the ultimate at-home mani/pedi guide!

I swing back and forth between shellac nails and traditional manicures wildly. I've been on a huge shellac kick for the past six months. But this past weekend I was craving a good at-home nail session and now I am back to my at-home mani and pedis. Do you do the same? Go back and forth?

At home manicures and pedicures are super easy, especially when you've been at the nail salon regularly and your cuticles and nail shapes have been maintained. If you haven't been to the salon lately, no problem either… just take a little extra time to shape, buff and carefully trim your cuticles. I find that the hardest challenge with an at home mani/pedi is just the time it takes. To paint and to dry I usually need about an hour and a half of down time (not always easy to find, but weekend afternoons and week day evenings seem to work for me).

I use Essie nail color religiously. I love the colors and I am familiar with the brush (practice makes perfect!). I usually do two solid coats. Try to make them even, but if you can't do one thicker coat and one thinner coat in whatever order works for you. Then I let the nails dry for about 10 minutes and top them with Sally Hansen's Mega Shine. It gives the shine that I love from the salon, but at home. Then for me no mani/pedi is complete without some cuticle oil to hydrate and hide cuticle imperfections. I always try to let my nails over-dry… chips or dents right out of the gate is a huge bummer (and waste of time) so grab a book or turn the tv on and sit still for an hour or so to let those babies dry, dry, dry!

These simple steps will give you a mani just as good as the salon… and don't forget, practice makes perfect! The more you do your own nails, the better you will get!

Below I feature my favorite Essie colors… what are your favorites? Let me know!