I love a good mani/pedi. I am also not very talented in the DIY nail department, however, this quarantine gave me plenty of time to practice. I did a gel manicure earlier this year and it ruined my nails. I’ve tried dip powder and traditional gel manicures and they make my nails look great for two weeks, but the minute I remove the gel/powder, my nails are brittle, thin, and break easily. I recently discovered Londontown nail polish which is made with oils and botanicals that help to fortify the nail and make it healthier and stronger and it has been a total game changer. Straight from Londontown’s website: “All Londontown lakurs are infused with Florium Complex, our proprietary blend of botanical extracts, which includes Rapeseed Flower Oil (moisturizing agent), Evening Primrose Oil (prevents cracking) Chamomile Extract (soothes), Garlic Extract (strengthens), Cucumber Extract (helps with splitting and Vitamins A & E (growth). In addition, lakurs are infused with Biotin and Calcium to keep products acetone-free.”
Not only are these nail polishes super easy to apply and fast drying, but when I took off the nail polish after I used it the first time, my nails were noticeably healthier. They were thicker, stronger, and longer. I have never had my nails grow this much in 10 days either. The other thing that I love about the nail polish is that it hasn’t chipped for me. It looks and act like a gel nail polish, but isn’t gel! I have I have had their nail polish on my nails for a little while now and I have definitely not taken it easy on them. I have pulled weeds, done the dishes a million times a day, changed diapers, played in the dirt with my son, and they still has not chipped. I am so impressed! Here is how I apply it:
I like to paint my nails after the shower, so that my cuticles soften in the hot water. I trim them using clippers to get a square shape and then I file the sides to make them “squoval.” Then, I use a cuticle trimmer to push back and remove the cuticles.
I apply the gel genius base coat on my clean, dry nails. This helps to smooth the nail bed, so that the polish goes on smooth and helps to extend wear and shine. The base coat (and all of their lakurs for that matter) do not contain Formaldehyde, Toulene, DBP, Camphor, Barium Suffate, Ethyl Tosylamide, Acetone, or Benzyl Benzoate. Even though the word “gel” is in the name of the nail polish, it does not act like a gel polish where you need a UV light to cure it.
Carefully, apply two thin coats of the color of your choice! I linked some of my favorites above! The color in this picture in Murray Me. I like to go thinner on the first coat just to make sure that I can get my entire nail and then I apply another coat on top once the first layer has dried. If the color I chose is lighter, I might add three coats to make sure that the color is noticeable. If I do that, I make sure the coats are very thin.
I wait a few minutes before I apply the top coat to ensure that my nails have had a few minutes to try. I apply two to three coats of the gel genius top coat and let my nails dry for a good 30-45 minutes before I do anything. I notice that this nail polish dries very fast, so I am able to paint my nails at night and go to sleep without them being smudged in the morning!
Thanks to Londontown for collaborating on this post!
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