I have been loving nail polish recently, as most of you know. Over here at Luna HQ I am lucky enough to have an entire floor of my family's home to myself. My Mum's friend has been staying with us and as a result I have been letting her stay in one of the rooms on my floor. The room I store my polish collection in! I never want to disturb her so I haven't been doing my nails as frequently as I was before. This cloud has a silver lining as I have perfected the perfect no polish manicure. Still very pampering and a nice way to wind down while watching my favorite shows online. Nail polish can actually suffocate your nails if you wear it too long. Going au natural every once in a while has some really great benefits. One being it keeps them healthy!
I like to start off with my favourite polish remover, the Zoya 3-in-1 Remove plus. This takes off any polish,stains,oil, etc. ( As you can see in this photo I need to pick up a new bottle as I am almost out!) The top is a pump which makes it easier to use than the other polish cleaners.
This is a hand bath I was given as a gift. I'm not sure where you can buy these, but a simple search online should produce results!
I like to pair the hand bath with these little lovely 'finger bath bombs' ( how cute is that?!) These ones are papaya and green tea sea fizz. They're sanitizing and meant to help keep your nails white and moisturized. It's a very pampering and they smell so good! These are by the brand
Cuccio .
If you want an intense hand treatment I strongly recommend the Sally Hansen 'Manicure In A Minute'. It's texture is paste-like. Lot's of oils and salt to scrub away any dead skin. You can scrub with water, or for a more exfoliating payoff scrub without. When you're done you can just rinse it off and it'll leave the oil that you can rub into your skin. (It really is an amazing hand treatment-- it has so much to offer! I can't recommend it enough!)
I then like to use the Essie apricot cuticle oil and rub it into my cuticles.
Another alternative is using straight Vitamin E Oil on your cuticles. You can find these in most spas.
Then using a manicure stick I push back my cuticles and clean under my nails.
Using a 4 sided manicure block I file and shape the edges of my nails then buff and polish the tops of my nails. This block is from Sephora and if you've never tried a manicure block it's a definite must. It'll make your nails shine, remove ridges and make them look over the top healthy. And if you're planning on using polish on your fingers, it makes it glide on smoothly and last a lot longer.
If your nail is still looking a little yellow the 'Sally Hansen 2-in-1 Nail White Pencil' is the perfect fix. Dab the end in water (it looks like an eyeliner stick) and draw underneath your nail that's grown over the edge of your finger.
If you didn't use the Sally Hansen Manicure In A Minute, your hands might feel a little dry at this point. Finishing up with some hand cream is the perfect end to any manicure! This is Philosophy's 'time on your hands' exfoliating hand and cuticle cream. I wouldn't recommend it outright as I have used other creams that I feel have done a much better job. I find this one will feel good for a few minutes then I'll need to reapply but it won't moisturize as well as I'd like. Plus the smell leaves something to be sought after.
If you've followed all these steps you're sure to have had a pampering polishless manicure!
Until next time,
Luna.
