The Essentials For a Pro At-Home Manicure

I could easily count the amount of times I've gotten a professional manicure at a nail salon. I've honestly always enjoyed doing it myself - it's kinda therapeutic! A lot of my friends compliment me on how I paint my nails and after practicing for so many years I think I have a system that works really well. The picture above contains all of my essentials but you might notice that I haven't included my nail polish remover, nail file, and cotton buds. Honestly, I haven't found any products in these categories that I like enough to say they're what I use every time since I alternate what I'm using once things run out. For nail polish remover I usually just buy whatever is on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart, although I really want to try the Zoya remover with a pump! It looks so convenient. Same goes for my nail file and cotton buds. I'm not particular with either of these although I can usually tell what I like more than another option. I would love to switch to a crystal nail file just to prevent any nail splitting! 
Alright onto the products I use each time I give myself a manicure:
Cleaning & Maintenance // After polish removal and shaping, I like to run a nail tool that has a pointer tip under my nails to get rid of any "nail dust" (this probably has a more technical name) and dirt that may be lingering. Especially if you choose a sheer polish, you don't want to be seeing any dirt underneath your nails. Not a good look ladies! The tool I use (the black one) has been in my collection for wayyyyy too long so I have no clue where you can find it but here's an inexpensive option that you can find at Sally's Beauty Supply. 
Push Back Those Cuticles! // A good manicure is only as good as your cuticles look. Nothing is worse than having painted your nails and then having a dry cuticle area and little pieces of skin hanging around. I start by applying the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover and then pushing back my cuticle with the tool mentioned above. If this wasn't enough to get all of my cuticle out of the way then I will go in with my LOGO by Cricket cuticle nippers (reasonable price if you don't want to go for the Tweezerman version) and remove anything that could get in the way of my polish. Make sure to really push your cuticles back before starting to apply nail polish because it elongates your nail bed and it's healthier for your cuticles compared to cutting them away completely with the nippers. 
Putting On The Foundation // Just as foundation is crucial to creating a perfect base for the rest of your makeup, a good layer of base coat is essential for the perfect at-home manicure. Some people don't bother with this step but it can be your strengthening and growth treatment, yellow nail preventer and manicure endurer all in one. I've been using the Sally Hansen Complete Care base coat because it's multipurpose and does everything I would need in one simple step. 
Polish It Up // The part you've all been waiting for... putting on a fresh coat of colour. Like I mentioned in my recent post about my Essie obsession, the brushes are my favourite for getting a precise curve around my cuticles but this colour pictured above by OPI in Miami Beet is the perfect transitional colour from winter to summer - and it would look great as a pedicure colour. I like to apply the polish a little bit separated from the cuticles because it makes the finished product look a lot more professional! The first coat is crucial for creating a good shape and then the second coat will fall right inside that outline you created and cover up any streaks. I'll hopefully film a video of my manicure routine sometime soon! (yay for potential YouTube videos?!)
Glossy Finish // After so much hard work - which only takes under 10 minutes if you get the routine down - you need to lock all of your steps into place and give your tips a mirror shine effect. A few years back I used the Seche Vite topcoat but after hearing about all of the health warnings and I decided to choose something that didn't smell like death in a bottle and forced me to open all of the windows in my house. I'm already on my second bottle of Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri which is almost as fast drying as Seche Vite (I don't know if anything else beats it in that respect) and gives you a high shine finish. I also suggest Sally Hansen Mega Shine because it basically does that same thing and I think is a little shinier. Perhaps after this bottle runs out I'll switch it up a bit. 
Damage Control // So, you've finished your manicure but then you notice you've got some polish around your cuticle or all over your finger... what to do? Take an orange wood stick like these ones by TRIM (I found the 12 pack I have at my local Walmart) and wrap a little bit of cotton wool over the pointy tip. Place the tip in a little nail polish remover and in a few swipes it'll look like you there were never mistakes there!
Moisturize // Remember to always take care of your hands after you give yourself a manicure and apply hand cream at least once a day to make your hands, cuticles, and nails looking like new. I love L'Occitance Shea Butter Mini Hand Cream, especially because it's great to carry around with you - don't bring a huge 30 mL tube with you in your purse unless you want to hand out hand cream to everyone you see. For a more intense cuticle treatment apply a drop of Josie Maran Argan Oil Light on one one finger and just spread it to the rest of them - a tiny amount is all you need. I have the mini travel size version of this too!
The length of this post may be a little frightening but having the right tools can make a world of a difference and with a few times of doing this routine, you'll have a 10 minute, pro at-home manicure every time!

Hasta La Vista Cuticles: Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

Back on the subject of nails and manicures today! We all know I love a good ol' manicure any day of the week but finding the right colour to slap on isn't the only thing you need to think about. A great new shade won't be half as flattering if you haven't take the steps to keep your nails healthy looking and clean even before the polish. I feel like cuticles are one of the things people tend to forget about but they can make such a huge difference! A lot of the time when you get your nails professionally done the manicurist will cut your cuticles with cuticle clippers which I have a slight problem with. The main problem with cutting your cuticle is that most of the time they end up growing back all funky and then you're a slave to them because you'll have to constantly cut them to make them look nice again. The second option, and what I've recently been converted to, is using a cuticle remover and just pushing them back! Not only does it eliminate the risk of causing infections due to exposed cuticles after they've been cut, but it takes no time at all and it's virtually foolproof. 
After you've cut and filed your nails as desired, just place a little bit of this gel (I'm using Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover) around your cuticles and let it sit for around 30 seconds but no longer than a minute tops! Then take a cuticle pushing tool (I don't even think there's an official name for these...) which you can find in most of those manicure sets they sell at Walmart or Target and simply push the cuticles back, easy! Just wash your hands with soapy, warm water and you're ready to layer on your base coat and start polishing those tips! I will say that when the packaging tells you not to leave the gel for too long, listen to them. It doesn't improve the process, in fact the gel stops being as liquify and makes it harder to push them back. If you follow the instructions you'll be cuticle free in no time at all. 
What are your favourite parts of your manicure routine? Are you a complete minimalist and just go straight into painting your nails? Are you (crazy) like me and have a ton of steps that you can magically do in 5 minutes? Share down below! 

Nailed It!

Apart from my love of the blackened red manicure, I've been enjoying a few of my Essie polishes a lot this month, as well as a new base coat and top coat to go along. A few years back I swore by Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat but after hearing about all the health warnings that came along with that little bottle I decided it was time to start searching for a new top coat. I've been thoroughly enjoying Sally Hansen's selection of top coats lately (btw, how weird is it that there was never anyone even named Sally Hansen....). I tried the one that comes in the metallic bottle but I settled for Insta Dri because it dries my nails really quickly but won't have me inhaling the toxic fumes emitted from Seche Vite.
 For a base coat I'm not particularly fussy, mostly because no matter what I try nothing prevents the staining that happens with dark polishes. Lately I've been getting through this bottle of Sally Hansen Complete Care base coat. it says it basically does everything from protecting your nails from staining to helping to fortify them.... I can't say much for the fortification and lengthening of nails due to this alone but it has served me well. 
Colour wise this month has definitely been about the Essie domination. I grew up very much an OPI kind of girl but I've expanded my horizons and been liking Essie polishes, especially since the brush isn't so tiny anymore. The colours that I've been gravitating towards the most this month have been Merino Cool (a new purchase which I love --- very similar to L'Oreal Greyt Expectations), Sand Tropez and Fiji. Funny enough these colours are a little bit harder to apply for me. Not impossible but definitely a bit more finicky compared to those shades that are opaque in one swipe. All of these picks are definitely more muted and neutral but I cannot wait to wear brighter hues in the months to come. Hello Spring, I'm waiting for you!