The Notes - My nail care routine

I was requested by a lovely reader to write a post about my nail care routine in one of my NOTD post here and I apologise for taking a month to actually publish the post.

Nail care collection

So it's 8 pm in Chicago and we are watching House Hunters International on HGTV and imagining what house we'd choose if we were moving to Milan :) It's at a time like this when I take out my nail care essentials and start working on my nails which may I add are about as far from perfect as you can get. I think it's a manifestation of years of nail biting as a kid. Thankfully I managed to stop when I became a teenager but the damage was done.

I use a fair few products aimed at nourishing and strengthening as that is what I need. If you have lovely strong nails, feel free to skip or replace these products.

I tend to start with putting some of the Crabtree and Evelyn Nail and Cuticle Therapy on each of my nails. It's basically a very soft white cream that when you rub into your nails, and it softens the cuticles really easily. I love this stuff, you literally need the smallest tiniest amount, so this tube will last me for years! What a great value at $16.

Then onto clipping my nails if I need to and I use this set that I found in Boots years ago for about £2 and does the job well. I really like the cuticle pusher as it's strong but not sharp. Also love that it comes with a case which means I don't have to dig around to find the bleeding things.

Emery board, cuticle pusher, tweezer and nail clippers

The OPI Nail Envy is a cult classic. Since I have crappy nails, I am willing to try anything so when I heard that there was this amazing product that helps nails stay strong and stop breaking and peeling, I ran to my nearest ULTA and grabbed this for $16.95. The best purchase I ever made :) OPI Nail Envy is like a mask for your nails. You can wear it alone and add a layer every day for 10 days for an intense treatment or as a base coat under colour. It isn't cheap but it really works miracles, and I am a huge fan.

Sometimes I use an additional base coat and the one I have is an Avon one. My mum got this and gave it to me and I think it works fine. Nothing fancy.

Then we are onto nail colour and today I am wearing OPI Casino Royale which is a deep plummy maroon. I like the colour but it does look slightly too mature for me.

Finally we add a bit of top coat in the form of the ever popular Seche Vite which adds an amazing shine which I love. If you like matte nails, this is not for you. I also love that it helps my nails dry faster. I am super clumsy so this is a huge bonus. It's $9.95 but is usually easy to find on sale or on offer.

I always have a hand cream with me, one on my desk at work, one in my handbag and another one on my bedside table. I find that I wash my hands often and that makes them dry and I always need a hand cream. The one I am currently absolutely in love with and have purchased a full size of already is the Nuxe Reve de Miel hand and nail cream. This nail cream smells like heaven (honey and something extra) and I have been known to smell my hands many times after applying this. It absorbs so quickly. Nothing bad to say about this. 89.9% of the total ingredients are from natural origins, which is so great too. It's $19 for 75 ml so it's not cheap but truly worth it.

So there we have it, that's my nail care. Oh and I use the Cutex nail polish remover which is great, but I haven't included a picture here. I hope this post helped some of you, do let me know if there are products that you use that you really love.