One thing I love more than anything is a fresh new manicure! I think having hands that are well taken care of is important and can give a great impression when meeting new people and shaking hands. I mean no one really enjoys shaking hands with rough dry hands that closely resemble that of a car tire! Oh and manicures make me feel fancy!
Of course my budget does not exactly allow for me to indulge in this pleasure as frequent as I like so I make shift and do my own. Getting a manicure is one of my guilty pleasures, of course with trashy reality TV (I just can’t seem to pull myself away from those dang Real Housewives!) and any baked good –preferably of the homemade variety, but I’m not too picky! So being a girl on a budget but still wanting to indulge in my guilty pleasure of perfectly manicured nails, I do it myself! – Of course well watching The Real Housewives and eating freshly baked brownies!
The first key to up keeping my hands is to ensure they are soft as a baby’s bottom! I mean you never know when prince charming could just walk right up and kiss you on the hand like in the movies (perhaps just me being a hopeless romantic, but hey at the end of the day my hands are smooth and silky none the less!).
My current favorite hand creams that I think work great:
Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works
Burts Bees Hand Salve
These are what I’m using currently but I am always on the prowl for new ones! Next step is filing my nails and cutting my cuticles. Both my least favorite part of the process but essential for well groomed nails!
I must warn you though if, you’ve never used a cuticle clipper and are going to be careful! Because if you aren’t you will hack your hands up! You can pick up nail filers and cuticle clippers at any drugstore! The brand of both I’m loving at the moment is Revlon. I grabbed both of mine at Wal-Mart.
Once I have masterfully used the cuticle clipper without drawing blood I use a cuticle oil to prevent any damage or splitting of my cuticles. Right now I am using Apricot Cuticle Oil by Essie. I’m a big fan of this one and it’ll take a miracle likely for me to switch to another one!
After I take a cotton ball with a little bit of nail polish remover on it and go over all my nails to get the excess oil of my nails. This helps make the nail polish actually stay on longer.
First I put on a base coat, right now I’m using OPI! I didn’t start using a base coat actually until recently but I really feel like it makes a difference!
I then spend about two episodes worth of The Real Housewives debating what color to paint my nails. It usually comes down to me asking my roommate to chose between two colors that to any male would look identical, but any women would clearly be able to see the difference between the two. After about a ten minute debate which one will look better with my work uniform (which is all black—so really this whole outfit matching talk is pointless yet we still seem to always have it!).
The few colors I’m loving right now are:
OPI – Perfectly Red
I always can really on a classic red like this! Classy and you can never go wrong!
China Glaze – Fast Track
I feel like I could wear this with pretty much anything in my closet (including my all black work uniform ;p ) So for me it’s like the perfect neutral but has a little something extra extra!
Revlon – Blue Lagoon
I love this color if I’m looking for something a bit brighter. I can’t help but be happy when this colors graces my nails!
Those are the top three that I have been using the most lately! I’m pretty plain Jane when it comes to painting my nails. I never do any cool designs or ombre and not because I don’t like them because I really do! I just know I would royally butcher it, and it would likely end with nail polish remover all over my coffee table…okay that actually happened once. And since that day I decided I wouldn’t try and get to fancy with my nails for awhile and I would leave that to the pros! Of course when I do splurge and go get my nails professionally done I do like to get something with a little more ‘wow’ factor!
But once I successfully paint my nails with my color of choice I command myself to sit still and let them dry completely before putting my top coat on. Of course this ruins my snacking but I tell myself I can go at least 20 minutes without touching a brownie and this tends to work – most the time! The top coat I’m using that I am really enjoying right now is Nicole by OPI. It seems to be doing the trick pretty well!
Also an expert tip I've picked up in my many years at self manicures is when waiting for your nails to dry place your hands in the fridge/freezer this helps them dry a lot quicker! And is a bonus if you are like me and can't sit still long enough for them to dry on their own! Of course you may risk looking a little loony to anyone you live with but hey it's a sacrifice for quick drying nails I'm willing to pay!
Getting good at doing my nails has taken me some time to master but now that I have I must say that I do a pretty dang good job! I love having my nails done and feel naked without a color on them, anyone else feel like that?
Do you have any tips or tricks for longer lasting manicures? Please share with a fellow manicure lover!!
X
-Krimson Kutie
