Dark Nail Polish – Super chic or too vampy?

Dark nail polish, super chic or too vampy? For me the answer is always super chic. Right now I’m currently obsessed with Chanel’s 18 Rouge Noir, this is an iconic shade of color and absolutely perfect for winter. It’s a red-black shade that was made famous by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction and Madonna’s Take A Bow music video.

I have also been wearing OPI’s First Class Desires. It’s a dark purple shade with a hint of gold glitter and a pinch of green undertone. First Class Desires is a stunning, striking, and sexy nail polish that I enjoy wearing with darker pieces from my wardrobe.

However, as much as I live for dark nail colors, I must admit, they are high maintenance manicures. So below I’ve listed some tricks that you absolutely need to know for when you apply your favorite dark nail polishes.

Dark Nail Polish Tips:

• Trim and file nails to their desired shape. Smooth out any sharp or jagged edges.

• Buff out nails. Your nails should be left with a smooth canvas, dark nail polishes will bring attention to any bumps, ridges, or imperfections.

• Apply a base coat. Never skip this step, this will keep dark polish from staining your nails and it prevents chipping and helps polish to stay on longer.

• Apply a thin coat of vaseline, lotion, or cuticle oil to the skin around your nails to prevent the dark polish from bleeding onto your skin.

• Clean your edges and wipe off excess polish: dip a clean makeup brush with a thin tip into a bowl that contains nail polish remover, smoothly and quickly remove any nail polish that has gotten onto the skin around your nails (don’t let the polish dry onto your skin, your manicure will look messy and it will be harder to remove later).

• Apply thin layers of polish. Dark pigmented colors take longer to dry than lighter colors, and you don’t want to wait forever for your nails to dry. Also you don’t want goopy, clumpy dark nails that will eventually peel off.

• Don’t forget to apply nail color onto the tips of your nails, this will leave a cleaner look.

• You absolutely must apply a top coat. This will protect the color and prevent it from chipping. Remember, any chips in your dark manicure is going to be super magnified.

• Every night before you go to bed apply cuticle oil to your cuticles and the skin around your nails. Dry, rough skin will become more prominent once it’s surrounded and highlighted by dark nail polish.

• Apply lotion to your hands often throughout the day, that way you have hydrated hands to show off your fabulous dark manicure.

Chipped Polish:

• What to do if your polish chips? Not a problem. Use a glitter nail polish to cover up any unexpected chips. This is a fast fix, especially if you don’t have time to redo your nails all over again. Plus, it’ll make your dark nails look extra and fabulous!

• Also, if you have any nail decals that are like little gems or have pretty designs then place one of the decals on top of the chip to hide it until you have the time to redo all your nails (click here for nail decals).

Removal Tip:

• Rub baby oil or body oil or olive oil onto your hands before you remove dark nail polish. Why? Because you wanna avoid staining your hands from the dark nail polish that is going to be coming off with the toner.

• Use cotton pads that have a side with rough texture, the rougher texture will make it easier to remove dark polishes and the glitter ones too.

Length – Short or Long:

Whatever make you happy.

I prefer to wear dark nail polish when my nails are longer. My long nails look gorgeous when they’re perfectly shaped and I’m wearing my favorite dark nail color.

Darker shades on my short nails tend to make my hands look stubby. And I make more painting mistakes when my nails are shorter. I adore wearing Smith & Cult’s Exit The Void when my nails are short, one of my favorite nail colors ever!

Do you wear dark nail polish during the winter or all year round?

Got any dark nail polish tips? Leave them in the comments section below

Thanks so much!

Have a beautiful day 🙂

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