Completely serious question. This isn't even one of the trickier polishes like By The Moonlight or Quiet Strength.
This bottle was 3/4 full yesterday, but I keep being dissatisfied with the evenness of the coats, or the appearance of the glass bead, or the top coat not fully drying leading to slight smudge marks, and starting over repeatedly. I know I've got some (legit, diagnosed) obsessive/compulsive habits but I'm starting to think I've been lying to myself about the severity.
Edit to add: have a therapist, she's great – already sent her an email 🙂 this has definitely helped me realize I'm not doing so great on managing this part of my health!
by mykingdomforsleep
16 Comments
If it helps I find these bottles look like they go down quite quickly. Usually after three times I give up and just live with it for a day or two and change a mani early
Honestly I set the bar at “am I enjoying myself?” – I have a job, my nails are a fun hobby. If I’m enjoying learning I’ll do something a bajillion times. If it’s a bummer, I’ll throw the whole polish out and move on. Also, I have one of these ILNP beiges (mine is Sandbar but they’re all pretty similar) and IMO it looks fantastic in plain velvet style, have you tried that to spare yourself the struggle of glass beading it?
If I’m unhappy with how it’s applying it almost always means I need to add thinner. All of these issues sound like thinner could really help with them. I use it so much that my tolerance for poor application is now very low
DeEnti thinner is the best, just butyl and ethyl acetate and way cheaper than anything else
In the background I see SH ID and nailtiques 2. I’ve found that Nailtiques is best if it’s allowed to fully dry before you add polish, ILNP is best in very thin coats, and SH ID also needs thinner or a refill if it’s not floating smoothly. Hopefully one of the things I’ve mentioned is helpful in some way, I’ve used every product in your picture extensively
Nail polish is a fun hobby for me. I love the challenge of magnetic and doing a gradient with a makeup sponge…if a particular mani goes beyond just enjoying…(TO ME) it’s not that important so I’ll fall back tk a given favorite if I’ve given too much time to something. My nails looking fun and pretty brings job to other mundane parts of life. The joy it brings be is very important…but I only have so much time to give to it, so if I find myself getting frustrated I evaluate if the frustrating feels worth it…this is a very personal threshold for people so figure out what works for you! Different people have different thresholds for challenge in this hobby
Part of it (for me!) is that the anxiety of getting it wrong compounds each time I get it wrong, leading to me getting it wrong again….. if I mess it up more than once I force myself to stop for the night. Usually. If I can. 🥴
I actually don’t repaint. 😬 If I end up disliking the way a polish looks due to imperfections, etc., I will hide it with nail stamping or a topper. Or a combo of both. I simply don’t have it in me to try for perfection. I have psoriatic arthritis and other painful conditions, so simply getting my nails painted feels like a great accomplishment. I’ve posted manicures and pointed out all my flaws. I’ve had people tell me they look fine, and they wouldn’t have noticed the “issues” if I hadn’t pointed them out. I know I see all the miniscule faults, but I just hope for the best. I bet you’re being too hard on yourself. 🥰
I’ll be honest— I seldom redo nails unless the damage goes from sloppy to tragic. The way I see it, it’s just a manicure and it’ll last a few days at most. Yes, I might spend extra time looking at/fixating on the flub but that only means that the next manicure I will have learned from that experience and moved on. Imperfect nails don’t squelch my excitement with my nails and manicure. If you’re still having fun redoing your nails, keep at it. But if you feel frustrated, you might want to ask yourself what is frustrating you.
I’ll redo it once, if things go very wrong, and touch up individual nails maaaaaybe a third time. After that, I decide to just live with it for a day and try something else the next day if I’m still unhappy. Gently, using a third of a bottle redoing your nails…is a lot, especially if you’re not enjoying it/doing it out of frustration.
Also keep in mind that some polishes simply do not like glass bead, it’s especially tough to get it right if they’re less reactive ones. You could try some thinner to see if it helps the magnetic particles swim a little easier, I know my ILNP magnetics got thick really fast. I tried glass bead with Deep Space in a magnetic skittle a while ago and everything looked beady except that one
https://preview.redd.it/0hvec2pvo00h1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa160727599a6f418846ef443a0725b5be101fc1
I only start over on individual nails if I bonk them while they’re still wet, or if I get dents sleeping on it or something. I’ll also redo individual nails on later days if I start getting chips but I’m not ready to change the whole manicure yet. Anything else, I won’t restart, but it might play a factor in how long I decide to keep that particular polish on.
Said from a lacquerista with love, OP I would really recommend therapy. To go through that much polish in a single day is taking a lot of your time. Time that could be dedicated to enjoying your life and your hobbies. Therapy changed my life in many ways, but the most helpful was that it gave me back HOURS from spiraling. It’s not a magic bullet and doesn’t stop it every time, but you get stronger every time you flex the muscle that is choosing mental health! 🩷
I’ve redone manicures the next day I’d I can’t stand how it came out, or if I ruin too many nails. I did the most beautiful BKL glass bead, and then took gorgeous pictures. Two house later I showered and ruined every single nail on my left hand. It was such a bummer. 🥲
I don’t. I just leave it, or if it’s a total disaster I just take it off and leave it off. I don’t have time for that.
If i hate the look, design, color, i still tough it out for a week ngl. But if its the application or if i didnt apply it well, maybe it needs thinner or i just didnt do my best, I’ll redo in like 2 days.
I took polish off twice last weekend because I hated how it turned out. ALSO trying for the perfect glass bead. I have the same setup you have too lol
I think glass bead makes us crazy. That’s what I’m going to blame 😂
I say this with compassion: therapy. I know someone else mentioned it helped them, and I’m seconding. It might also be a good time to take a step back from the magnetics for a bit until you’ve had a chance to bring it up with your doc to discuss some strategies. Personally, I’m on a self- prescribed hiatus from both buying or using any magnetic polish because it similarly is not a positive bit of self care- the thing I started getting into nail polish for. I’m just an internet random though, so definitely feel free to ignore if this isn’t useful advice.