A week-long manicure

I do my nails every Sunday with the intent that the manicure will last me through the week. I've picked up a couple of tricks to make my nails stay chip free for a week and want to share with you!

- The stronger your nails, the better. I take a biotin supplement every day to benefit my nails and hair.

-  I prefer to keep my nails relatively short. Keeping them shorter also prevents them from breaking.

-  Start your manicure with a base. I've been using Sally Hansen's Base Coat {$8}. It fills in the ridges of your nail, it gives the colored polish to grab on to, and it prevents your nails from turning yellow if you wear darker colors.

 - Start your color polish in the middle of the nail, and push down to your cuticles {Thanks to The Stylish Housewife for that tip!}. This will leave a smooth edge at the bottom of your nail

- Wrap your tips - this gives the edge of your nail an extra coat of polish, and gives your nail a more uniform color. See How-To here at the Polish Perfectionist. 

- Once the last color polish coat is completely dry, use a heavy-duty top coat, such as Sally Hansen's Hard as Wraps. I've found that this top coat really does the trick for preventing chips but it goes on very heavy, and takes forever to dry so I may be on the look out for a different formula once this bottles is up.

I hope these tips help you achieve a chip free week long manicure. If you have any tips or suggestions please share in the comments!