FAQ

Here are some questions I get asked frequently. :) Just wanted to put it all in one place!

Q: What social networks are you on?
A: Twitter: @lissaspolishadd (also my "personal" one, @elissa_sinclair but I never use that one)
Instagram (mostly nails): @lissaspolishaddiction
Instagram (personal): @elissasinclair
YouTube: lissapolishaddiction
Facebook: lissapolishaddiction
Tumblr (personal): miss-elissa
Pinterest (bit of both - personal & nails): elissasinclair

Q: Are your nails real?
A: Yes! :)

Q: Can I repost your photo?
A: If you give me credit, and link back to my blog (or Instagram, if that's where you're taking the photo from), then sure. But you CANNOT edit or alter my photos in any way, or use them for profit.

Q: How do you get your nails to grow long/strong?
A: I haven't always had "long" (they aren't very long right now when I'm writing this, but they have been) or "strong" nails. I actually used to be an insane nail biter (badly) as long as I can remember. For my grade 12 formal (end of 2010), I got acrylic nails done. Once I got them, I stopped biting my nails altogether! I've never bitten my nails since! After that I got into all things nails, but I did acrylics on myself, which led to extremely bad and ruined natural nails. They were uneven and bumpy, paper-thin (they still are quite thin but not like they were) and super bendy. Let me just tell you, if you have acrylics (gels too, probably) and want to remove them and grow your natural nails, it won't happen overnight. I removed my last acrylics in December 2011 and I didn't have strong nails until maybe May-June 2012. It'll take at least a few months, depending on what you use. I used various Sally Hansen nail strengtheners/hardeners which didn't really work for me. I started taking Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins (I use the Cenovis brand but it doesn't really matter which ones you take). I'd also recommend a good cuticle oil, I recommend the Gloss n Sparkle Cuticle Oil or CND Solar Oil. You can also use creams/balms, like Burts Bees Lemon Cuticle Creme, or Lush Lemony Flutter, both of which I also love! So always keep your hands and nails moisturised. For hand cream, I really just use whatever I have lying around. I do have a mini OPI AvoJuice lotion that I'm quite liking at the moment, however. If you had damaged nails as a result of fakies, definitely keep your nails as short as possible until all of the damage has grown out. In recent months I've been using Duri Rejuvacote as my base coat (or just wearing it whenever I don't have coloured polish on, on its own). My nails were already pretty strong but I find that it helps amazingly with growth, and so many other girls have had amazing results with it. I definitely recommend that as a strengthener, especially if you have damaged nails from fakes. It's a long road and seems like a lot of work but it's worth it!
Sorry, that was so long!

Q: What base coat do you use?
A: I have a few favourite base coats. As I said above, I usually use Duri Rejuvacote as my base. I also like to use CND Stickey. And to be honest, a lot of the time I don't use a base coat if I don't plan on wearing my mani very long. I feel like I'm wasting my base coat if I only plan on wearing the mani less than a day! Ha! I haven't found any base coats to be "bad", though, so just try whatever you can get your hands on. :) I also had a mini of OPI Nail Envy that was nice. If you like to wear glitter polish, you should give a PVA Peel Off Base Coat a try! Personally I haven't had a lot of luck with it (for some reason, it just will not peel off for me), but some friends of mine have! Check out Alanna's results HERE and she has more info on it HERE.

Q: What top coats do you use?
A: My all time fave top coat is Seche Vite, as is a lot of people's. I know a lot of people have trouble with shrinkage with it though (I do occasionally, at the cuticle/sides if I'm not careful enough - but its not enough to bother me usually), so if that's you, some other top coats I love are Essie Good to Go, it dries as fast as Seche for me, and isn't as thick. I also like Sally Hansen Insta Dri and Mega Shine. Both dry fast, not as fast as Seche, but reasonably fast. OPI RapiDry is also nice.

Q: How do you remove glitter nail polish?
A: 99% of the time, I use the foil method. I find that I don't make sense when I try to explain it, but here are some tutorials on youtube you can check out: sayanythingbr00ke's tutorial, SimpleLittlePleasues' tutorial. It works amazingly well but I do find myself going through a lot of cotton balls/remover because I wear glitter a lot and am always doing this! As I said two questions above, you can try the PVA base coat method which makes removing glitters a breeze for most people, but personally it hasn't worked for me. :(

Q: What camera do you use?
A: The majority of my photos have been taken with a simple, cheap point and shoot camera, the Samsung L100 which I've had for almost 4 years and works fine for me. Lately I've been using my mum's camera which is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42, also a point and shoot but the quality is a bit better than my Samsung. I'm wanting to upgrade to a better camera soon but I still won't be using anything overly extravagant or expensive.
I also take my photos either outside in the sunlight, or under a daylight lamp.

Q: How do you get your cuticles so neat/clean?
A: I get this question quite a bit and I'm flattered because I don't think my cuticles look very nice. I use a cheapo angled eyeliner brush and pure acetone to clean up around my cuticles. I LOVE THIS TUTORIAL by Lacquerized on cuticle cleanup and recommend that everyone checks it out! Here's another tutorial by her on how to paint your nails.

Q: How do you get your nails square?
A: I use a smooth emery board file (some people don't like them, but I don't find that it hurts my nails at all, if used gently) and file straight across in one direction. I also have a glass/crystal nail file but I don't find that it files my nails well.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment, but I'll be more likely to get back to you (and faster) if you email me: lissaspolishaddiction@hotmail.com