For me, taking care of my nails is at least as important as wearing some nice manicure. One isn't possible without the other. You can buy the best nail polishes and be a talented nail artist if your nails don't cooperate.
Today I will present to you some nail care products I use.
1. Acetone free nail polish remover
Make sure you use an acetone free remover, otherwise you will get your nails and cuticles dried out. It is true that acetone works faster but a non-acetone remover will be more gentle on your nails.
I have to admit I do use acetone based remover but only for glitter polishes and after removal I strictly follow the steps below.
After removing the polish I like to use Nail Polish Remover Pads to clean my nails. I use L.A. Colors pads. These come in various scents (I own the Peach and Grape scented), are acetone free and have an oily texture so it doesn't dry out my nails and cuticles.
2. Cuticle remover
After removing the polish I like to remove my cuticles. For this purpose I use the Coral Cuticle Remover.
You have to apply it on your cuticles, wait 5 minutes until it dries and remove the dried cuticles with an orange stick.
3. Nail hardener
After trying lots of nail hardeners I stopped at the cheapest and surprisingly the most effective one: Farmec Treatment Expert with Vitamin B5.
Left: old formula which used to dry out cuticles
Right: new formula with keratin and calcium pantothenate. This is a much better formula compared to the first one.
4. Vitamin A and Vitamin E
To keep my nails healthy I give them some vitamins :-). I use Vitamin A and E in oily formula. Being 100% oils they will dry pretty hard. I usually apply them before going to sleep. In the morning I will have hydrated nails and cuticles.
5. Base Coat
The best base coat I have ever used is definitely the Rimmel Stronger. This is a 2 in 1 product: base coat and nail hardener. It dries quickly (approximately 30 seconds after applied) and gives a discrete gold shimmer effect to the nails.
So...this is my nail care ritual in a nutshell :-).
I hope this post will help you keep your nails happy. Feel free to share you ritual by leaving a comment to this post.
