How to have your nail polish done in 5 mins?

Nail Polish Tools

For those who do your own nails, you should know that getting your nails done salon style can be time consuming. I remember someone telling me she takes about 45 minutes to do her own pedicure. So how is it possible for me to get mine done in 5 minutes?

The trick lies in not getting everything done at once.

Typically, I do my own pedicure once a fortnight. The full works from removing my oil polish, pushing my cuticles, exfoliating my feet, trimming my nails to layering the new polish.

Because I can’t spare the time to do all these together so what I do is to complete the first part excluding trimming and polishing the nails in my shower the day before. Since the steam and warm water from the shower would soften my cuticle bed, I don’t have to apply anymore cuticle softening cream if I don’t want to. I can also exfoliate the feet so much quicker during my shower. And unless my nails are in bad shape, I don’t buff them either.

opi-russian-to-a-party

Then I leave the trimming and application of the new polish to the next day and everything is so much hassle free! I only need to trim my nails, apply two coats of nail polish and I’m done! I have been skipping the base and top coat lately out of laziness. If I want to add that, then it may take me about 10 minutes because I usually wait for the base coat to dry before applying the nail polish.

So how long does it take you to do your nail polish DIY style? Do you have any additional tips to keep the process quick and hassle free?

Comments

  1. prettybeautiful says:

    im v fast with my toe nails too! heheh i dont even do the cuticles

    Prettybeautiful: I can’t not do the cuticles cos they grow quite a bit and make my nails quite ugly…

  2. Nikki says:

    I made sure i took a shower before doing my nails so cuticles are softer and I just use a cuticle pusher to push it, at times, if my nails are still clean, I would just put on cuticle cleanser and brush it to make the nails clean then start my nail polish application ?

    Nikki: I find shower time the best to push the cuticles…

  3. peapot says:

    Hi! I m so happy to have found your blog. I have learn so much about skincare from your blog. Now I need to read your blog everyday. It’s really amazing!! Thanks for sharing! Sorry to digress, but I’m actually looking for a good eye cream that can reduce my finelines. Anything good to recommend?

    Peapot: Thanks for coming back often! I’m glad some of the info posted here are useful to you. ?

    I haven’t found a good eye cream that worked very well for me but I heard that Elizabeth Arden’s Prevage is good. A lot of positive comments at Makeupalley. You can check it up to see if it suits you but I find it really ex!

    What I find works for me recently is using an oil around the outer corners of the eyes before applying my eye cream. I use Sea Buckthorn oil in the night and Grapeseed oil in the day. Then I apply Eucerin eye cream in the day and Lavera eye cream in the night. Fine lines not so noticeable when I smile now. But if you use this approach, make sure your eye cream is not too rich.

  4. miku says:

    Last time I went to a salon it took an hour for the girl to do my pedicure and all the while I was sitting there wondering why the hell was I there, because I could have done my nails at home!!!

    Miku: Yes, it’s pretty time consuming at the salon. It’s a luxury if we have the time! ?

  5. raelynn says:

    i gave up on painting and cutting my own nails long ago. the paint is always terribily done *heavy or light handed), and my nails if i trim them myself, the shape is always wrong and rough. if i really want a quick fix for the appearance of the nails, i’ll just use the vardi and migdal set sitting in my room…

    Raelynn: I know what you mean. It can be a chore… I can’t paint my fingernails and if I want them done, I need to get professional assistance.

  6. GabrielLe says:

    This time, I really need to take a good bath before having the manicurist to do pedicure for me! hahaha…i don’t want to be blame for smelly feet! lol. Anyway,I’m usually too lazy to do my own nails unless no choice because I’ve ugly toe nails and usually my manicurist will do a clean job for me. Otherwise, I usually took ’bout 30-40 doing my own nails.

    GabrielLe: Hee…I think it’s okay not to bathe before going for your pedi cos you have to dip your feet in the tub first…plus they also wear a mask! ? But I know what you mean by lazy. That’s why I can’t do it every week even though I go DIY most of the time. Sometimes, I literally drag my feet…hahaha…

  7. GabrielLe says:

    btw, mind sharing with me where you bought the Diluant Thinner?

    GabrielLe: It’s from Sasa. Look under the shelf stocking Mavala nail products.

  8. Soos says:

    I do my own manicure, but pay the bucks for the Aveda pedicure. It lasts at least 4 weeks and is relaxing and wonderful. The pedicure and a haircut every 10-12 weeks are the only pampering services I pay for. It’s my way of keeping the American economy going!

    The pedi includes a leg and foot massage. The haircut includes a hand massage, scalp and neck massage and styling – blowout or flat iron. This time, I also got a free (advertised) deep conditioning, too.

    If you buy a gift card during a certain time period – usually holidays – they will give you one or two certificates for $10 off a spa or salon service. Gravy! My son kindly gave me one of those cards AND a certificate for Christmas.

    BTW, I can do my own pedicure, but to make it last, it takes TWO HOURS! I know – insane! Trim nails, file and buff, base coat, wait, first coat of polish, wait, 2nd coat of polish, wait, top coat. And I’ll be lucky if it lasts ten days!

    Soos: Oh it’s nice to pamper yourself once a while! ? I enjoy going for a haircut too but I don’t get the full works like you do. Sometimes I indulge in the pedi if I have some bucks to spare but I prefer doing my own now cos I can’t afford the time (2 hours too) at the salon plus I can only afford once a month and usually my polish don’t look nice after 2 weeks.

  9. maroon says:

    The most time-consuming part of mani & pedi is the drying of the nail colour to me! My patient runs thin quickly & I’ll be grabbing pen or typing on the PC unknowingly next. I’ve resorted to using hairdryer to blowdry the nails now. I’ve tried putting the nails onto a bowl of ice water & it really quickens the drying process as well.

    Maroon: I know what you mean about the time. I used to apply one coat, go do something else and then do the second coat. But I’m lazy these days and apply the 2nd coat almost immediately. So far, they don’t bubble up or look bad cos I avoid the base coat. If I use the base coat, then it must dry up properly.

  10. Soos says:

    “The full works” are included in the Aveda haircut. Both the haircut and the pedi take one hour, 1 hr 15 min at most. Because the pedi always looks great for a minimum of 4 weeks, sometimes 5 weeks, it is SO worth it!

    Yes, what maroon said! PATIENCE is the biggest part of the self-done mani or pedi! Even drying drops help just a bit.

    Soos: Wow, a pedi lasting 4 weeks and looking great is definitely worth it!

  11. akiki says:

    i like to polish my nail but not in a professional way… haha

    Akiki: You mean you don’t like to spend too much time doing it? ?

  12. akiki says:

    i do not care about the times spent but i never used top & base coat…
    never cut my fingernails in nice shape.do not really bother about the
    cuticles.never used the professional tools….. ?

    akiki: Oh okay…I get what you mean. You just like applying the polish without having to do the rest… ?

  13. Tine says:

    I think I take about a half hour to do my own nails, ‘cos I’m really slow in trying to get it right! Most of the time I still get stains outside the nails ?

    Tine: Practice makes perfect! ?

  14. Priscilla says:

    Just wanted you to know that I found this article on another site.

    http://pleasenttips.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-have-your-nail-polish-done-in-5.html

    Not sure if it is you or not, but just wanted you to know.

    I am in the process of starting my own blog, and I think it is terrible when people literally copy and paste others work.

    Reading others blogs for ideas is fine, but come on….lets write our own stuff if we want to take the credit for them.

    ?

  15. sesame says:

    Thanks Priscillia for highlighting this. It’s not my site and the blogspot owner had taken my materials without permission. I’ve written to the person to remove the entry.

    Like you say, it’s really awful. And I even have my watermark on the pictures!

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