My At-Home Manicure

For most of my life, I had ‘difficult’ nails.  They used to split and peel terribly, and never grow.  For those reasons, I have always been hesitant to get professional manicures.  I’m very protective of my nails and don’t trust them to someone else.  But the flipside is that I’ve become pretty good at taking care of them myself!

1. Remove any polish.  I use store-brand nail polish remover and toilet paper.  Why toilet paper?  Because I can flush the smell away!
2. I don’t ever clip my nails, I always file them shorter with my glass nail file.  My nails have almost stopped peeling, and I think that’s due to never using an emery board.
3. I read glowing review after glowing review before finally breaking down and buying Butter London Melt Away Cuticle Exfoliator.  It turns out the reviews were right!  I don’t think I’ve ever used a cuticle remover that works this well, in combination with my cuticle pusher.  After I push them back, I scrub my nails clean with a brush to remove all the dead skin.
4. I usually like to leave my nails bare for at least a day, so after cleaning them I massage in a generous dose of Butter London QuickFix Moisturizing Cuticle Balm.  Its unique massaging tip really helps work the product in.
5. When I’m ready to paint them again, I clean everything off with nail polish remover and swipe on Butter London Horse Power Nail Rescue Basecoat.  It really has a nice shine and seems to strengthen my nails.  Plus it lasts a lot longer than most strengtheners.

I rarely have color on my nails, but I’m very tempted to try Butter London Sheer Wisdom Nail Tinted Moisturizer in Fair or Light as a nude manicure.