More often than not, some of our favorite buys are small, how-didn’t-I-know-about-this products that solve an everyday problem. That’s what we’re highlighting in our Little Lifesavers series: cheap, simple purchases that you’ll use on the daily. Hit “Add to Cart” and thank us later!
Problem: I hated spending money on manicures, but I didn't feel confident painting my own nails with my non-dominant hand.
Solution: Olive & June's The Poppy Universal Nail Polish Bottle Handle helps me apply steady, even strokes every time and keeps me out of the salon.
Let me break it down for you — there are those of us who shudder at the very thought of our bare nails seeing daylight. The dizzying panic of imagining my naked nails out in the wild for everyone (fine, possibly no one) to scrutinize my bone-dry cuticles and damaged nail beds is my burden to bear. I know I have a problem and I don’t need you to fix me, OK?
But truthfully, I did need to change something about my manicure habit because I couldn’t keep up with ever-rising nail salon prices. And where do I turn for the answers to life’s most pressing conundrums? My Insta feed at 2 a.m., of course! An Olive & June ad for The Poppy Universal Nail Polish Bottle Handle piqued my interest. After a rabbit hole of reading glowing reviews from fellow nail addicts at Essence and The Cut about how this simple tool upgraded their at-home polish jobs, I was convinced to give it a try.
The Poppy claims to be the end-all-be-all for manicure DIYers because it increases the surface area you have to hold when painting with those impossibly tiny nail polish brushes. By stabilizing your shaky death grip, it aims to minimize uneven application and makes it easier to paint inside the lines when using your non-dominant hand (so no more polish escaping onto your skin and deflating your confidence).
When The Poppy arrived, I was eager to remove my chipping manicure and test out this quirky little silicone handle. I knew it would easily fit over the handles of my Olive & June nail polishes, but I was happy to discover it is universal and I had no issue securely squeezing it onto my OPI, Essie, Deborah Lippman, and Zoya bottles. Once I selected my polish and let my favorite base coat dry (hey, none of us are that bad — we can freehand a clear coat), I adjusted The Poppy on the bottle handle so the widest side of the brush lay flat.
As I applied the color, I noticed not only did The Poppy lend me so much more control when I switched from my right hand to my left, but it actually slowed down the process of painting for me. If you think adding precious seconds to a task is a bad thing, reconsider — because it was actually insanely helpful to take more time and be more intentional with every careful stroke. As a result, each nail ended up looking smooth, even, and ready to casually make an appearance in my Insta stories.
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Before and after applying my go-to matte top coat, I sprayed my nails with enamel dryer so I wouldn’t smudge my dramatically improved home manicure. I marveled at the difference such a small addition made to my nail routine. After the first application, though, in which I painted an accent nail, I determined The Poppy works best when painting with only one or two colors at a time.
My warning comes not from a technical rule, but from logistics: if your nails are wet and you’re constantly moving The Poppy from bottle to bottle attempting a gradient or rainbow, the likelihood you’ll smudge your fresh polish exponentially increases.
Before using The Poppy, I thought attempting to save money on manicures meant a huge sacrifice on the end result of my nail lewks, because try as I might, I couldn’t get both hands to look the same. But with the addition of this simple stabilizing tool, The Poppy took the polish on my dominant and non-dominant hands from looking like estranged sisters to identical twins. Now if only this solution could apply to the ever-elusive liquid eyeliner cat-eye dilemma ...
It’s been several months now since my first successful DIY manicure and I’m happy to report I’ve settled into my new budget-friendly manicure routine: posting up on the couch and painting my own nails every Sunday night with the assistance of The Poppy so I’m feeling myself on Monday morning and am ready to slay the week ahead of me.
Call it an act of self-care, or call it simply self-preservation in the expensive beauty game. Either way, I’m thrilled to have secured a sustainable way to get the profesh nails that a mani addict with Champagne taste on a beer budget deserves.
Read More:
The Spring Nail Colors You’ll Catch Us Wearing All Season
These Nontoxic Nail Polish Brands Are Better for Your Nails
Salon-Quality Dip Powder Nail Kits That’ll Make You a Mani Maven
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