Nail Care!

 I used to be a huge nail biter, however, in the past several years, I've tried to cut back because it's so unladylike and it is not sanitary at all. To try and keep from biting my nails, I almost always have them painted. I've recently fallen in love with Essi's shade called Rose Bowl. It's the perfect bright pink/red for spring/summer and goes great with my tan from spring break! I usually paint my own nails rather than getting a manicure to save money so when I do that here are the steps to my DIY manicure:

1. I take off all of the excess nail polish and make sure my nails are very clean. 
2. I exfoliate my hands with Crabtree and Evelyn's La Source Scrub Cleanser to make my hands nice and smooth. 
3. Then I file my nails to the desire length and shape. I am a pretty active person so I like to keep my nails short.
4. Then I buff my nails. I use a buffer that I believe I find at the dollar store. They get old fast and need to be replaced so the dollar store ones work just fine for me. 
5. I don't mess with a base coat because for some reason I think my nails hold the color longer when I do not use a base coat. 
6. I paint my nails the desired color (2 coats) 
7. I let them dry and add a clear top coat
8. I then take a qtip and dip it into nail polish remover and remove any mistakes or smudges. 
9. Then I moisturize my hands with Crabtree and Evelyn's hand therapy cream. I use this every night before bed as well. It is the BEST hand moisturizer ever. They all have great scents and leave your hands silky smooth without being greasy at all!

If I have an off day where I pick at my nails too much and don't have time to make it to get a manicure, I put on Kiss's everlasting french nails in super short. They are SO easy to put on, very inexpensive and look completely natural. These stay on for about 10 days and are easy to remove (painless too!) and once I take them off, my nails are nice and long again and then I can make it to the salon and get a nice manicure! I've tried several brands in the past and this brand is truly the best that I have come across.
What do you use for nailcare when you can't make it to the salon or you don't want to spend the money on a salon manicure? Have a fabulous day!
Yours,
sCe