DIY nails

[pistachioandhoney]

If you do your own nails and give yourself a manicure can you please share with me the steps and products you use?

I have given up on paying £35+ for a rubbish manicure at the salons in my town. I want to do it myself. I find treating my cuticles the trickiest as there seems to be a lot of residue at the bottom of my nail near the cuticles.

I do:

Remove old polish
Apply handcream, push cuticles back with orange stick
Remove handcream from nails with a fresh cotton pad/remover, making sure there's no oily residue left
Apply basecoat - I like Orly Bonder
Two/three layers of polish
Topcoat - I like Jessica Brilliance

The whole thing takes me about 30 minutes. I usually do it from scratch about twice a week, and then on the other days do one coat of colour and one of topcoat to "freshen up" which takes about five minutes.

Shape with an emery board from the outside in only - not back and forth as that weakens them
Apply cuticle cream or oil
Soak in warm water (or bath)
Push cuticles back with either orange stick, metal cuticle wotsit or just use your fingernails
Trim cuticles back (I find the cuticle trimmers that look like nail clippers easier to use than the plier style ones)
Base coat, polish then top coat. Essie Gel Setter, Seche Vite both last ages and look shiny.
Hope that helps :)

I do it over two days, so my nails get a 'day off', so all the removal, cuticles, cream and pushing back is on day one, and repainting is day two. It gives the creams and oils more time to work.

I've found that cutting my nails makes them grow stronger. So for length trim with nail scissors and only shape with a glass nail file. No emery board.

One extra step to those above is a light buff, I find it helps the varnish go on smoother. Don't buff too much though, it thins the nail and encourages delaminating.

Once a week I shape and shorten mine with a crystal file and then strip off the old polish - it's easier to see the shape with the old polish still on.

Then I push back the cuticles with the fingers of the other hand and, if necessary, either gently buff or patch any splits or peels. Patching can be done with a scrap of clean, unused teabag paper stuck on with base coat and buffed smooth once dry.

Then I apply a base coat. I like OPI Nail Envy. It's a bit pricey but you can usually find it reduced on Ebay. Then I apply two to three thin coats of polish. Finally I add a top coat, which is usually Poshe Super Fast Drying Top Coat because it really does dry very quickly and without shrinking the polish underneath. Sometimes I might use a matte topcoat instead because I want a different finish.

Cuticle oils and creams get applied daily mostly. I like Lush Lemony Flutter and Burt Bees Cuticle Cream and cuticle oils in pens - very handy when you're out and about. Any hangnails get trimmed off with a cuticle nipper or baby sized nail clippers as soon as they develop and before I can rip at them without thinking.

It takes me probably around 45 minutes from start to finish and it's a weekly routine. The most time consuming part is the filing and shaping.