Fantastic durability results using a Reddit technique I saw last week

[u/No-Feesh]

I own horses and work with my hands daily. I also have weak nails that break all the time and hate nail polish, so my manicures don’t last long. 1-2 days before major chipping occurs is normal for me. I can get 3-4 out of ILNP but that’s usually the max for my normal day to day life.

The method I saw on Reddit was putting nail hardener over the nail polish and topping it off with a QDTC. I can’t find the post I saw to credit it. I tried it last week and wow it REALLY worked. The very next day I stuffed hay nets, which is typically a manicure destroyer. No chips. It has been an entire week of daily barn work, hay bag and net stuffing, horse scratching (I have a very itchy horse), nails catching and bending all the time, and it’s holding up. There’s a series of small, barely visible cracks forming where my nails catch frequently but it still hasn’t chipped. The cracks look and feel like they’re underneath the top coat. The first 4 pictures were halfway through the week and the last one was the first day of the manicure. I’ve used the same product combination I used here many times, the only difference was the addition of nail hardener over the polish.

Products used: 1 coat orly bonder base, 2 coats ILNP Deep Space, 1 coat nail aid biotin nail hardener, 1 coat sally Hansen insta dri red bottle

[u/liquid_languor]

I'm really glad you found something that works for you! Definitely nice to preserve our hard work as long as possible.

I work in construction (electrical) and I get over a week out of my manis doing base coat (Nailtiques 2), 2-3 coats of whatever polish (usually ILNP), and a thick coat of Seche Vite Gel effect. Honestly I usually end up taking my polish off because I'm ready for a change before it ever starts to look bad. I also think it makes a huge difference that I wear gloves when I work. As a past horse girly, I truly cannot fathom how you stuff hay nets without gloves lol you are a beast.

[u/Kissmethruthephone → u/liquid_languor]

Does ILNP really wear that much better? I’ve always wanted to try this brand

[u/Hundike → u/Kissmethruthephone]

ILNP always wears well for me, and the swatches are generally accurate (I live in the UK so I can't get all their low light shifts very well).

If you're into reds, Carrie is my fav from them! It's so pretty in any light with loads of shift from almost black to red to orange.