I wanted to thank a PP who mentioned the "shrinkage factor."
I recently took off my fake nails and have been painting my own, trying to get them back into good shape. I initially bought a few polishes, and the famed Seche Vite.
For the past few months, no matter how much effort I put into getting the polish on perfectly, there was always a small line at the tip of my nail that ended up without any polish. Because my nails are still fragile, that little portion always ended up snagging, cracking, etc. and I couldn't get my nails to grow out to any length. My polish would also start to chip at these edges within a day or 2. Because I had the fake nails on for so long, I thought that I must be inept at painting nails.
And then....someone on here mentions the "Shrinkage Factor" and suddenly everything makes sense :-)
Yesterday, I painted my nails and did not add any topcoat (waiting for a new one in the mail from Sephora). As of today, they are still in much better condition without any top coat, than they ever were with the Seche Vite.
So, THANK YOU, shrinkage factor mentioner. You have saved my sanity!
Now...hopefully I can find a new good top coat, sans shrinkage.
Re: Seche Vite - shrinkage factor
Wives Unscripted
probably me. I prefer Poshe since it doesn't shrink as bad as SV. however, I have bad chipping problems with both polishes--made even worse by the fact that I am a nurse and thus wash my hands 50 times a shift. my manicures rarely last longer than one shift.
I tried a coat of Gelous over my polish this weekend, then a coat of Poshe, and my polish easily lasted through 2 shifts, and could have made it through a third, if I had worked yesterday. that's lasting power in my book.
Glenna Harding Photography
I prefer Poshe over Seche Vite - doesn't shrink as much to begin with and I prefer the brush (its a lot bigger/softer)
Try a little thinner though. If the polish gets dried out it can make shrinkage worse. Even if its new, thinner can help.