Painting your nails at home can be a very relaxing activity, but not when you mess them up. And there are lots that can go wrong when you’re doing your nails. They can smudge, break or just take too long to dry. It can also be annoying when you have a great idea for a nail design, but no tools! Ugh. These ten nail hacks and tips will definitely level up your nail polish game and keep your manicure looking its best!
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Banning Stained Skin with Moisturizer
Reds and darker nail polishes look amazing in the fall and winter months. But they can be a bear to take off, especially when you have paler skin. When you try to take off red polish, it can smear all over your fingers and make it look like your murdered someone! Not cute. The fix: apply a thick layer of moisturizer to your hands to act as a buffer. That will prevent any staining, and also make your hands super soft as a nice bonus!
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Broken nail? Grab a Tea Bag
Oh no! One of your beautiful long nails has a crack in it! Don’t go looking for the nail clippers just yet. If you have a tea bag and nail glue around, you’ll be able to fix it no problem. Apply the nail glue to the crack, and then take a tiny square cut from the tea bag and place it on top. Apply more glue, let it dry, and buff it down. That’s it! You save your nail and no one will be able to tell when you apply polish on top.
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Nail Polish Thinner Will Save your Favorite Polish
If your favorite nail polish has gone old and goopy, don’t apply nail polish remover to it! That will ruin the polish. Instead, use nail polish thinner to get it back to its old self.
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Neon Nails Need White Polish
Sometimes, when you apply polish, it can be lackluster. The color just isn’t as bright as you wanted it to be! White nail polish as a base will help with that. The opaque white color will allow the other color to look brighter and better.
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Vaseline = No Clean Up
Painting your nails can be a messy business. And one of the most annoying things is cleaning up the polish around your nails when you’re done. Cut out the annoying clean up with Vaseline! Apply it generously around your cuticles, making sure to avoid getting it on your nails. Then, paint away! The polish won’t stick to the Vaseline so you’ll be left with a neat manicure.
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Smudges? Lick it away
Okay, don’t actually lick the polish with your tongue. But if you lick your finger and gently wipe away at the smudge, it should do the trick! The smudge should be un-smudged and you nail looking back to normal.
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DIY Dotting Tools
You see a super cute nail design online but don’t have any dotting tools at home. Ugh. Well actually, maybe you do! If you have a bobby pin, a pencil with an eraser and a sewing needle, you do. Pencil erasers will give you big dots, bobby pins medium dots, and sewing needles small ones. Stick a sewing needle into a pencil eraser for easier dotting, and you’re ready to create nail art!
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Easy to Make Matte Topcoat
Maybe you decide that a matte topcoat would look better than a glossy one. You just threw away your matte topcoat though! Don’t fret. When you mix a little bit of your regular topcoat with a little bit of cornstarch, you make a DIY matte topcoat! Make sure you mix it very well so there are no white streaks and make sure you clean you brush off when you’re done.
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Wet Nails No More
Waiting for nails to dry is, objectively, the worst. Especially because you always seem to be extremely hungry or need to use the bathroom right after. This trick will speed up the process! Take a bowl of ice-cold water (it has to be ice cold!) and dip your fingers in it for five seconds. Tada! Dry nails. How easy was that?
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Gloves are your Nails Best Friends
Want to prolong your manicure and prevent chipping and splitting? Wear gloves when you do the dishes. Prolonged exposure to water can ruin your manicure and dry out your hands, especially when you’re scrubbing dishes. Be gentle on your hands and wear gloves.
Let us know what your favorite nail hacks are down below! Also, don’t forget to check us out on
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