My Manicure Essentials

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Sundays are my beauty days, and I turn my home into a spa. My ritual starts with doing a facial, deep conditioning my hair, and ending it with the best part: painting my nails.

 Before I end my beauty day, I thought I'd share the tools that make my home manicure look professional.

 Cuticle Care

 I love using Josie Maran's 100% Pure Argan Oil Light as a moisturizer to soften up my cuticles. I'll then use my Sephora metal cuticle pusher (similar available here) to gently push my cuticles back. 

 I purchased a great manicure kit from Sephora a few years ago and kept the pieces that work best for me (similar available here). I'll grab my cuticle nipper to gently clip away at any hang nails that might have after I've pushed back my cuticles.

 Nail Shaping

 Once my cuticles are taken care of I'll turn my attention to trimming and shaping my nails if need be. My Revlon nail file (similar available here) is the perfect file to shape and finish my nails.

 Painting Time!

 I'll wash my hands to remove any excess oils from my hands and nails, which can prevent the nail polish from adhering to my nails properly. I have short nails that can peel from time to time, so here are the base coats that have given me the best results for fixing my nails and giving me a great manicure:
Two layers of any of these base coats also provides a great clear manicure for the days where I'd like a natural nail look.

I'm quite terrible at painting my nails evenly and avoiding my cuticles and nail walls. And for that, I've found using a fine dotting tool (mine has been through the ringer, but you can find a similar one here) is a great way to clean up my cuticle area in case I've accidentally gotten polish there.

Top Coats

I really love Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes, and the top coat designed to work with the formula is a great companion piece. To speed up dry time on the Miracle Gel polish, or to create a long-lasting, high shine manicure with any polish, though, the king of top coats is Seche Vite. Nothing works as beautifully to seal in my manicure or as quickly to dry down so I'm not at risk of smudging my manicure.

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 I hope this post inspires your next manicure shopping list so that you can create a beautiful at-home manicure that lasts throughout the week!

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