What do you need as a ‘beginner’?

Do you want to start painting your nails? Or maybe you’re ready to learn a bit more to make sure your nail polish lasts longer.

Of course everyone’s opinion will be different on what supplies you must have, so I’m simply sharing my own opinion.

What I would suggest buying if you’re just starting out:

1 Basecoat (to protect your nails from staining)

2 One or a few nail polishes

*bonus tip: to make sure you’re buying nail lacquer that dries down on it’s own without a lamp, have a look at the bottle. Is the bottle see through? If you can see the actual polish, it’s nail lacquer (yes, even if it says ‘gel’, this is a ‘gel look’, but not actual gel). But if the bottle is not see through at all, it’s gel. Meaning that it won’t dry no matter how long you wait. You will need a lamp to cure it.

3 Nail polish remover (remover pads are great for beginners)

4 Nail oil (Oils that are marketed as nail oils are mostly convenient and cheap. Pure jojoba oil is seen as 'the best', but if you have extra virgin olive oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, or sunflower oil at home, that's sometimes just as good as the nail oils you can buy in shops.)

5 A nail file (glass or crystal nail files are the most gentle on your nails. Or alternatively you can look for fine wooden emery board files, 200 grit or higher, as a budget option.)

That’s all!

The reason why I’m not suggesting for someone to buy a top coat, acetone, or other nail tools is simple; when you’re first starting out, you don’t need to own everything.

Start with the very basics and work on your technique. Practice with the things you have at home. We do not need perfection and a ten step routine right now. Isn’t the point to just have fun with your nails?

If you do end up enjoying doing your nails and to take care of them thoroughly, you can slowly buy more things over time.

How to use quick dry topcoats

"Isn't it just a clear polish that makes the polish underneath dry faster?"

That's what I thought for the longest time, but I found out that it has some weird quirks that makes applying it a little difficult.

• You want to load more product onto your brush than you normally would for any other nail polish. Because applying too little product will cause you to run out of product before you're done (duh?). But this also gives you a risk of dragging the polish underneath or cause some long strings to show up.

• Since you can (and probably will want to) use the topcoat when the color on your nail hasn't fully dried down, you want to use very light pressure. 'Float the brush' over your nails in order to not drag the polish underneath.

• Be QUICK! I struggle with this the most. if you work too slowly, the topcoat is starting to dry down before you've made your last stroke- which again, causes those frustrating strings.

• And because quick dry topcoats dry quickly onto your nail, they also get thick and gloopy in the bottle. You can't prevent it; everytime you open a bottle of nail polish, it slowly gets thicker. This is especially true for these quick dry topcoats. So use nail polish thinner to get the formula back to it's old shape.

Quick dry topcoats can be very useful, but at the same time, every time I use one, I keep sighing in frustration.

So my controversial take is that you do not have to use a quick dry topcoat- or any topcoat at all if you don't feel like it or find it too difficult. I'd rather sit still for a little longer with some quick drying drops. So find out what works for you! And maybe topcoat isn't your bff either 😌