How to do The Perfect Manicure

How’s your mani looking right now? Be honest… Ours could definitely do with some TLC, but let’s be honest, do we really have the time and money to go to a salon for a professional manicure? Hell no. We’ve devised a perfect step by step guide for you to get the perfect manicure at home, so you can ensure your mani is on point all day, e’ryday!

What Do I Need?

Okay, before you start, you’re going to need to pick up a few essentials. Here’s what you need:

Nail polish remover
Nail files
Nail scissors or clippers
Cuticle oil
Hand cream
Cotton pads
Base coat
Nail polish
Top coat

I’m ready, what are the steps to do the perfect manicure?

Step 1: Clean Nails

The first thing you need to do is make sure your nails are completely clean. Remove any nail polish and wash your hands, making sure your dry them properly too. Try to find a nail polish remover that meets the need of your nails. If they’re feeling brittle, go for something strengthening, if they’re feeling dry, you can go for a moisturising nail polish remover. Here are some of our faves:

Step 2: Throw Some Shapes

Now it’s time to shape your nails. Start by giving them a trim if needed, then file them into the shape you want. Some prefer ’em pointy or round, some prefer square, whichever floats your boat! Have a look at the nail file you’re using to ensure it’s the best for your nails and isn’t going to damage them. Take a look at some of our favourites below. All three of these are the perfect file, with different areas made for filing/shaping, buffing, and smoothing.

Step 3: ‘CUTE’icles

See what we did there? The next step is to take care of those cuticles. Start by giving them a soak. We recommend popping some warm (but not hot) water into a bowl, along with some moisturising bath soak, oil or a nourishing hand wash. Don’t soak them for too long though, a few minutes will be enough!

Next, grab some cuticle oil and massage it into your cuticles. After this, you can gently push your cuticles down and clip away any extras you don’t need. Here are our recommended products:

Step 4: Moisture Massage

Here’s the proper pamper part. Give yourself a hand massage. Get some oils or hand cream and spend some time massaging it into your hands. Work it into the palm of your hands with your thumbs, and use your knuckles to apply light pressure.

Step 5: Prepare

Remove any excess oil or moisturiser from the surface of your actual nail using a cotton pad and nail polish remover, or facial toner for a softer approach. Don’t remove right the way down to your cuticles, these need to moisture, just remove from the actual surface of your nail. Next, apply your base coat. The base coat will stop any nail polish colour from staining your nails and make your nail polish colour last longer. Here are some of our favourite base coats:

Step 6: Time to Paint

Now you can get your colour on! Apply your colour in layers, two should be enough, but ensure you wait long enough in between coats for the first coat to completely dry. Once the second coat has dried, apply a top coat to keep everything locked in place and add shine. Take a look at our current favourite nail colours below: