Wearing and Removing Glitter Nail Polish

Today I'm going to share with you a few ways to removal glitter polish which as you may know can be a real pain in the ass! I'm going to show you a few basecoat options as well.

I used glue, clear and an actual base coat polish on my nails.  To make the glue, simply add PVA (like Elmer's white glue) to a bottle of polish. Or squeeze some out onto a flat surface and paint it on with a brush.

the glue will go on white but dry clear and matte 

thumb: glue
index: basecoat polish
middle: glue + basecoat polish

ring: glue

pinky: clear polish

I then added two coats of Wet n Wild "Diamond in the Rough" to each nail.  I wanted to compare both wear time and ease of removal.

after 24 hours:

from thumb to pinky:
glue, basecoat polish, glue + basecoat polish, glue, clear polish

from pinky to thumb:

glue, glue, clear, basecoat + glue, base

after 48 hours (shower, bathing dog, washing dishes etc)

basecoat polish, glue + base, glue, clear

glue, glue, clear, base + glue

and I'd peeled it off of my thumbs once it chipped (couldn't resist!)

 The ones with glue and/or base coat polish definitely had the best wear time. Using clear polish makes it easy to remove but it was more prone to chipping.

For removal, I used a cuticle stick to try and remove any of the nails with glue as well as the ones with clear nail polish. The all removed in whole pieces except the one where I did base coat followed by glue. The glue MUST be on the nail. You can add any polish on top of it but nothing below it. I used foil to remove the base coat nails as well as the one where I did glue on top of the base coat polish.

the ones with glue as a base easy lifted off of the nail in one piece! I used the hard end of my cuticle stick to get it started at the cuticle and then switched to the rubber end to continue because it is gentler on my nails.

 For the foil method, you use a piece of cotton ball (half works) and dip it in nail polish remover. I used acetone. You then apply the wet part of the cotton ball to your nail and wrap it with foil. It should feel secure.

 Keep it on for a few minutes and then slip off. It should remove the polish. I generally find I still have some pieces left though.

 Overall, I was very happy with the glue. It wore well and removed easier than anything else I've tried with no damage to my nail.

Next I wanted to compare using just glue as a base vs using glue followed by base coat polish.

Here is the glue base as it is drying

thumb, middle, pinky: glue + basecoat polish

index and ring: glue only

Honestly, both wear time and removal seemed pretty even to me. My left hand chipped more than my right but that had nothing to do with the polish. There are certain nails I know I use more because the polish always chips faster haha

 I'm sure wear time will vary for people and depend on the top coat. For both looks I used NYC topcoat which is a cheap one but works nicely.  If you have any glue left on your nails, just wash your hands. I love that this didn't do any apparent damage to my nails! Acetone is very drying so while I like to paint my nails a lot I am planning on trying a non-acetone remover next, something more natural.

My overall thoughts?

The glue base works really really well. If you want to add the base coat over it, go for it, but for me it didn't make much of a difference.  Most, if not all, PVA glue these days is vegan. Elmer's says they don't use any animal ingredients. I don't know what the ingredients list is so I can't say how safe it is on your nails but it does say non toxic. Plus, sometimes little kids eat the stuff and they are okay. haha Still, one thing I do plan on still trying is doing this with homemade glue!!  I doubt the glue is any more harmful than the polish itself. I do make a point to wear 3 or 4 free polishes but still, it's not like you can drink the stuff. If you only buy very natural polish like the water based ones, you may want to give a more natural glue a try. :)

I also prefer the glue method over the foil method. They take around the same amount of time but I'd say the glue definitely costs less and I find it to be much more effective.

Will you be giving the glue base a try for your next glitter manicure?