One of the easiest ways to maintain a polished appearance is to keep your nails manicured. It’s one of the least expensive beauty routines that you can indulge in to help spruce up your appearance. Beautifully manicured nails are as important as the clothes that you wear, after all you can’t turn of the TV or open a fashion magazine without viewing a woman with perfectly manicured fingernails. Polished nails are like the icing on the cake and better than therapy, they just make you feel good! As women getting our nails done has become almost an important ritual for all of the important things in our lives. Just think for a moment about all the times that we get our nails done ~ for a job interview, when we get engaged, on our wedding day, girls night out or even as a part of our weekly beauty routine.

I love getting my nails done at my favorite nail spa but sometimes I like to do my own nails. These are the steps that I take for an at home manicure:

1. Wash and dry your hands

2. Remove nail polish with a non-acetone remover. Even if you don’t have polished nails swiping your nails with remover is a good idea to remove the oils on your nails which can cause “bubbles” under the polish.

3. Trim nails, then file in square (or oval) shape. Try to avoid running that nail file back and forth to avoid weakening your nails.

4. Rub a little cuticle cream on (I like to use olive oil or vitamin e oil) to moisturize your cuticles and push them back with an orange stick (do not cut your cuticles).

5. Smooth your nails with a buffer so that the polish has a smooth surface to adhere to. I also like to buff my cuticles as well for a smoother appearance.

6. Apply a base coat.

7. Apply two coats of your favorite shade of nail polish. I’m using Essie Mink Muffs in the picture above.

8. Apply a clear top coat for that extra shine and to help your manicure last!

It usually takes my nails about 15 minutes to dry. I also run cold water my your fingernails to help dry my nails a tad be quicker so I usually do that after I’ve dried my nails for a few minutes. Lastly, I apply clear polish every few days to help my manicure last a bit longer and remain chip proof. I’d be curious to see what other ladies do when they give themselves at home manicures. What are your secrets?