Best products from r/lacqueristas

The first thing I would recommend is to check out this video on how to properly paint your nails. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the technique down painting your nails will only take about five minutes total and look very clean and professional.

• Dotting tools. You can buy some from Amazon like these, or you can start out with things from around your house . I started out (before getting my tools) using bobby pins for large dots and toothpicks for smaller ones, and I'd snip the tip of the toothpick for medium. I've heard of girls using ball point pens and other things, too; they all work like a charm!
  
  
• A small angled [shader] brush (I recommend 1/4"). You can get them from any art store, or even use the little ones that come with creme/gel/etc. eyeliner. This is for cleanup. You paint your nails from start to finish, and then when you're done just dip the angled brush in acetone and swipe away any mistakes you may have. This is my number one "secret" for my nails looking really perfect. I'm not perfect at painting, I'm just really good at cleanup. ;)
  
  
• Pure acetone! I have both avetone nail polish remover and a bottle of pure acetone, and I suggest keeping both around. The pure acetone is perfect for cleanup because it picks up the polish immediately and dries just as fast. It's also the best for taking off glitter and other tough-to-remove polishes (use it with the foil method and voila!).
  
  
• Cuticle cream or oil. I love Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter; I bought it Christmas Eve and I've still got over half left, and I use it ever day. There are plenty of other products out there, but the point is to have one, use it regularly, and push your cuticles back every day. This way you don't have to cut them (which causes them to grow back all funky and can give you infections), but your cuticles and nails will look impeccably clean and taken care of.
  
  
• Hand lotion, because what's the point of having sexy nails if your hands look raggedy? I also suggest exfoliating, but I just do this with brown sugar and olive oil a few times a week. Easy peasy.
  
  
• Tweezerman Nipper Tool! This is to clip off any hangnails, etc., that you may have. This tool is seriously incredible; I've had three or four other brands of nipper tool and they all went dull on me within a month or two, but I've had this one for like two years now and it's still sharp as heck.
  
  
• A superfine glass or crystal nail file. NOT one of those cardboard/sandpaper deals, a glass or crystal file. Using this, and filing in only one direction, will keep your nails healthy and prevent them from splitting and peeling. That hard, back-and-forth sawing motion is what really damaged nails and makes them fall apart so easily. Also a buffer, but one that has a different coarseness on each side.
  
  
• A base coat, to prevent polish from staining your nails.
  
  
• A quick dry top coat. Seche Vite is the absolute best, IMO, but Poshe, Out The Door, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri (in the red bottle) are all pretty popular, too. The most important thing is that it's quick dry, though; it's meant to be applied to wet polish where it will bond to the polish you've used and the two will dry at the same rate. Seche Vite is my favorite because it's the fastest (that I've experienced, anyway, and I have a 1.5y/o...), has the most incredible shine, and really makes your mani look smooth and perfect.
  
  
• Nail art brushes.
  
  And...well, if I think of anything else I will let you know. I can't wait to see what you get up to soon! :)

Maybe too late, but here's my setup:

I bought this light and it's amazing. Large enough for all fingers and very durable.

This cuticle pusher/gel polish scraper

Any type of nail dehydrator (just look for "Natural Nail Dehydrator", any brand is fine.


I'd also buy a topcoat and basecoat, and a couple basic colors. I'd recommend Gelish or CND. Let her choose additional colors if she wants.

Other necessities - which you may have around the house: Acetone (full-strength), cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, orange sticks, nail files.



I'd stay away from kits, as I found it's better to buy the best-quality stuff individually; inevitably a couple parts of the kit will be kinda crappy.

I'd also recommend putting it all into a bingo bag. Yeah, you can find lots of "nail kits" and "nail bags" but I swear I found this bingo bag on sale and it fits EVERYTHING perfectly. Like this one

Any other questions, please ask. I've been doing my own gel nails for a long time, and have worked with a lot of products and tried just about everything. :)

No sweat, I love talkin' shop, haha. Sounds like priority order is: 1 smooth finish, 2 opacity. I forgot to throw one of my most used whites in there--this cheapy cheap one by Milani. The brush it comes with is so thin it's ridiculous but if you put it in a different vessel and use a bigger better brush, it's one of the easiest whites I've ever worked with and it's cheap AF. Also, finding that led me to find this, which I probably should have found before I wrote you that initial wall of text. XD

Sure! It was these.

They came from China so it took about 3 weeks to arrive in America, but again, I was going for inexpensive. So far I've taken the plastic coating bit off of about 10 plates and everything I've used has worked great, but use a plasticard like an old gift card or something because the scraper it comes with is rubbish.

At my desk, I use Gold Bond Ultimate Skin Therapy Cream (https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Bond-Ultimate-Healing-Therapy/dp/B00LPBZ8Y6). It has worked for me through Upstate NY winters when I for some stupid reason refuse to wear gloves. You know. Like a crazy person. It also helps my nails stay stronger/seem to grow faster I think.
When things get really dire, I use either Burts Bees like the madeupnameforreddit suggested, or, put Carmex on and around my cuticles and nails. It's technically a lip balm but it works anywhere that is chapped.
Also cuticle oil every day. EVERY DAY FUH REAL. It changed my life.

I would also pay attention to your habits - are you a nurse or do you work in a similar billion-handwashes-a-day job? Are you removing manicures frequently with really drying products (i.e. soaking in a dish of acetone)? See what parts of your routine might be contributing to the dry skin and see if small tweaks there might help :) Good luck!

Glass nail file if she doesn't have one, they work very well, last a long time and are better for your nails than regular nail files. China glaze, OPI and Essie are my favorite brands for nail polish. Maybe a set of nail gems (rhinestone wheels) are always a good choice. :)

China Glaze's Luxe and Lush from their Hunger Games collection has the flakie look you're going for - also I'm not sure if you're near a Dollar Tree, but I did see some Moon Candy selling at my local store just a few days ago. Good luck!

Woof, that is WAY more expensive! I got a bottle of 4oz+a .05 seche bottle on amazon for $13. Eventually, I'll try getting a small bottle of HK to see if it's a huge fifference for me. For now I'm very happy with how seche looks and gpfeels as long as I dont use it on white polish. I use Out the Door with any designs that have white in them, usually.

This is what I got a month or so ago. We waited for a while and finally my husband bought it and said "HA! I ordered it already!" I felt bad about the price but it looks great on my wall. It doesn't hold 100, I don't think, but it does hold my 65 polishes with room to spare. It probably does hold 90ish regular sized polishes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CJ0TZ2S/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hooray! Murderinos unite! <3 Of course! It's on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Murderino-coloring-Favorite-Murder-podcast/dp/1546434976/keywords=my+favorite+murder+coloring+book&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amy+favorite+murder+coloring+book

I ordered this exact lamp from Amazon a year ago. It’s a LED and UV lamp.. works great and haven’t had any issues with it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JGG5CH4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_2e68AbHZ6PE90

Try using a hand protectant like Theraseal

I can manage to get all of my fingers in these Except for my thumbs lol I have to ask for help.

I have this one and it is great! It also comes with a Christmas plate.

Best thinner ever http://www.amazon.com/Seche-Restore-Laquer-Restoration-Thinner/dp/B0017ZDH52/ref=sr_1_3?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1346621429&sr=1-3&keywords=seche+restore+2

You can find them on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-thin-Sticker-Necklace-Adhesive-Decoration/dp/B0728J91YR?th=1&psc=1

Or directly from Born Pretty:
https://www.bornprettystore.com/sheet-ultrathin-nail-sticker-star-moon-necklace-gold-white-adhesive-decal-nail-decoration-p-40021.html

Probably not. You should try liquid latex. I bought a small tub of it and an empty polish bottle to store and apply it. You can also buy it pre-bottled, but it will be more expensive to buy it this way if you decide you like it.