Nail it!
By Toni-Marie Ippolito
Getting Buff
• Rid all dead skin cells by exfoliating your hands with a protein-enriched hand buffer product.• Next, gently buff the surface of your nail to rid any bumps and file edges to remove hangnails and to get the shape you want. If cuticles are riding high on the nail, gently push them with a cuticle pusher—don’t cut them yourself.
• Rinse hands and wipe nails with a cloth before applying polish to get rid of cream and oils that are on top of the nail. This will ensure your polish will glide on smoothly.
• Cake Milk Made Smoothing Hand and Cuticle Buffer with sugar, milk proteins, avocado and coconut oils is the perfect at-home spa experience. $22.
• The amazing all-in-one nail buffer and groomer from Sally Hansen shapes, smoothes and shines the nail surface, and pushes cuticles, $6.98.
Polishing Up
• Be a smooth glider. When applying polish, be sure to spread it slightly over the front edge of the nail and under the tip to prevent chipping. A neat trick is to apply a small blob near the bottom of the nail and sweep over entire nail. This will avoid streaking.• Don’t lay on the polish too thick. Two thin coats should do the trick! Let your first coat dry at least 10 minutes before applying a second to avoid air bubbles. Use your favourite colour or be on trend with spring’s hottest shade: Pink.
• Don’t be fooled. Surfaces will feel dry to the touch after only 10 minutes, but it actually takes about an hour for nails to completely dry. Use a topcoat to help polish dry faster.
Sealing the Deal
Seal your polish with a topcoat. It helps extend the life of your manicure. After giving your nails the recommended dry time, submerge them in cold water (this helps them dry quicker) then apply lotion. The lotion makes for a slippery surface until nails are completely dry.
• You’ll absolutely adore Cake Milk Made Velveteen Hand Creme. With mango, shea butter, whole milk and marshmallow extracts, it not only smells decadent, it keeps your hands silky smooth. $22.
• It’s almost unbelievable how soft your hands will feel after using Nivea Hand Intensive Nourishing Care cream. $5.34.
Try:
• L’Oréal Bijou Gems Precious Effect Nail Colour in B.Dynamic. $3.95.
• Rimmel London 60 Seconds Vinyl Shine Nail Polish in Frivolity. $3.99.
• Maybelline Express Finish fast dry nail color in Passing By Pink. $4.99.
• Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect protein colour in Hibiscus Harmony. $5.99.
• Get your nails in great pre-manicure shape by applying Revlon’s Grow 10 nail protein strengthener, $6.50.
• Help your polish dry faster with Revlon’s Double Twist fast-drying base and top coat, $6.50.
Yikes!
Smudged your polish while painting? Dip your finger, or a Q-Tip, in nail polish remover and use it to gently smooth over the surface, then retouch with your nail polish.
Break or snag your nail?
The best thing to do is to cut it off and re-file. But if your nail has a snag down low, cut a tiny strip of gauze from a teabag and place it over the tear. Then paint over with polish. And voila! Instant fix. If you choose to do your mani-cure one to two days in advance, add a fresh layer of topcoat every other day to maintain a fresh, polished look.
