The Chip-Free Manicure

Those of you who know me or have been reading the blog for a while may know that I am absolutely terrible when it comes to manicures. Not only am I terrible at applying polish myself, my nails just seem to repel the stuff. (Seriously, I've had manicures done that chip within the day!) 

After chatting with Gummy on multiple occasions, she pushed me to add a few more steps to my manicure routine - a primer that tempted us both and her favorite topcoat.  

nail tek foundation 2 review, deborah lippmann 2 second primer review, sally hansen instadri topcoat review

So, I grabbed the Deborah Lippmann 2 Second Primer, newly available through Sephora and dabbed each nail with a drop of the stuff. Meant to really clean the nail to prep it for your manicure, this stuff really seems to work. I followed it with a coat of my trusty Nail Tek Foundation II base, and my glossy nails were ready for color. The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat is brilliant too - a shiny, hard coat to protect, and boy does it keep that manicure on. When I talked about Essie Full Steam Ahead in this post a few weeks ago, I was wearing this bulletproof combo, and my photo is from TWO DAYS after I did my nails. EPIC I tell you. 

Have you tried any of these for your manicure? What manicure secrets really work for you? I'd love to know!  

All products in this post were purchased by me. This post contains affiliate links.