Paint it on with long strokes, starting at the left edge of the nail and keeping a millimeter away from the cuticles so it doesn’t flood. Do another stroke on the right of the nail then finish in the middle to smooth it all over. Clean up any smudges around the cuticles.

Step 6: Apply a second layer of same color or to create a different shade like we did, layer on a second color. Once we’ve added Romantique it becomes the perfect creamy color (think OPI’s original Bubble Bath). The white base gives it a little more depth and opacity. With Vinylux always paint in thin layers and spread the polish fast.

Step 7: Apply the Vinylux Weekly Top Coat to set it. It will dry pretty quickly and apparently it actually toughens when exposed to natural light (no need for a UV light). We don’t know about that but it definitely did last longer than normal polish.