MANICURE AT HOME

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I was gifted some fingernail polish and thought about how good it feels to have a home manicure. 

To start this process, gather all your supplies which might look like the following list.

Base coat

Cotton balls

Cuticle oil or hand cream

Nail trimmers

Nail buffer

Nail color

Nail file

Nail polish remover

Orange stick

Top coat


If you're wearing old polish, remove it. Then, trim and buff your nails till you have them at the desired length. I keep mine pretty short. 

Soak your nails in a bowl of warm water for five minutes. I use around 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with 1/2 cup of warm water as I feel this helps lighten stained nail beds. 


There are a bunch of products you can use to soften cuticles! You can soften them with some distilled vinegar or add a few drops of scented oil or soap to water and the list goes on. Softening your cuticles will make them easier to push back with an orange stick or cuticle pusher.

I typically use an orange stick but do have a metal pusher. The orange sticks are good for cleaning up nail polish that gets along the outside of the nail bed. I've also used a cuticle trimmer but will warn you it is possible to go too far and cause bleeding and leave your fingers prone to infection. 

Once your cuticles are pushed back the way you like them and your hands are dry you can apply your base coat and wait till it is dry and then apply some color. This time, I used the ORLY nail color, Kiss the Bride, which is a soft pink. I applied thin buildable coats. 




I took the photo above with 2 coats on. I then applied another 2 coats so 4coats total with dry time between each coat. . When I have all the coats on, I apply a top coat. I have a can of ONYX Professional Nail Dryer that will cut down on my dry time but didn't apply it this time.



When the nail color is complete, I  applied some Gingham  Love Body cream to my cuticles and hands.



I like that Gingham Love scent and so does my husband. This body cream is said to be a  mix of sugared red berries, blushing freesia, and rose meringue. It has a fruity/ floral aroma that lasts for hours after I apply it. It has shea butter and hyaluronic acid which helps my hands and cuticles.