Sunday DIY: At Home Manicure...

There's nothing quite like having freshly manicured nails but for those of us who have neither the time nor money to get them done professionally all the time, perfecting the at home manicure is a must!

You will need:

Nail clippers

Nail file

Cuticle trimmer

Cuticle stick

Base coat

Nail polish

Top coat

Cuticle oil

Hand cream

and a bowl of warm soapy water

All of these are easily available about boots and worth investing in to keep your nails in tip top condition.

1.  Start by using the nail clippers to trim your nails to a uniform length, I usually take them reasonably short as my nails are prone to breakage.  Now using your nail file, file them to your desired shape (square, round, oval, squoval (great word!) - oval tends to suit everyone).

2.  Place your hands in the soapy water for 5 minutes to allow your cuticles to soften.  Using the cuticle stick, push cuticles back and trim using your cuticle trimmer.  Try and be gentle whilst doing this as cuts can be painful and infections can occur, (you have been warned ladies!)

3.  Next apply your base coat.  I've used Nails Inc Kensington Caviar basecoat.  Even if you decide to skip your topcoat NEVER skim your basecoat as it protects your nail from becoming stained but also gives your polish something to cling on to, making your manicure last longer, so it's win win really!  Allow to dry then apply your colour of choice.  Allow to dry again and add your topcoat, I've used the Nails Inc Kensington Caviar topcoat which gives a lovely gloss to my nails.

4.  Finish off my popping a little cuticle oil onto the nails, I've used the O.P.I. Avioplex oil which has a lovely melony smell and has really sorted out my dry nails!  I finally used a little of the Cath Kidston hand cream to leave my hands soft and pampered!

All of these products are easily available at Boots, so stock up and spoil yourselves in the sun this Sunday afternoon!

Cath Kidston Inspired Nails

Since I love my Models Own polish in Grace Green so much, I couldn't resist using it in a tutorial!  As a baking enthusiast my kitchen is litered with Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidston, including a lovely green apron that my friend Sam gave me for my 21st!  Using this as inspiration I created these lovelies and I cant stop looking at them as I type away...

The good news is, it's so much easier than it looks!


Here's what you'll need:

A base coat and a top coat: I'm using Nails Inc Kensington Basecoat Caviar and Albert Bridge Topcoat.

A base colour: I have used Models Own in Grace Green but this looks just as good with pastel blues or pinks.

A light pink shade for the roses: I've used Barry M Nail Paint in Bright Pink

A darker pink shade for the petals: I've used Topshop Nails in Paint It On

A green shade for the leaves: I've used Topshop Nails in Beyond the Sea

A blue shade for the small flowers: I've used Models Own in Feeling Blue

If you have a white nail polish, you can easily use this but I have used the Andrea Fullerton Stripe and Sparkle pen in Kathleen:

You will also need a kirby grip, opened out:

This is what you will use, dipped into the polishes to create your design!

Start by putting on your base coat and your chosen background colour:

Next, take your white nail pen (or using the kirby grip) draw two stripes along 2 of your nails and cloud shapes on the other three.  Put polka dots along the outside of each shape.

Dip the kirby grip into the lighter pink shade.  Draw large rose shapes onto the clouds and put dots along the stripes.

Next, take the dark pink and put lines inside the large rose shapes to resemble petals.  On the lines, add more dots.

Finally, use the dark green to add leaves to the roses and put more dots along the stripes, slightly on the outside to make them more like leaves.  Use the blue polish to add more flowers to the stripe.

Finish with a glossy topcoat, making sure you leave enough time for it all to dry.

And there it is. A Cath Kidston style manicure.

What do you think?  Will you be giving this a go?