Nailing Your At Home Manicure

Nail-care is a great way to feel primped and polished. I prefer to do my own manicures (pedicures, on the other hand, will be saved for the salon)! About once or twice a month I'll set aside some "me time" to take care of my hands and nails. Sometimes I just shape my nails and leave them bare, and other times I will apply color. Here's how I nail my at home manicure 😉.

First, I wash my hands and set up my workspace. I get my bag of nail supplies, find a comfy spot, and maybe turn on some music. Then I go ahead and clip my nails, making sure they're all a similar length. Next is filing. I go in with a small file for shape, which is typically rounded for me, and follow up with a larger file. Then I use a buffer to buff and smooth my nail beds.

This is the point where I add in moisture. I massage a cuticle oil into my fingertips to keep them healthy and strong, and then I gently push them back with my cuticle pusher tool. This not only looks cleaner, but the nails can grow faster if the cuticles are tidy. Finally, I apply hand lotion to lock in moisture. Sometimes I will give myself a gentle hand massage for further relaxation.

This is oftentimes where I end my routine -- simple, clean nails are never out of style.

Here is what my nails looked like before...

... and after

This is where the polish comes in! I decided on a bright purply-pink this time, specifically Pacifica's 7 Free Pink Metal shade. I usually apply two coats of polish followed by top coat.

Note: make sure your hands are nice and dry right before applying polish. The drier the nail beds, the longer your polish will last. This means that if I know I'm applying color right after cutting and shaping the nails, I will save the cuticle oil and hand lotion for after the polish is applied and dried.

Here is the color in action!

Another one of my all-time favorite polishes to wear is Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails in Cold As Ice. It's a sheer gloss that has lovely reflections of pink and gold. You really can't go wrong with it!

My nails are ready and done ✨ now you can try your hand at it!

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