Take it all off! (The Foil Method Way)

I don't know about you, but I sure love my glitter polishes! Some of them I buy, knowing I'll never use them, but they're just so pretty in the bottle, I can't say no (Absolutely Alice, Bring on the Bling, Glow Up Already)!

When Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" came out, I fell in love with it the moment I laid eyes on it at JCPenny! It takes glitter polish to a whole new level! The only problem with the polish, is that it's a b!+** to get off! At that time, I didn't know about the "Foil Method", so I was just scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing away at my nails until it finally was all off. My hands, fingers and nails actually hurt after all of that scrubbing!

Then, I heard out about the Foil Method on OPI's FB Fan Page. There were no clear-cut directions, so I just experimented on my own (c'mon, just some foil, acetone polish remover and some cotton balls - how hard can that be?!). My first try with foiling was when I wore "Teenage Dream" for the 2nd time. I was absolutely blown away at how perfectly it worked! Amazing!

Here's what you'll need:

Alluminum Foil - I buy the Reynolds Pre-Cut Pop-Up Sheets. They're easier to work with, in my opinion. I fold the sheet in thirds, then cut the folded sheet horizontally so that I get 6 small sheets out of if.

Pure Acetone - At first, I thought you could only find Pure Acetone at beauty supply stores. So I bought a small bottle for a small fortune. Then, when I was at Wal-Mart one day, I saw that Onyx makes a Pure Acetone (they also make a great smelling non-Acetone remover, which I love) and it cost less than $3 for this huge 16 oz. bottle!

Cotton Balls - Some people cut the cotton balls in half. I use one whole cotton ball per fingernail.

First, you'll soak the cotton ball in Pure Acetone. Then, place the wet side of the cotton ball directly on the nail. Do this for all 5 fingers. I prefer to do one hand at a time, but if you're able to do both hands all at once, go for it!

Here's where you'll get your foil sheets out. Basically, just wrap up your finger in the foil. You'll want to "cap" the end of your nail by scrunching the foil tightly. The tighter you scrunch, the closer the cotton ball will be to your nail and the better the polish will come off.

They look like little sausages all wrapped up!

Let your "sausages" sit for about 5 minutes. Then, before sliding them off, rub them back and forth around the nail a few times. This will help ensure you get off any polish on the sides of your nails. After you've done this, slide off the foil (the cotton ball will come off with it), and voila' - no more glittery polish!

Sometimes, I'll have to do a little touch-up with a Q-Tip soaked in remover, just to get any stubborn polish that might've gotten missed. But for the most part, foiling should remove most, if not all, of your polish.

(My apologies that you had to see my ugly naked nails, but I thought it would be best to show the final outcome in this post)

I wouldn't recommend using this method each and every time you take polish off, because it's not really necessary. Plus, it's not good to use Pure Acetone every time you take polish off, either. Pure Acetone can really dry out your hands and cuticles. I recommend using this method when you have stubborn glitter polish that needs to be removed, or if you have layers of polish (more than normal) that you see causing a problem to remove. Otherwise, I'd just stick to non-Acetone remover (like I said, Onyx makes a great Lavender scented bottle. You get about 16 oz. for less than $3!)

My last recommendation when using Pure Acetone - after you've used it, be sure to moisturize your hands and cuticles. I'm a big fan of OPI's Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Replenishing Oil for my cuticles and High Intensity Hand & Nail Cream for my hands.