All About Those Badass Nails!

One of my many mottos in life is 'You're never fully dressed until your nails match.' For the past 4 years (I think) have been obsessed with painting my nails, nail art and all that other cool stuff you can do involving your nails! I think it may be partly a way to creatively express myself, and partly because over the years I have miraculously improved. I have also picked up a few tricks and learnt some very valuable lessons along the way, some of which I thought it might be nice to share. I've come up with some tips for you to be able to follow the next time you decided to pamper yourself! Below are all the products I use to give myself the perfect nails.

Tip #1 REMOVE OLD NAIL POLISH

One of the first things to start off doing is removing any old nail polish. Don't try and pick it off, don't bite it off or really anything other than using proper nail polish remover. you can use pretty much any polish remover to do this. I get mine from a local chemist for about $6. I know there are much cheaper options as well as more pricey ones out there, but it all depends on your budget and what you prefer.

Step #2 COTTON WOOL BALLS

I always use cotton wool balls to remove the nails polish because I find it can be manipulated around your nail bed easier to remove all the colour efficiently. I've tried things like cotton pads as well but find that I go through more polish remover and pads as it doesn't soak in enough.

Step #3 USE A BASE COAT

Now I usually always use a base coat before I put any nail polish on, but the last time I painted my nails I was in a rush and forgot to! As you can see from the picture above, this means the polish left a stain on my nails (and of course it was a cobalt blue colour) and left a horrible stain on my nails.

Step #4 BUFF TO REMOVE STAINS

To remove the stains from nails, you need to go in with a course nail buffer. This is designed to smooth out the nails and very gently take the top, dead coat of nail off. The polish stain had only reached that top layer so I was able to remove it with some ease. If this doesnt work, try using whitening toothpaste and an old tooth brush or lemon juice, and you just need to scrub the nail with the brush. This will clean the nails and return them to their original state.

Step #5 USE HAND AND NAIL CREAM

The last step I do before painting my nails is use a good hand and nail cream. I use the Natio one (there are many good brands to choose from this is just a personal favourite) and you can find that any any local chemist. This is a good habit to make as the first areas (especially on a woman) to start showing your age is your hands and neck. By using a hand cream regularly and rubbing it into your nails as well, this will keep them well moisturised and healthy.

Step #6 GEL NAIL POLISH

I don't know about anyone else but a bad habit I have always had (and still can't seem to shake) is I'm a notorious picker. As soon as I have any lifting or chips in my nail polish, I can guarantee you it'll all be gone by the end of the day. Well I have found a cure to this! Gel nail polish! I know there are so many brands out there but the one I have recently found is a Sally Hanson one which you can buy for about $17 a bottle and it's the most amazing product I have ever used! Its lasts perfectly for about a week and only starts to chip (ever so slightly) after that and at the end of 14 days it's still in pretty good condition. I can not recommend these enough!

The colour I chose is a beautiful chrome, goldish colour! I think it's just absolutely gorgeous and really suits this weather that's been happening at the moment. Spring is prone for the duller colours and pastels, but I quite enjoy a classic shimmer, an in my opinion is very classy and adds something extra to your outfit. Other colours to try wearing this spring would be muted, dull colours, go for the greens and blues or even some neutrals always have a little something special.

Step #7 HAVE REGULAR MANICURES AND PEDICURES

No one looks after themselves enough and one of the simplest things you can have is a pedicure. It's relaxing, calming and you walk out with amazing looking feet.

Hope these tips and tricks helped some of you out next time you decide to pamper yourself!

Till next time,

Ali x x

P.s. A woman is only helpless when her nail polish is drying.

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