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Saturday 30 August 2014

The Manicure Edit


My nail history isn't the best, when I look back I used to bite my nails so short that they hurt and whenever they used to grow they would break or split so they would return to being short. After wanting long nails I would go for fake nails, the pack of hundred where you had to shape and put a hell of a lot of glue on to make them stick well. This obviously destroys your nail bed and when its time for them to come off they take layers with them making your nails soft, weak and brittle. Not very nice!

A few months ago I said to myself that I want healthy, strong nails that were just long enough to go over the tip of my finger. It was a long time before they could actually even grow because of all the damage they had suffered. All this time I have maintained my nails and they are back to how they should be with this routine. I have tested these products for quite a long time and have really noticed the difference.


First things first I remove my nail polish with the Cutex Moisture Guard or the Strengthening remover, this gets off the chipped old polish while also protecting nails from breaking and over time making nails whiter.

Next I file my nails with a 4 way buffer, using all 4 steps ensures that you have shiny smooth nails before you begin. I go for the squoval look because I think it looks the nicest. Then I apply either the Sally Hansen gel cuticle remover or the cuticle eraser and balm, both work the same but the eraser and balm moisturise cuticles and is less messy but if you have overgrown cuticles then I would go in with the gel as this is more 'heavy duty'.

This next step is what helped my nails to grow strong and healthy so listen up all you nail biters! I go in with the Bert's Bees Lemon Cuticle Cream to protect and moisturise the cuticles. Then I use the Mavala Scientifique Nail Hardener. This is basically a treatment for the nails that soaks in really fast, but make sure you have something protecting your cuticles like vaseline because this stuff stings! After that I wash my hands to get off any oils that might bubble under the polish if not taken off.


Applying a base coat means that the surface of the nail evens out making a more even application of the colour polish that goes on top, I love Sally Hansen's Double Duty base coat because it dries super fast and is really shiny.

The fun bit, colour! My recent favourites are the Maybelline Super Stay polishes in the shades: Pink In The Park(L) and Uptown Blue(M) and also Essie's in Bikini So Teeny(R).

Time to apply a top coat. After about 2 coats of coloured polish I put Seche Vite top coat on top for quick drying and hi-shine results. Wait for it to dry (a good 10 minutes) to ensure no mess ups! After that your done, I always go in with a hand cream to moisturise my hands and to get rid of that nail polish remover smell.

What are you manicure favourites?

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