Topic 5 Nail Care

When Gabby's email popped up in my inbox I couldn't help but chuckle, me talking about nail care is laughable why you ask? Well I'm the worst person to give nail advice, a quick glance at my half chewed down nails confirms all. With nail care out of the question, I looked at nail art if you viewed my 'Am I a real beauty blogger' post you'll know that again that's out of the question. With these chubby hands and sausage fingers (cheers dad) all nail art is out of the question, I mean don't get me wrong it looks pretty, but I just ain't got the time, patience or motivation to attempt nail art oh and having the worlds shakeiest hands doesn't help either. 

So today's post is nail care please take  this post with a pinch of salt as per the above. 

1. Don't bite

Yes, I need to practice what I preach. I'm a biter, I know it's gross, but I get so much pleasure out of biting my nails, yes I know there's bacteria, grime etc but this doesn't seem to stop me. When I'm bored I peel polish, when I'm nervous the biting starts. To tackle this, I'm doing the 30 day bite free challenge. For 30 days I'll attempt to quit my childhood past time, going cold turkey will be hard but I do think my nails will benefit and look a lot healthier if I can really crack down on this. 

2. Oils 

Cuticle oils, faff to use laborious task to do but they really do make all the difference to the appearance of your nails, they also make tidying those cuticles super easy. I swear by Butter London's Handbag Holiday oil, this comes in a nail polish style bottle making it super easy to, brush rub and your done. This isn't super greasy, absorbs quickly  and smells amazing (if you could bottle up summer holidays it would be this smell.) I recently picked up the Essie cuticle oil, which I plan on doing a little review on but so far Butter London still holds the top spot.

3. Remove those cuticles 

Now to some people this isn't essential, but in all honesty I really do notice other people's hands, if there dry, if the cuticles look messy (I know superficial!) if anything this gives me encouragement to tackle the issue once a month. I personally think once a month is enough, plus it freaks me out pushing them back (kind of like nails on a chalk board) you'll need a cuticle pusher backer, cheap and cheerful is fine they basically all do the same job anyway! You can opt to massage oil into cuticles and get your push on, or apply a little body moisturiser (works really well!) If you fancy something a bit more fancy, try the Sally Hanson cuticle remover (super cheap on Amazon) this is a gel, you apply to cuticles from the bottle and leave for a few seconds (it tingles) this basically loosens the skin around your cuticles makings pushing back much easier! 

4. File and shape

Since buying a Leighton Denny file I've seriously not looked back. Invest, and buy one now. This takes the effort out of filing one swipe and perfectly shaped nails are yours. Great quality too and can see this lasting years. 

5. Polish 

I've found a multitasker in the world of nails or nail care this is a good thing for me! Top coat and base coat wrapped in one. This Sally Hanson double duty polish, strengthens the nail, prevents stains and pro longs polish. Applied over polish your left with a glossy finish,chip free nails for just over 7 days (trialed and tested) which for a regular pot washer like myself *plays violin* is pretty impressive. 

So there we have it my 'top tips' in all honesty I'm known to skip a few of these steps every once in awhile, as nail care is just so darn boring. What are your top tips for keeping your nails in tip top condition, I'd love to know hopefully I can gain some motivation for my talons!