Hiya everyone! A few months back I had the pleasure of doing the Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream Bzzagent campaign, and I thought I should share the Bzz with all of you out there in internet land! One of the campaign activities listed was to create a step by step guide on how to give yourself a great manicure. I have never been one for manicures because in my line of work (Chef) you cant wear nail polish and you have to keep your nails super short. Plus, with all the stress and pressure of working in a restaurant, your nails end up looking like crap by the end of the day no matter what you do. Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I have started to take a shining on doing my nails and keeping the skin on my hands healthier. It's nice not to see them covered in cuts and burns!!!
First off, before I start my tutorial, I would just like to give a shout out to Neutrogena and to Bzzagent for letting me take part in this super fun campaign! If you haven't tried the Norwegian hand cream, I highly suggest you do. It literally started to heal my hands the first time I put it on and now, after 23 days of trial, my hands look and feel fantastic. I have even had people complement on how soft my hands are!!! For just a few bucks a year, you can have spa-like treated hands without spending the time and the big bucks it usually takes. So thank you Bzzagent and Neutrogena for sending me a free Norwegian hand cream and for letting me test it out!!!
With this lotion, keep in mind that a little dab will do ya. It does come off as greasy at first, but once it's soaked in, your hands become so super soft. I have found that one of the best times to use this product is before doing dishes or before doing super heavy cleaning such as the bathroom. Since it's waterproof, you wont be getting a case of the nasty dish pan hands we all hate so much and it will protect your hands from spray on cleaners drying them out. Now, I don't use this product every time I need lotion on my hands because it does take a bit of time to soak in and it's so super thick, but using this once a day will greatly help your hands heal if they are dried and cracked. There is no fragrance and it wont burn any cuts that are on your hand.
I decided to do a quick and easy star and glitter manicure for this tutorial. This is what you will need...
- A good nail file with a buffer on the back side of the file
- A nail file with a pointed tip
- Sharp tweezers
- A four sided buffing block (see pictures if you have never seen one)
- Clear base coat nail polish
- Glitter nail polish
- Stars (you can buy these in the stationary isle of any craft store)
- Fast drying top coat nail polish
- Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream
Step one: Wash and dry hands. Get all the products ready to use.
These are the two tools I use to clean out from underneath my nails. Sharp tweezers work SO good! The block on the left is a four sided buffer pad. You can usually find these at any beauty supply store and at most mass merchandise stores.
Step two: Clean out from underneath nails. You can remove the cuticle if you would like, but I honestly think it does more harm than good. Its not necessary for a good looking manicure.
The sharp tweezers scrape the inside of the nail, getting out stuck on gunk.
A pointy tipped file gets out the stuff that is really deep in the nail that the tweezers cant reach.
Step three: File the nail. It helps if you only file on one direction because it will help keep the nail from having tiny splinters which will eventually snag on clothing.
Step four: Buffer the nail, also making sure to stay in one direction.
Step five: Remove ridges.
This step is not completely necessary, but it makes your nails look more youthful, as ridges are a sign of ageing nails.
Step six: Buff the nail. This makes your nail super smooth and shiny. You can just leave your nails like this with no polish and they will look super healthy and beautiful.
Your nails should look a lot like mine here in the picture on the right. Smooth, shiny, and clean! I like to file mine in more of a circular shape because they are so short, but I would love to see this look done with squared off nails.
Step seven: Put on your base coat. If you are using a clear glitter polish and your in a hurry, you can skip this step because the polish will not stain your nails. I like base coats because they nourish your nails and it helps your polish cling to something, which makes it last longer.
Step eight: Polish. Try using just three brush strokes. One on the left, middle, then right. Doing this will insure your polish looks flawless.
Let the nail completely dry before putting the stars on.
Step nine: Place stars in the position that you want. You can find these stars in most craft stores in the stationary section. I have also seen them at Party City. They come in all shapes and sizes and you can get really creative with these!!!
Step ten: Carefully place the top coat over the nails and stars. It helps to just start at the very corners of the stars to hold them in place then do the rest of the nail. Don't worry if they end up moving a bit. You will be able to adjust their position in a second.
Step eleven: Adjust stars as necessary with the pointy end of a file.
Step twelve: Let dry completely. As you can see in the picture below, You can get as creative with the stars as you would like. They come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes!
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Step thirteen: Finish of your new nail look with a dab of Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream!
(Smaller than this dab...lol mine came out too fast.)
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