Today I'd love to blog about my daily hand and nail care routine. Recently I am very happy with my nails and my cuticles so I thought I could share what I use to keep my nails and cuticles in shape.
My nails weren't always nice as well as my cuticles. My nails were weak and chippy and my cuticles and the skin around my nails were dry. But when I started to get more into nails due to Specktra and nail blogs like Scrangie and All Lacquered Up I wanted to improve both.
Hand care
Hand cremeI think I have a slight addiction to hand creme. I always used hand creme but I used to be a bit lazy and so I often had dry hands especially in the winter. But since I take more care of my hands I use hand creme on a daily basis. The hand cremes by the german brand Florena are pretty cheap but work great. My favourite is the one with olive oil.
Because I have so many I rotate them depending on my mood. Florena also has a hand creme with shea butter and argan oil which is my favourite for the winter. But because I have so many different hand cremes I will try to finish at least one or two of them before I buy a new one. :D
Cuticle cremeDior's Crème Abricot changed my cuticles from horribly dry to lovely soft. Next to the glass nail file buying this nail creme was one of my best purchases ever. With 21 EUR it is pretty expensive but worth every cent in my opinion. I have bought my first one last summer and I still have around 1/4-1/3 left. I try to use it every evening before I go to bed but because I am often lazy in the evening I only use it 3 times a week on an average.
The second product I use on my cuticles is the Lemon Cuticle Creme by Burt's Bees. I got it as a gift from a friend
♥ and I love to use it once or twice during the day to keep my cuticles moistured.
Florena hand creme, two limited edition hand cremes, olive oil and camomile hand cremes (~1,50 EUR)Burt's Bees - Lemon Cuticle Creme (5,99 £), Dior - Créme Abricot (21 EUR)Nail care
The first thing I changed after I was getting more into nails was my nail file. I used to use metal and sandpaper nail files but then I read great thing about glass nail files so I bought one. The glass nail file improved the look of my nails a lot. I love how soft the tips of my nails feel after I file them.
The only issue I am having with glass nail files is that they wear off pretty fast. First I thought that the areas that softened on the nail file were somewhat covered with nailpolish because I also file my nails when I am wearing nailpolish but this wasn't the case. However they are pretty cheap so I just buy a new glass nail file every couple of months.
Currently I am using a drugstore brand glass nail file and the new glass nail file by Essence. I do like the drugstore brand one better because it is larger and the Essence file is a bit too soft for me.
Drugstore brand glass nail file (~3-4 EUR) on the left and Essence glass nail file (~2 EUR) on the rightNail care mispurchases
However not every product I bought since I got into nails was a good buy. I regret buying the following two.
6 in 1 professional nail file by EssenceI am on the fence about this one. The nail file has six different nail files from rough to smooth for all steps from filing to smoothen to polish your nails. I do like to smoothen the ridges on my nails with step 3 to step 6 but the shape of the nail file makes it difficult to use it without scratching your just smoothed nail with the rough step 1 and step 2 on the top and bottom of the nail file. I should have bought the 4 in 1 nail file instead because this one.. even if I like the results of step 3 to step 6.. is just annoying.
Alessandro nail spa nail file for soft nailsOh this nail file was a total mispurchase. The tips of my nails were pretty rough after I shortened my nails with this file but this wasn't even the biggest problem. The sides around the nail file are so sharp that every time I used this file it cut into the skin under my nail beds. And paper cut-like injuries aren't fun if you have to remove your nailpolish *ouch ouch* or even just want to wash your hands *ouch*.
Alessandro nail spa nail file for weak nails (6.10 EUR) and Essence 6 in 1 nail file (I can't remember the price)Base and top coats
OPI - Chip SkipI can't really write much about Chip Skip. It was one of the first OPI products I've bought and you use it under a base coat to prevent chipping. However I haven't noticed any difference when I use or don't use it.
OPI - Nail EnvyLoves it. Before I started using Nail Envy my nails were so weak.. it was horrible. But immediately when I used this nail strengthener for the first time my nails were so much stronger and they improved with every time I used it.
China Glaze - Calcium Gel FortifierI haven't used this base coat/nail strengthener a lot so I can't write much about it. The texture feels nice and my nails seemed to like it but I haven't used it often enough to have a solid opinion on this.
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top CoatI love this. However I am concerned about the warning on the back about the one chemical in it that could cause harm. Seche Vite works like a charm. My nailpolish dries very fast and because I am pretty impatient I love that I can use my hands without beeing scared just a few minutes after applying this top coat.
I'd love to switch to another fast dry top coat but I don't know which one yet. I tried Orly's In A Snap but I wasn't very happy about how it worked. I am very VERY impatient and it took to long for the nailpolish to dry for me liking. What is your favourite fast dry top coat?
Oh my Seche Vite is stained from OPI's Smitten With Mittens. :D
OPI - Chip Skip, Nail Envy; NailTek - Foundation II; China Glaze - Calcium Gel Fortifier;Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat
Base coat mispurchase
NailTek - Foundation IIWell. I bought this base coat when I was halfway done with Nail Envy. I love to try new things and read great reviews about this base coat so I thought I would give it a shot.
When I used Foundation II for the first time I noticed that my my nails were peeling off their top layer. Because I now was always using nailpolish and never left my nails naked I thought that my nails were just reacting to the new stress they are having. So I continued using this base coat because I like the matte texture and how it grabs the nailpolish you put on top of it.
But when I was soon to be halfway done with Foundation II I started to use Nail Envy again.. and suddenly my nails stopped to peel. Of course I can't say for sure that the NailTek Foundation II caused the peeling of my nails but because it stopped when I switched back to Nail Envy I do think that my nails don't agree with Foundation II.
I hope this post was helpful. :)
OPI - Russian Navy, two coats 
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