Nailcare Routine

Hey! Today I want to talk about nails. I paint my nails a heck of a lot, I'm a little bit addicted. So to prevent my nails from getting too weak or brittle, every week (ish) I go through a little routine of re-nourishing my nails so they stay in tip top condition!

I tend to do this on a day where I don't really need to do anything or go anywhere, since I do naat want to be leaving the house with naked nails!

First things first, is removing any nail polish currently on my nails - I like to use an acetone-free polish remover, as it's a bit less drying on the nails. Filing my nails into shape is a given, I tend to go for quite a round shape - squared off nails would just get on my nerves!

Then it's cuticle pamperin' time! I find I don't need to do this every time I manicure, but when I do, I apply a little of Essie's Disappearing Trick cuticle remover to each nail, and then GENTLY push back my cuticles with an orange stick. I have a feeling this has been discontinued, I picked mine up for a steal in TK Maxx.

After that, it's onto nourishment stage: I like to use The Body Shop's Almond Nail & Cuticle Oil, becuase of it's pen/brush form it's super quick and easy to apply. I massage this into my nails, and if I'm just chilling doing uni work, or hanging about the house I'll continue to apply this throughout the day.

When it comes to reapplying nail polish, I've pretty much found a base/top coat combo that's perfect for me. But first, another quick swipe of nail polish remover to clean the nail of excess oil (else nail polish will just chip straight off again). Essie Help Me Grow, is my go-to base, and I never go without base coat - nobody likes stained nails! Then whatever colour/nail art I fancy, and topped off with Essie Good to Go which is really glossy and fast drying. I've repurchased this a number of times; I seem to get through top coat like nobody's business.

And a final (and new) addition to my routine, is this Stop 'n' Grow Stop Biting. Yes, I'm one of those that bites their nails. I have done on and off for years and years, more when I'm stressed, nervous or bored. When I was little, my mum used to help me stop biting my nails by applying aloe vera to my fingers - the principle being it tasted gross so you wouldn't put your fingers in your mouth. I don't have an aloe vera plant, but I spotted this in Boots, and decided to give it a try. The idea is the same; it tastes awful and it's worked so far. The one downside is finger food is now a bit awkward...

How do you take care of your nails?

xxx