10 (ish) Minute Nails

First

Remove any remaining nail varnish on your nails if you have any. If you don't have any varnish on them still, quickly do this step to clean your nails and get rid of any hidden dirt. 

Second

File/trim your nails. Even if you are trying to grow out your nails you will still need to file them. Not to shorten them but to shape them. Unless you have some sort miracle nails then it's most likely that your nails will grow in all different shapes. It will only take you two minutes at the most to shape them, depending on how perfected you want them to look. Although following a 10 minute guide you probably aren't looking for a salon finish.

Third

Chose a base coat and apply it to your nails. If you want to skip this step you can but, if your going to paint your nails with a dark colour or a colour that stains, I do recommend that you use one. Depending on your nails your base coat may vary. If you have weaker nails than normal try and find one that toughens nails. If you have slight discolouration try and find one that has a colour corrector in it. Or if you have any bumps or chips on your nails try and find one that fills these. These special types of base coats tend be on the pricier side but, base coats to toughen nails are becoming more mainstream so they are cheaper than the others. Once you have painted your base coat onto your nails leave to dry.

Fourth

Chose your nail colour. If you like to chose colours according to the seasons try colours like this; Spring- pastel pinks, blues, yellows, Summer- bright oranges, pinks, Autumn- dark blues, purples, greys, Winter- reds, nudes. Apply a thin layer of your first coat and leave to dry.

Fifth

Apply a second coat of the colour on top of your first coat making sure to keep it a thin layer. I know its tempting to try and whack on one massive thick coat but, from literally 100's of tries and fails I have finally realised that it isn't worth it. It seems like an easy route but it is definitely more like the opposite, especially if you are as impatient as I am, I always find myself in the mood to do my nails, prepare them choose the colour and by that time i'm already bored. So my solution is to just do one thick and gloopy coat and think 'Okay yeah i'm done, I will wait 2 minutes then i'll be able to do some origami (I have never done origami) or some other activity that will definitely ruin my nails.' No this is exactly what you shouldn't do. Applying one thick layer will not take the same amount of time to dry as one thin layer. It takes at least  two minutes for a thin layer and even then you have to be careful. So please do not make this mistake. It is guaranteed that you will smudge them, then get annoyed and go crazy with the nail varnish remover. When you have applied your second coat leave to dry.

Sixth

Once dry pick your topcoat. This can be the same as your base coat but, not a colour correcting or filling one. Or you can have a plain clear one, a matte one or, if you are in the mood to and you one that matches your colour, use a sparkly topcoat. These are great over darker colours or in Winter time. Then like I have said oh so many times in this post, leave time to dry.

Overall this whole process should have taken little more than 10 minutes. 

• 1-2 minutes to remove/clean your nail polish and nails
• 2 minutes to file/trim your nails
• 2 minutes to apply and dry your base coat
• 2 minutes to apply and dry your first colour coat
• 2 minutes to apply and dry your second coat
• 2 minutes to apply and dry your top coat

I hope you found this useful although i'm sure if your reading this blog you already have quite a lot of knowledge on this subject. 

If you are impatient when applying your nail varnish and you want some tips and tricks on how to avoid  all the messy business and drying time let me know and I will be happy to tell you.