☼ Basic summer manicure ☼

Hey guys! Today we're showing you how to do a basic manicure to prepare your nails for polish, anyone can do this, and you don't need lots of expensive nail tools. After doing these simple steps your nails will look healthy and neat so even if you don't put polish on after, it will still look good. So lets get started! ♥

Step 1
Remove any old nail varnish from your nails and give them a good rinse with soap.

 

Step 2
Soak your hands in warm water for about 5 minutes to soften them ready for filing and shaping. To pass the time you can have it in a bowl on your lap while watching TV if you want..

(Optional) Step 3
If you have any staining on your nails you can rub some whitening toothpaste on your nails. Only use a small amount of toothpaste though as the toothpaste can be quite a strong scrub and make sure to thoroughly wash off with warm water.

Step 4
Trim, file and shape your nails. We used a six sided file and buffer from Boots, but you can use a normal nail file to shape and a soft flannel works to gently buff and shine the nails.

 

 

 Once you've  perfected your nails make sure to wash off any nail dust from the file. Here's what your nails should look like after they have been polished:

Step 5
Apply a base coat to give your nails a nice shine and to improve the overall look of them. We used the Dior base coat that we reviewed in our previous post!

Step 6
Apply cuticle and hand cream to your hands as the buffing and washing can lead to them getting dry and hangnails can develop. If you don't have any cuticle cream, you can just use vitamin E tablets on your nails instead.

(Optional) Step 7
If you want to, go ahead and paint your nails any colour you want!