Nowadays, a manicure is no longer considered a luxury, but rather an important part of daily grooming. If you're too busy to go to a salon, you can give & get perfect manicures at home with just a few easy techniques!
Here are some tips on how to do a simple manicure:
Cleaning
Before beginning your manicure, wash your hands thoroughly with a scrub brush, making sure you get under the nails. Clean the tops of the nail as well. Let them dry completely. Use polish remover and a cotton ball to remove all traces of any old polish completely.
Shaping
Next, use an emery board to file and shape the nail on each finger. File with 2 or 3 short strokes and then one longer smooth stroke. If you file your nail this way, you will avoid any splitting. The single longer stroke blends and smoothes the edge of the nail so it is uniform. Nails grow in a variety of shapes and sizes, but there are four basic shapes: pointed, oval, round and square.
Treating Your Cuticles
Apply cuticle remover. Be gentle so you don't tear the cuticle; it hurts and it isn't pretty.
Polishing Your Nails
Start with a base coat first. It will protect the fingernail, and it will help your color go on smoothly and last longer. Use light strokes, starting at the bottom and gliding upward. You should use 3 strokes on each finger. Finally, apply your top coat. Try not to skip the top coat unless you are in a real hurry, as it will help the rest of your polish last.
Here are some ideas for nail colours & art (although, if you’re not that of a pro, nail art can be a bit tricky!) in the coming Spring/Summer trend. Bright colours of course! But also neon colours are very popular!!
On a very popular note, nail art & nail polish does not necessarily need to match your outfit OR on a very boring one, don't go for neutral colours all the time! (so they will go with every outfit you decide to dress!) same old, same old! Like I always say, be creative & fun! Experiment with colours! ;)
Manicure Maintenance
Finally make sure to use hand cream, do a little massage & moisturize your cuticles.
Don't worry if your first home manicure doesn't look salon-perfect. If you schedule your home manicure as a relaxing gift to yourself, you will soon find out how soothing a ritual doing your nails can become.
I hope you find these tips useful & remember practice makes perfect! ;)
Love Aly xx
