I haven't done this in a while, so I guess now is as good time as any to update you on my current nail care routine. It hasn't changed too much in a while, but I'd love to highlight my nail care every once in a while because I do get asked about my nails - mostly in real life - quite a bit. Often people think that I have acrylics or gels because my natural nails grow quite long on their own. But of course behind the scenes I do take care of them as well. When I don't, they do break as anyone else's might when there's no routine behind the nails.

When taking of polish, I try not to soak my nails or fingers in the remover to avoid drying them up completely. I use actually a quite inexpensive remover, but it's the best one I've had so far. My tip for removing nail polish is to cut cotton pads into smaller pieces and tear the pieces apart so that you can use the fluffy inside to remove the polish. I stuck a piece to each nail, and let it work for a tiny while before using some pressure to help remove the polish. That way I don't get too much remover on my cuticles, helping them to stay in better shape

Next step is to add some moisture, which I do by using Glisten & Glow cream pretty much all over my hands, giving a little massage to my cuticles. After the moisturizer has started to soak in, I file my nails and push my cuticles if needed. I wouldn't recommend cutting cuticles, but to each their own. Also I'd always recommend filing with a fine grid over cutting when it comes to shortening nails, because it's less harsh and prevents breakage.

After the base coat is all dry, I move on to the nail art, and mostly use China Glaze polishes, but have been looking into indie brands because they might have better variety in cruelty free field than the big companies. Of course there are many mainstream nail polish brands that seem to be cruelty free at a quick glance, but I like supporting smaller brands when I have a realistic chance for it.

For sealing my design and making the mani last longer, I use a top coat. Like I would recommend everyone doing. And I'd recommend investing in a proper quick drying one. My current favorite is again from Glisten & Glow, it dries my nails fast, makes them super shiny and doesn't smudge my designs at all. This used to be under the name HK Girl, but I believe it's Top Coat now. Correct me if I remember wrong. The top coat is formulated so that it doesn't make holos or even foils dull, but instead lets their shine show through.

In addition to using the right products, of course a healthy diet and drinking enough water play a role. You should eat your vitamins and take care of the whole body if you want to have banging nails. I also avoid using too much soap, as that dries the hands like heck. Like washing dishes without gloves, so I make sure to always have my rubber gloves on when washing dishes.

If however I get my hands to dry up, I use coconut oil or olive oil soak for emergency moisture. 10-15 min soak does wonders for the dry skin and dry nails. As well as moisturizing them regularly with any hand cream/body lotion you might have.