DIY Manicure!

Good morning, ladies!!!

Today I want to share with you another beauty-related post: how you can get a salon-caliber manicure (or pedicure) at home! Doing your own manicures is easy, fun, and a worthwhile investment! You will need only 7 main items to add to your beauty briefcase, and a nail polish color of your choice. :-) All items can be found at your local Walmart, Target, drug or grocery store, or Sally's Beauty Supply for under $30! Get ready to devote about 25-30 minutes of your time to your soon to be BEYOOTEEFUL nails ;-)- and to feel extraordinarily glamorous!

Enjoy! :-)


What you'll need:

• Double sided wooden or stainless steel cuticle pusher (this will also be used to taper your polish! :-) )
• Cuticle nipper
• Nail clipper
• Nail file
• Nail buffer (matte not shiny!)
• Base coat 
• Top coat 
• Nail polish color of your choice!

Directions:

1) Soak your hands in warm water for 5 minutes if your nails are extra tough. If not, you can skip this step! :-)

Soaking nails in warm water helps to soften the nail bed for cutting and the cuticles for removing. This is only necessary if your nails are thick, tough, and difficult to work with. Most of the time this is done at the salon just to make you have a more luxurious experience. Haha!


2) Push back all of your cuticles with your cuticle pusher to get them ready to be removed.

Removing cuticles helps to prolong polish wear by allowing more time to elapse between cuticle growth and when your polish is first applied. This will prevent polish from prematurely lifting and will keep your nails extra pretty for up to 2 weeks! :-)


3) Take your cuticle nipper, and carefully nip away the cuticles you have pushed back on each nail. Never nip one portion of a cuticle and tear the rest away, as this can lead to injury and bleeding! Just take short, careful nips at the dead skin until your cuticle line is clean and free of all debris.

Again, removing cuticles helps to prolong polish wear! :-)


4) Cut & then file your nails down to a length of your liking. You can either leave your edges rounded or more square!

Filing down your nails helps to improve their appearance by making all of your nails one length. Filing also helps to smooth any jagged edges and prevent breakage! :-) 


5) Buff each of your nails with your nail buffer, not forgetting to buff along the edge of your nail where you have just filed!

Buffing your nails also helps to prolong polish wear by creating an oil-free, matte, and smooth surface for your base coat and polish to adhere to. :-)


6) Apply base coat to each nail, allowing 30 seconds or so for it to dry and get slightly tacky. I prefer to start painting on the hand that I write with, that way I get the painting with my wrong hand deal out of the way! Haha!

Applying base coat helps to give your polish something to adhere to. Think of it as double-sided tape!


7) Apply your nail polish color of choice to each nail. Do two coats if necessary, allowing adequate time for the first coat to dry (3 minutes or so should be good)!

Make sure to get enough polish on your brush, but not too much so that it globs. I like to do this in 3 big strokes: one down the center, and one on each side- following the natural curve of my nail bed. Use the opposite side of your cuticle pusher to clean up any polish mess-ups if you get a little on your skin. If you get a lot, just saturate a Q-tip in polish remover and remove it off of the stained finger when you are done! :-)


8) Apply base coat and polish to the other hand in the same manner.


9) Apply top coat to all of your nails.

Applying top coat helps to prolong polish wear by sealing your polish. It also gives your nails a glassy, high-shine finish like you get fresh from the salon! :-)


10) Allow your nails to dry 25-30 minutes in open air. Do not blow hard on your nails in an attempt to get them to dry quicker- this will just mess up the 3-4 coats of polish that you just applied! If you are in a rush, take a blow dryer on the lowest setting, holding it 5 inches or more away from your nails, rocking the dryer back and forth to make your nails dry quicker without any direct air or heat blowing on your polish.


11) When your nails are dry, feel free to give yourself a hand massage with a rich, moisturizing lotion!

Now as soon as you master the basics, you can manicure a friend, too! Haha!



Have a great day, everyone! :-)

Xo -Jess