I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a slight obsession with my nails. I get a manicure once a week and, in between, usually paint my nails myself when they start to chip. I have at least 100 bottles of nail polish – Essie, OPI, Butter London, Deborah Lippmann and Ciate are my favorite brands. If my nails look terrible, I can’t feel as put-together as I’d like. In fact, I honestly do not remember the last time my nails didn’t have polish on them.
So, that being said, I am always looking for tips to make my nails stronger, longer and prettier. If you’re just as obsessed as I am, or even if you just want to up your mani game, check out these 9 super helpful nail polish tips and tricks!

1. Fix An Annoying Broken Nail Quickly
I have one nail that always breaks in the same place, so I'm dying to try this out. Snip a tiny piece of a tea bag off, put it on the broken area and seal it there with nail glue.

2. Make Your Polish Last Longer
It stinks when you find an awesome nail polish color, get a great manicure... and then it starts chipping or fading after two days. Ugh. To prevent that from happening, quickly soak your nails in white vinegar just before you apply your nail polish. I've also heard that putting nail polish remover on your nails right before you paint them makes your manicure last longer - they do it in the nail salon for a reason, right?

3. Use PAM Spray For Faster Drying
Salons sometimes have spray cans you can use to make your nail polish dry faster. Instead of spending money on one of your own, you can substitute with PAM Cooking Spray instead. Just spray, let dry for a minute and then wipe off. A blogger tried this out and said it works pretty well.

4. Use a Band-Aid For An Easy French Manicure
You can buy French manicure kits out there, but why do that when you probably have the supplies in your bathroom already? A few hours after doing your nails (because you want to make sure they're totally dry), gently place a clear band-aid on your nail and then start.

5. Make Your Own Matte Nail Polish
Again, you could go out and buy matte nail polish... or you could make it at home. It's cheaper and way more fun because you're basically making your own nail polish color. It's also a great way to get some use out of an old eye shadow you don't use anymore or don't want on your face. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm planning on it.

6. Dry Your Nails Faster In Water

I’ve heard this a million times in the last few months: to quickly dry your nails, dip them in ice cold water right after you polish them. It sounds crazy to me - why would you dip wet nails in water? - but people swear it works. I'm going to have to stop being scared and try this ASAP.
7. Make Gel Manicures Look Better
If you love getting gel manicures, this tip is for you. I've seen this happen to all of my friends who get them - after a week or so, the nail polish isn't chipping, but their nails are growing and it's pretty obvious (this is one of the reasons I don't get gel manicures). To update your manicure, swipe some glitter on the bottom for a fun nail art look.

9.Use Glue For A Foolproof Manicure
When you're painting your own nails, it's easy to paint outside the lines and get polish all over your fingers. It's also an incredibly annoying way to ruin a perfectly good at-home mani. To avoid this, try putting glue around your nails first. Polish, then peel the glue off and voila - apparently, you'll be smudge free. You can also try this with Aquaphor lotion, but be careful - According to Buzzfeed, if this stuff gets on your actual nail, it will stop the polish from sticking