manicure

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So Polished: Static Nails Liquid Glass Lacquer in Irene

When I received a bottle of Static Nails Liquid Glass Lacquer in Irene in my Allure Beauty Box, I thought it was a pretty color. What I didn’t realize was that it would instantly become my new favorite nail product. Here’s why:

This sheer nude shade is pretty and flattering. The applicator brush might be the best I’ve ever encountered – the lacquer was so easy to apply that I made zero mistakes – no messy spots around my nails that needed to be cleaned up when I was done. It dried fairly quickly and left a gorgeous glassy finish. In a matter of a minutes I gave myself a manicure that looks natural but also extremely put together. What’s not to love about that?

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Pretty Hands, Part Two

Okay, so I’m still working on my goals of great skin and nice looking nails. It’s going pretty well. My hangnails are, for the most part, gone, and I only rarely catch myself gnawing on a nail. And my Clarins face wash is just delightful! It smells great, is extremely easy to use, and, unlike every other one-step cleanser I’ve tried, it doesn’t dry out my skin at all!

Now that my hands and nails are (mostly) mended, it’s time to step it up a notch and get them looking really good instead of not that bad. So I’ll be starting a weekly practice of performing the following at-home manicure, which I adapted from a version I read about in Allure Magazine about a decade ago.

1. Trim or file nails to desired length and shape.

2. Fill a sink/tub/bowl with warm water and a few drops of olive oil. Soak hands for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove hands and pat dry.

3. Massage a generous amount of hand cream all over hands, paying special attention to cuticles. Gently push back cuticles once they have been thoroughly moisturized.

4. Swipe nail polish remover over each nail.

5. Paint nails with desired polish!

Easy and effective. Slathering a gob of lotion on right after soaking your hands in the warm water/olive oil mixture helps seal in moisture. The nail polish remover will remove any excess lotion and oil from your nails so your polish will actually stick to your nails. And in a 10 to 15 minute period you can have soft and pretty hands!