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Usually the first thought that comes to mind when I think of
beauty is someone’s face and their cosmetic routines. The beauty section of a department store is
that glamorous place of gold and mirrors and beautiful shades to adorn
ourselves with.
Whether you wear makeup or not, I’m sure you feel more
beautiful when you are up-to-date with your grooming regime. Taking two minutes to shave my
legs means they are beautifully smooth.
Blow-drying my hair rather than tying it back wet means I can enjoy the
silkiness of a fresh blow-dry plus it looks better.
Nails is an area where I’ve stepped up my game lately. In the past I’ve used the excuse that my
nails would become chipped within one day at work so why bother doing anything
with them except file them shorter once in a while. A couple of months ago I decided that was a
lazy ole story I was telling myself so I got out my nail polish and painted
them. I even invested in a base coat on
the advice of a friend (I already had a top coat too).
What has made me love my painted nails more, aside from the
fact that I think they look really feminine and yes, maybe a little bit French,
because I imagine all Parisiennes wear nail polish (they probably don’t), is
the fact that I decided to cut them really short and then paint them.
The colour lasts much longer, I think, because shorter nails
don’t have any bend in them like a longer nail does. Plus, it looks très modern in my opinion. I
always felt a bit 80s Dynasty with long(ish) coloured nails.
I have four colours, all crème
(no sparkle or shimmer) – pink/nude, dark taupe, fuchsia pink and electric
coral pink. I used to only wear
pink/nude on my fingernails and saved the other three for my toes in summer,
but I have been wearing the dark/bright colours on my fingers and enjoying the
change.
With colour on my fingernails I treat my hands differently -
I don’t use them as tools! I change them
once a week and have had a ten day breather with no colour so far, because I don’t
want yellow nails.
I also, on the same friend’s advice, apply a top coat most
days and this keeps the colour glossy and stops the edges wearing. It dries really quickly so it’s not a big
deal.
What about you? Are
your nails lovely? What grooming area
would you like to step up during our week of beauty?
I love doing my nails as well. I've never been a fan of colored polish, so for years I've used a very pale pink shade. It looks very natural, like my own nails expect more glossy and healthy. I love to use hand cream and Burt's Bees lemon cuticle butter as well to always keep my hands moisturized. I do need to pay this same attention to my feet and toenails, though... they are quite dry from the summer sun!
ReplyDeleteI look after my hands by moisturizing them, using sun screen and using vitamin E on the cuticles, but I've never gotten into doing my nails myself. It's probably in part because I played piano a lot when I was younger, which is an invitation to non-stop chipping.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate having them done by a pro on occasion though, because it looks so nice. It had never occurred to me to re-do the top coat every day and so will need to try that out. (And maybe I'll have a go at doing my nails too!)
Alison
This week I will attempt to give myself a French manicure. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't like doing my nails, because I don't do a very good job. But the cost of a mani-pedi every few weeks is not in the budget. My friend treated me on Saturday to a pearly, pink nail polish to thank me for helping her choose clothes for a wedding. So I will try it again. I play guitar, so I must keep my nails very short. The top coat might help the chipping. Wish me luck and any other tips are appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI always do my toes in the summer as I love sandals and bare feet. I stopped doing my fingernails when I left uni as my hands then had to work! I have always used that excuse for not doing my nails, but a friend who is a professional mani/pedicurist did them for my son's wedding in March and they looked so lovely and lady like that with your fresh advice I am going to give it a go myself because as we go into winter my toes will be in hiding.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasure to look down at my well-groomed hands after I've taken the time to do a manicure; I certainly feel pulled together and chic! As the seasons are changing to the colder months in my part of the world, I'm enjoying wear deep raspberries.
ReplyDeleteHi Fiona! Thank you for such great tips,and inspiration as always! I will definitely be putting these into practice, as I always feel so much more pulled together when my nails are 'done'. I never did quite go for the long nail look and the concept of keeping them short with some colour is perfect.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to further beauty posts this week!
Cheers
Rita
I am a garden fanatic so I rarely have my nails painted...I keep them short and buff them so that they shine.
ReplyDeleteI do admire pretty painted nails on others and think it looks very chic.
You really caught me on a bad day. I'm starting to clean up my garden & my (up to now) nicely-cared for nails are a disaster -- I ripped one thumb nail right into the quick this morning. [I start out wearing gloves but usually jettison them a few minutes in & forget to put them back on.] So no polish for me this week (although my toenails are sporting a jaunty scarlet). Usually, though, I wear polish: I've been leaning toward various purples this summer, glittery & not. I don't care for pastels & while I've toyed with greens & blues, I quickly come back to the classics. I wear a lot of rings & bracelets & think nice (& bright) nails add to the mix. This week for me: litres of hand cream & as much tender care as I can fit in.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of polish, but not on me. I have made a successful effort for the last month with hand and toe nails, in keeping them filed short, buffed, and well moisturized. At night I love to use coconut oil or sweet almond oil, and during the day a good hand cream. Though, I have been to nail salons, they are expensive and seem to rush through the process. I like to take a bit of time with them.
ReplyDeleteIf I gardened every day I admit I would not wear polish either. I did actually do a little bit of gardening yesterday (it's a rarity) and I'd taken my polish off the night before because I was at home for the day. I do always wear gardening gloves though, and manage to keep them on :) Then, after dinner last night I did my nails and let them dry watching Mr Selfridge.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention moisturiser and yes I use gallons as well.
I love, love, love the results of painted nails. I like looking at them on me and other people. I also prefer short nails.
ReplyDelete