Mini Mani Routine


 Giving myself a manicure is gradually becoming a weekly tradition. Although I'm not completely satisfied with all the products (I'm still figuring out which are my faves), I thought I'd share with you what my mani consists of. 

Whether I have nail varnish on or not, I always clean my nails using a nail varnish remover, just to make sure my nail beds are clean. I'm currently using the Bourjois nail varnish remover, which claims it gets nail varnish off one nail in one second. For me, this definitely isn't true. But it doesn't take long to get polish off and also means your not wasting cotton pads as you just stick your finger in the pot! So this will definitely be a keeper in my routine! 

Once my nails are clean, I file my nails to ensure they are all the same length and are a nice shape. For my finger nails I always use a softer nail file (yellow file) as they aren't as strong as toe nails, and I don't want to be splitting or breaking them! 

After this step, I soak my fingers in some warm soapy water. This gets any chemicals off my nails and the surrounding skin so it doesn't dry out, and also softens the cuticles around the nail to make pushing them back easier. If your a lucky one and don't get huge cuticles, this may not be that important for you, but definitely wash your hands to get the varnish remover off! 

Although the cuticle pusher (metal tool) looks scary, it isn't, but I'm very gentle when pushing the skin back and gently clip the skin off. 

Once my nails are looking fabulous, I set to painting them. And this is where my product uncertainty begins. As I have very weak nails, I apply the Sally Hansen Miracle Cure as a base coat. I really like this product as it definitely gives my nails some added strength, but I don't think its ideal for a base coat. 

After this, I give my nails a couple of coats of polish and then apply my top coat. I have been using this Nails Inc Albert Bridge Top Coat for years now. I love this as I love most Nails Inc products, but it's almost finished and it's time to get something new. 

So, what nail products would you recommend? 

post signature

2 comments:

  1. great post, it's good to keep nails clean.
    I would soak my hands in lukewarm milk, apparently it makes nails stronger

    xo
    http://livelifeamour.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? Interesting tip!! Thank you Nathalie! Lilly xx

      Delete