YOUR IN DEPTH GUIDE TO THE PERFECT MANI

Before you start you Esmio mani journey, it is best to determine the type of nail bed you have. The best and quickest way to decide is to assess the type of skin you have, chances are if you have oily skin, your nail beds are oily too, similarly, if you have dry skin, you will most likely have dry nail beds! To read more about the difference in nail beds, read our blog here

1. Apply Cuticle Softener along your cuticles and let it sit for 1 minute. You can also soak your hand in warm water to further assist in cuticle softening.

2. Using our Cuticle Pusher, gently push each of your cuticles away from your nails using a back and forth motion. Ensure you are starting a third of the way down to remove any excess dead skin particles on your nail beds. The cleaner your nail beds, the easier the application for your gel.

3. Use the blade on the opposite end of our Cuticle Pusher to remove the dead skin from around and under your cuticles.

4. Wipe off the remaining cuticle softener from your nail beds with a cotton pad or tissue.

5. (Optional)Cut away and excess cuticle skin with our Cuticle Clippers.

6. Using our Buffer Block, lightly buff around the cuticle and the surface of your natural nails for a clean finish.

7. File your nails to the desired length and shape using our Pro File.

8. Rinse your hands and dry with a paper towel to remove any excess particles.

9. Lightly rebuff your nails, especially near the free edge, to ensure you have a rough textured nail in preparation of applying our One Step Gel Polish. A rough texture ensures that the gel will adhere better.

1. Roll your One Step Gel Polish bottle between hands to ensure the polish ingredients are totally blended.

2. (Optional) To remove all natural oils from your natural nails, apply 1 coat of our Strong Hold Bond and let air dry. Alternatively you can use rubbing alcohol for this step.

3. Apply a thin coat of our One Step Gel Polish to your nails. Cure for 60s under our LED lamp. Ensure you leave a tiny margin around the cuticle and edges of nails so that there is no gel polish touching your skin, this will ensure a nice clean finish. Repeat until you reach your desired opacity.

4. Apply Cuticle Oil to your cuticles and massage into your skin for a salon finish mani!

1. Roll bottle between hands to ensure the polish ingredients are totally blended.

2. (Optional) To remove all natural oils from your natural nails, apply 1 coat of our Strong Hold Bond and let air dry. Alternatively you can use rubbing alcohol for this step.

3. Apply 1 coat of our Optional Base Coat and cure for 60s under our LED lamp.

4. Apply your One Step Gel Polish as outlined above.

5. Apply 1 coat of our Optional Top Coat and cure for 60s under our LED lamp. This is a no wipe formula so there is no need to wipe your nails after curing.

6. Apply Cuticle Oil to your cuticles and massage into your skin for a salon finish mani!

1. Buff off the first coat of your One Step Gel Polish using our 100/180 grit file. The shine should be removed from all nails.

2. Apply 1 thick coat of our One Step Gel Remover to your buffed nails (ensure you do not get any on your skin). Once applied to all nails, repeat with a second coat.

3. Wait 3-5 minutes for our One Step Gel Remover to penetrate the One Step Gel Polish. You should feel a slight tight sensation as the polish lifts off your nails. This is perfectly normal!

4. Once the One Step Gel Polish is flaky, use our Scraper Tool to remove the gel polish off your nails.

5. If there is excess One Step Gel Polish you can repeat this process above.

6. Use our Buffer Block to lightly buff away any left over residue.

7. Lastly, give your hands a wash and you are ready to go!

1. On prepped nails starting from the pinky working towards your thumb (one finger at a time), paint a small amount of Extension Gel Adhesive in the middle of your nail, leaving space around the sides of your nail and cuticle.

2. On the underside of your One Step Gel Nail Extension add a drop of Extension Gel Adhesive on the cuticle side edge.

3. Turn on your Mini LED Lamp in preperation of application (so it is ready to go) and stick down your One Step Gel Nail Extension starting from your cuticle, working your way up to the free edge. If you have not applied enough gel you will see bubbles under the nail extension, in this case please unstick the extension and apply more gel on the area that it is needed- you should not have to press down too hard, this should be an easy process so you will know when to add more gel.

4. Hold and flash cure your extension under the Mini LED Lamp for 10 seconds, then once you have completed each nail, place your whole hand under our LED Lamp for 60 seconds to totally cure your extensions into place.

5. Once you have applied and cured each extension, you can now buff, trim, file and paint your nails as you normally would.

1. Cut down your One Step Gel Nail Extensions to your natural nail length.

2. To remove your One Step Gel Extensions you will need to first remove your One Step Gel Polish as outlined above OR file it off with your 100/180 nail file..

3. Once you have removed your One Step Gel you can now buff and apply One Step Gel Remover to your One Step Gel Extensions in the same process as our One Step Gel Removal.

4. Once you notice your extensions are bubbly and gooey in texture, place your nails (one at a time) on a tissue and using the flat edge of our Pro Scraper Tool, push the extension down towards the tissue. Please keep in mind that the extensions will solidify after you remove them so it is important you complete this step on a tissue.

5. Give your nails a buff with our Buffer Block and follow with a wash. You are now ready to go!

How To Apply A Neat, Thin Coat of Gel

1. Wipe the sides of the brush along the inside neck of the bottle- you want to start with as little gel polish on the brush as possible. Place the brush in the centre of your nail and slowly move it towards your cuticle so that the brush forms a U shape, this will allow for a close and neat application near the cuticle. Do not allow the brush or gel to touch the cuticle. Once you have neatly applied the gel near your cuticles, you can brush straight up the nail. Once the cuticle and centre have been painted you want to place the brush near the painted cuticle and pivot the brush around each side of the nail, one side at a time. If you get any of the gel on the cuticle or skin around the nail you can remove with a nail art brush. Also ensure that the gel has coated the top of your nail near the free edge to ensure the layer is perfect. Cure and then repeat this process again.

Easy Nail Application Tips For Beginners

Paint in a very well lit area to ensure you can see what you are doing, as obvious as this step may be, the more you can see the better the outcome of your manicure! Please do not paint outside in direct sunlight, direct sunlight can cure our gel polish.

Always start painting with your dominant hand onto your non dominant hand to get into the groove of the brush strokes and become familiar with the gel texture.

Start on the pinky finger and paint towards the thumb, this will ensure that the gel on all nails stays as even as possible as the thumb usually points in a slightly different direction to your other fingers.

We find it easiest to paint on a flat surface so that you can easily pivot your brush or your hand around for a neat, even and clean application.

Take your time and brush slow, you will get quicker at painting the more you paint.

Ways To Avoid Your Gel Polish From Chipping

In terms of technique, capping the free edge of your nail when painting each layer can assist in creating a more solid application of your gel polish which will help with nail chipping.

Another way to stop chipping is to use our cuticle oil daily to help strengthen your nail, the stronger your nails the less chipping due to less of a bend in your nail.