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1. A LEGIT top coat reviewers say extends their at-home manis by about a week. (Yup, this reviewer's mani is eight days old at this point in the pic.)
Promising review: "My nail polish usually chips and needs to be redone by day two. When I use Seche Vite, I can go a week or longer without seeing any chips in the paint. Also there is no smearing of the paint underneath when applying this top coat. I wash my hands about 300 times a day and do the dishes daily. I highly recommend this nail polish." —VS
Get it from Amazon for $5.96.
2. A cuticle oil that'll do your personal beauty counter, cuticles, and skin good. The skin *around* your nails deserves the royal treatment too!
I own this stuff and with the combination of taking a hair/skin/nails vitamin and daily use of this before bed, my nails grew SO long and SO fast! Also it smells lovely.
Promising review: "This Cuccio milk and honey cuticle moisturizer is truly a cuticle saver. Applying one drop to each cuticle and massaging it in completely will leave your cuticles and hands feeling soft, looking great and the smell is divine. I use it on both my hands and feet and I’m comfortable showing my fingernails and toenails this summer because this product has made it so easy to feel confident knowing I won’t have crusty cuticles." —Rina C
Get it from Amazon for $6.15+ (available in two sizes and four scents).
3. Or a nail and cuticle oil that reviewers rave about but comes in a much smaller bottle for easy transport!
Promising review: "This product is amazing. I've always had acrylic or dipped nails because my real nails have always been brittle and always break and peel. I decided to give my nails a break and wanted to try and grow them out. I can't even believe the outcome! They are stronger than ever and growing! I really wish I had taken a before pic to show the difference!" —JOE D.
Get it from Amazon for $8.50+ (available in two sizes).
4. A dip powder kit if you've mastered the regular at-home mani but wanna level up with a salon-level treatment. After all, salon dip manis can add up pretty quickly!
It comes with a base coat, an activator, a top coat, five color powders, a nail file, a brush, and instructions.
Promising review: "This product is great! As someone who is CONSTANTLY getting their nails done (dipping powder) at salons, it has been hard to do so because of COVID-19. I was looking for an inexpensive kit with neutral colors that I could use. This starter kit has been an absolute lifesaver during these unprecedented times. It is so easy to use! I finished off my nails with a gel top coat and cured it under the UV light that I had from a while ago. Overall it's an amazing product — very satisfied!" —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $13.58.
5. And a set of holographic nail powders for some real flash.
Set includes eight different colors: laser silver, silver, champagne gold, red, hot pink, rose gold, purple, and deep blue.
Promising review: "Oh my gosh I love this stuff! I normally change my gel polish every three weeks or more but there are so many beautiful colors that I just had to change it within a week. I am amazed at how easily it goes on. It doesn’t last as long as gel polish through and through, but that’s OK I’m ready to try another one!" —Nyx
Get them from Amazon for $13.96.
6. Press-on nails that'll give you a gel-like mani in about five minutes. I can vouch because these are my hands and I've used about five sets of them!
I'm quite adept at painting my own nails (the only time I get a professional manicure is when I want gel before going on vacation), but these press-on nails have me feeling super lazy about painting my nails because they're so easy to use! And that's OK! Each set costs you less than 10 bucks and rather than fool with a bottle of nail glue that ends up anywhere but the nails, each nail has a peel-off plastic that reveals a super sticky surface you press onto your real nail. I find that all the nails stay on about three days when I do stuff like hand-wash my dishes, pet glorious dogs, and scratch many layers of dry shampoo on my scalp. You'll get 30 nails with each set, which helps you find the right sizes BUT I've also found comes in handy when a pointer or middle finger nail pops off (those are the first to go in my experience) so I end up getting about a week's use of wear out of each nail set. Multiple friends have seen me with the nails on and all have believed they're the real deal!
Get them from Target: marble/glitter set for $8.59 or similar red set for $8.59 (available in lots more styles)
7. Or some neon-accented fake nails that come with nail glue AND press-on strips so you can apply as you'd like.
That's my hand! I've been rocking these for about a week now and only had one thumb nail pop off while doing some really intense hand-washing of sweaty summer clothes. (It was really easy to glue back on.) I used the glue option and I'm impressed! Plus nearly everyone I've seen during that time has showered me with compliments about them. The kit comes with 24 nails of various sizes, a file/buffer, nail glue, adhesive adhesive tabs, and a cuticle stick.
Get them from Nails of LA for $16.
8. Nail glue in case you haven't quite found your holy grail for press-ons or want to repair any cracks you get in your natural nails.
Promising review (for false nails): "I have been doing my own nails for some time now and I love press-on nails. I think this nail glue has held up the best for me because no one likes walking around with some nails popped off 😂 this is my second purchase so I’m pretty happy with the glue." —Rocky
Get three bottles of glue from Amazon for $9.99.
9. A nail-strengthening cream for anyone who's been meaning to do something about their thin or brittle nails...or is taking the time rn to give themselves a break from acrylics. This is pretty low-effort and incredibly affordable.
Promising review: "I purchased this to help strengthen my nails. I have been applying it to my nails and cuticles three to four times per day and at night before bed. I kid you not: I woke up with my nails extremely harder and I just couldn’t believe it. My nails haven’t been this strong for a very long time. I can only imagine with overtime usage on how much longer my nails will get." —Vee Wilson
Get it from Amazon for $7.94.
10. A dishwashing spray anyone without a dishwasher (or even with one!) will adore so they can avoid any scrubbing for 1) laziness and 2) your nails. This spray works so you can spray, swipe off caked-on food, and rinse instead!
I live in an apartment without a dishwasher, and I honestly use that as an excuse to order takeout food instead of cooking. But, as soon as I got my hands on a bottle of this stuff (regular Dawn is my go-to dish soap, BTW), I put it to use on both a saucepan I used to make homemade enchilada sauce *and* the casserole dish I baked those enchiladas, which had a ton of caked-on food. It really does work like I say it does! Like, scary well.
Get it from Target for $6.99.
11. And while we're talking about dishes, some dishwashing gloves to create a barrier between your paws and scalding hot water.
Like I said up there, I don't have a dishwasher so I hand-wash everything. I've used these and they stay put, last what feels like a long time, and insulates my hands from hot water.
Get two pairs from Amazon for $9.92.
12. Plus a drill brush cleaning kit you can attach to your drill/driver for an informercial-like cleaning sesh at the flip of a switch so you can put some distance between your nails and whatever surface you're cleaning.
Includes three brushes that'll attached to a standard handheld drill.
Promising review: "I’m in love with this. I manage many apartment properties and finding people to do the cleaning has been tricky business, so I end up having to get in and clean these horrendous filth pods tenants lived in and left me to deal with when they move out. The ovens and stove tops are usually the worst, and I absolutely hate cleaning. I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously! I still had to get in with a putty knife on some of them but it really cut down my elbow-grease time. If it wasn’t for this drill attachment, I think my arms would have just fallen off trying to clean it as good as I did! My only con would be that it doesn’t have any extension of any sort, so I really had my drill all up in that oven, but well worth it." —alicia haats
Get it from Amazon for $14.99 (available in six color combos).
13. A callus-removing gel for professional pedicure results at home if scrubbing, soaking, and filing have failed you.
Promising review: "Amazing. Now I know the first pic is gross but that just shows how bad my feet were, scrubbing, pedicures, soaking all just made it worse until I found this cream! I mean it seriously shows In the pics. The other big thing I noticed was how soft my feet were after using it! Too bad you can't tell that from the picture. Idk what makes this work so well but it's a miracle! And yes definitely wear gloves and you're good to go." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $13.87.
14. An instant-drying nail polish (that also happens to be super cheap) you'll be glad you have on hand for those times when you really wanna paint your nails but are pressed for time.
This stuff is consistently good. I've been using it for years! It really does dry quick and flat so you can move on with the rest of your life.
Get it from Amazon for $3.93+ (available in 17 colors).
Not ready to give up your holy grail polish? Get a fast-drying top coat instead.
15. A set of wash-off nail polish for kids for the kid who's always begging you to paint their nails when you break out your own at-home mani essentials.
Get a five-pack from Anthropologie for $32 (available in two color combos).
16. 3D cherry nail charms you won't have any trouble picking for this week's DIY mani.
Painted Pretty is a Tampa, Florida-based Etsy shop that sells press-on nails, nail stickers, and charms.
Promising review: "These cherry charms are so sparkly and pretty. Everyone wanted them. Must buy! Will for sure be purchasing again!!" —Michelle
Get the 10-pack from Painted Pretty on Etsy for $7.99.
Buy three, get one free with code PAINTEDPRETTY
17. A nail polish holder with some good bottle grip for at-home (or on-the-go) manis with a steady hand. After all, you wouldn't be caught dead with chipped polish once you arrive at your road trip destination (painting while you're the passenger, of course).
I'm actually quite agile at painting my nails, but my Tweexy holder lets me be downright careless with that open bottle of polish. It holds several shapes of nail polish bottles securely! Lots of reviewers say they even use it in the car, but as a passenger. Safety before manis, folks!
Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in 21 colors).
18. A universal mani tool that'll fit on top of a variety of nail polish lids to help you *steadily* brush on that at-home color thanks to the larger surface area for holding. Even with your non-dominant hand!
This tool will fit on top of any nail polish bottle (not just the brand's)!
Get it from Target for $16.
19. A set of files and buffers to help you get to your desired shape and level of smoothness when starting from scratch.
Set includes six nail files and six nail buffers.
Promising review: "I was scared to buy this because I thought it was going to be cheap af!! But these are actually amazing, sturdy, and I think they will last a long time. I buffed my thumb slightly with the orange sponge (all of the sponges have the same grit-like smoothness) and it feels like a professional buffer. As for the nail file, you can tell the difference in grit on both sides. These are perfect for my personal use." —Kathy Ly
Get them from Amazon for $6.99.
20. A concentrated O'Keeffe's Working Hands Hand Cream so your paws will look and feel as lovely as your nails.
The best time to apply for maximum results is after hand-washing, bathing, or at bedtime.
Promising review: "Every winter, my fingers and knuckles crack and bleed. I've tried everything on the market to heal my hands. I received this hand cream yesterday and when I put it on, I could tell right away that this was better than anything I'd tried. This stuff started working immediately. I filled all the cuts and cracks on my hands with this cream, and today they are almost healed. I believe that this is the best hand cream ever made on earth." —Steve
Get it from Amazon for $7.99.
21. Customizable chrome ombre nails you can have tailored to your perfect shape, size, and length.
Ethereally Touched Nails is a Black woman-owned biz that sells a variety of beautiful press-on nails you can have customized to fit you perfectly...which is especially great if you've felt personally victimized by the shapes/nail sizes of press-on nail kits.
Get them from Ethereally Touched Nails for $25.39 (available in five shapes, sizes, and lengths).
22. A necessary bottle of drying drops that'll help you get on with your post-painting life much faster thanks to a single drop for each freshly polished nail.
Promising review: "These 'drip dry' finishing drops are a total game-changer. A couple of years ago I broke the lifelong habit of biting my nails, and I did it by painting them a new color every time I got that nervous impulse. The only drawback to painting them so often is that it can be a serious time suck, and involve a lot of do-overs — especially if you're anything like me, and usually multitasking, and/or still getting the hang of DIY manicures. Enter these drops. They really do work immediately — and it really only takes a single drop on each nail. In under a minute, they're totally dry to the touch and impervious to dings or smudges. Gone are the days of flapping your hands and blowing on your fingers for 10–20 minutes at a time. Thanks, science!" —Katie B.
Get it from Amazon for $13.50+ (available in two sizes).
23. A professional nail care kit so all your essentials are all in one very pretty spot. No more wasting time looking for a file when you have Real Housewives queued up and you're ready to get cracking on that mani.
Set includes toenail clippers, nail clippers, diagonal nail clippers, multi-purpose scissors, cuticle trimmer, ear pick, single-edged double-sided push stick, eyebrow tweezer, peeling knife, nail file, blackhead needle and loop remover, and V-shaped push stick.
Promising review: "Seriously, the size of this thing surprised me. You read measurements, but until you're holding it in your hand, you don't realize how hefty it is. Which I guess is good, because it is a solid set of tools. The case is sturdy and a pretty shade of rose gold. There are so many more tools than in your standard travel nail kit and these are definitely more well made than my previous kit. If you need something to toss in your go-bag, you should definitely get this set. It has everything you could need in your home away from home." —Avid Amazoner
Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in two carrying case colors).
24. A gel UV lamp you'll wanna invest in if you're serious about your at-home manis (LBH, if you're reading this you likely are!). This'll help prevent all sorts of unsightly smudges.
25. A set of reusable nail clips can make removing your gel and acrylic nails at home so much easier than your before attempts. You simply soap cotton swabs in nail polish remover, put it on your nails, and then clip these over those nails to help the nail polish remover do its work.
Promising review: "I had dipping powder on my nails and because of the stay-at-home mandate for the virus, I was unable to go to a nail salon. I tried removing the polish by using tin foil wrapped around my nails, but it didn't do the job. I tried this product, thinking, 'What do I have to lose?' It worked like a charm! After doing my left hand, my husband had to help me put the right one on. These clips stayed in place, and I was able to get all that hardened dipping powder off my nails. It's difficult to do both hands if you don't have someone to help with the other hand, so I suggest doing one hand at a time." —Mary
Get a set of 10 from Amazon for $3.99+ (available in four colors).
26. An instant cuticle remover made to rid the area around your nails of dead skin but also sooth skin with aloe and chamomile.
Promising review: "I had never tried this before and I am so glad I did. It works great! Within seconds of applying it to my nails, the cuticle becomes soft and I can remove it right away. I used to never remove my cuticles when doing my nails, I guess because I didn't really know how to, but since I started using this product my nails look so good. I'm happy with the product and the results." —ABernal
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
27. A 20-piece polish set that'll help revamp your horde of polishes that are looking pretty gloopy nowadays. With this, you'll have ~options~.
Promising review: "This is the best DIY gel polish I have ever used. One coat foundation, two coats desired color, one coat no wipe top coat and it lasts. I have had the same polish on for 10 days as of now, used Scotch-Brite scrub pads to complete housecleaning several times, and not a single nail has polish lifting or separating. I HIGHLY recommend this brand and have already made more purchases of different colors since. The polish has a thicker consistency and only requires two color coats, even for the lighter shades. The glitter polishes only require one coat over solid colors or two coats when used alone. I have found my favorite brand that is well worth the price. The best part, there's no sticky residue left on the topcoat!" —Sarah
Get them from Amazon for $27.99 (available in six color sets).
28. A cuticle pusher and spoon can easily transform some nail beds with some help of cuticle oil.
Promising review: "I have been searching for the past months for an under the nail cleaner and cuticle pusher that went MIA in my home. Finally decided to give in and purchase a new nail tool and I received them promptly and love both the smaller one that I can carry in my purse and a longer one for both finger and toenail cleaning and cuticle pushbacks. It's such a pleasure to purchase something online and find that it's just what you were looking for." —Mary Dougherty
Get it from Amazon for $5.29.
29. A 13-Free, vegan, and Leaping Bunny Certified chocolatey brown polish as part of a collection of nude nail polishes meant to go with a range of skin tones.
OOO Polish is a Black woman-owned biz that aims to make toxic-free nail polish shown more inclusively on a variety of skin tones to better help customers figure out how colors will look for them. Be sure to check out the other nude colors, though they have lots of other gorgeous colors too!
Promising review: "I'm a big fan of brown colors, and have been looking for a nice chocolate brown color for quite a long time. This one really suits me! Also I am happy that it spreads really smoothly. Good work, OOO Polish!" —Oddette V.
Get it from OOO Polish for $6+ (available in two sizes).
30. A top and base coat set that just might be the thing that'll convince your nosiest of friends that you went to the salon for that mani.
Promising review: "First time using gel, and I absolutely love this base and topcoat. I bought some cheap $2 gels a while ago bc they were on clearance, then after I noticed how horrible the reviews were (peeling easily), well with this base and topcoat I had absolutely no peeling, not even one chip on any of my nails! They stayed on perfectly and shiny till two weeks when I soaked them off. Love this stuff. Very impressed." —Lisette
Get them from Amazon for $7.99.
31. A stain-preventing base coat will help keep any bold nail colors from seeping into and staining your nail. Also, how easy is spray-on vs. paint-on?!
Promising review: "This for sure makes nail polish stay on longer. I used it for the toes which usually peel up. After one week the polish hasn’t budged at all. The spray makes it so easy to use on toes but you can use it on fingers too. I’m assuming it’s just a dehydrator and not an actual polish because it disappears off the surrounding skin by the time it’s dry." —Amara
Get it from Amazon for $5.91.
32. A nail recovery kit that includes cuticle oil, strengthener, and ridge filler to help pamper your nails in between manis or after long periods of acrylics.
Promising review: "This product works!!! I use the ridge filler first and then add one to two coats of the strengthener. I then usually add color and topcoat. This has helped my nails grow and become stronger after getting dip nails for a few months. I’d definitely recommend." —carolyn harrison
Get it from Amazon for $13.95.
33. A brush set to help you achieve your DIY nail art dreams. They're also great for cleaning up extra polish around your nail!
Set includes nail extension gel brush, builder gel brush, nail carved pen, nail art liner brush, and nail dotting pen.
Promising review: "These neat little brushes are amazing. Before the set, I was always struggling to do nail art. The set contains quite a few varieties of brushes for different uses, offering great precise strokes, what I absolutely love about the brushes is the firmness, it is soft enough to do curvy strokes and firm enough to create nice straight lines using a bit of pressure! Absolutely love it!! Highly recommended and totally would buy a second set if there is a need for it." —Sunshine.H.D.
Get them from Amazon for $9.99.
34. A *sweet* nail sticker pack (you may have seen them on TikTok) featuring Disney ice cream treats. For once, having ice cream on your nails won't be a bad thing!
Magic Gloss is a woman-owned small biz that creates whimsical nail designs.
Get them from Magic Gloss for $12.
35. Or some abstract body positive nail stickers in case you're more of a minimalist but can't bear to pass up the space to show off art on your nails.
StylishSista is a Black-owned Etsy shop with all sorts of cute stickers (including ones for things besides your nails!).
This includes 120 stickers in black and white. Stickers last one to two weeks on nails with top coat, and come with mani ideas and instructions for proper application and care.
Promising review: "OMG I love these!!!!! They are so pretty and they promote body positivity!! Literally nothing bad about these stickers. They were super easy to apply too." —camillebeck
Get them from StylishSista on Etsy for $10.
36. Mineral-infused nail polish remover made to help you start with a fresh slate — without drying out your nails.
This polish remover's nondrying formula is made without acetone. It's also cruelty-free and vegan. Plus, it was made in the US.
Promising review: "This nail polish remover was worth the extra couple of dollars over what you can find in a store like Walmart or Target. One cotton ball with this stuff can remove nail polish from an entire hand, which is great considering that I used to have to use two to three cotton balls when trying to remove polish, regardless of color. The smell is not super but the ease is there so I would recommend it." —Brianne Ross
Get it from Amazon for $10.02 (and don't forget the cotton balls you'll need).
37. A glass nail file that'll help seal the ends of your nails to help prevent peeling like emery board files can cause.
Promising review: "The first time I got a glass nail file, I didn't know the difference between the painted grit and actual etching. HUGE DIFFERENCE! My first cheapy file lasted a month. These ones (I bought three) have lasted MONTHS and are still like new. That's how you can tell these are made of genuine etched glass. They are omnidirectional and leave your nail tips feeling smooth. I keep one in both bathrooms as well as one in my purse, because if I have a nail file near me then I won't bite my nails!! :)" —NaySAO
Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in eight colors).
38. A nail rehab treatment will help your damaged nails bounce back.
My colleague Marquaysa Battle swears by this stuff. Here's what she has to say:
"I wore acrylic sets faithfully before the quarantine hit. When I finally fixed my heart to soak off what would be my last full set for a lonnnng time, I had this in my bathroom and began using it regularly along with tea tree oil for my cuticles. Within a month, my nails started to look healthy although they had broken off during my soak-off session. After three months, my nails look even healthier and I'm 100% sure they're stronger now since I broke my pinky nail and it grew back WITHIN A WEEK like it hadn't even happened. YES, I now have supernails, LOL! I also love the very subtle pink shade of this treatment because it gives my nails a natural nude look that I can wear alone but when I wear it underneath other nail polish colors, it doesn't interfere with the other shade."
Promising review: "This stuff works like no one's business. I am a housekeeper who was constantly tearing and breaking my nails. I don't know what's in this stuff, but it works! This stuff is so good I sent a bottle to my sister in Florida." —Rhonda L. Brockman
Get it from Amazon for $8.04.
39. A nail design pedestal that'll let you corral all your at-home mani essentials in one spot. It's time to get creative!
40. And a 48-bottle nail polish holder to help contain all of your nail polish color babies.
This holds 48 bottles and is double-sided, so you can always see all of your colors.
Promising review: "This is better than advertised. All my bottles fit perfectly in the standard size boxes. My Julep colors fit two in a compartment! The first row has adjustable dividers, you can use them to keep odd-shaped bottles or do what I do: use one side for my nail stamper, dotting tools, and the drying drops and the other for foam wedges and nail pens. It looks way neater easily tucked under my vanity instead of the baskets and baskets of polishes I had to hunt through!" —Clouds
Get it from Amazon for $27.89 (available in two colors).
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.