Beauty Blvd.

Nice neat nails are always in fashion, whether they are covered in the hottest color of the season (purple) or buffed to a healthy pink sans polish. During the winter it gets harder and harder to maintain great looking hands and nails. The cold weather seems to just zap the life right out of my hands, if I'm not careful I end up with ashy hands with cracked cuticles. So how do you keep your hands and nails looking great all year long without spending $1000 a year in the nail salon? I'm here to share some tips to keep your hands and nails looking great.


First off, lets start with the overall hand because if your nails look great and your hands are jacked up will anyone even notice the nails?


1. This is a no brainer. . . Keep your hands clean! Not only is your body more susceptible to germs (which are almost always transferred into your system via your hands!) in the winter, but dirt under the nails or just dirty hands are not attractive. Wash your hands for 15 seconds using soap and water. <-- I can't help it, I AM a nurse! :-) 2. Moisturize! Always keep some hand cream on hand for after you wash your hands, if you wash your hands as much as you are supposed to throughout the day they WILL be dry without a good moisturizer. I happen to love Aveda's Hand Relief Lotion. It will keep dry cracked hands at bay, trust me...I know!


3. Cuticle Care. Never I repeat NEVER cut your own cuticles. Leave that to the professionals. You are really only supposed to snip the dead skin or hangnails, anything more and you are opening up the area to all kinds of things. Plus, according to Creative Nail Design Professionals pushing dead skin underneath the cuticle can also break the seal that protects the nail bed. Try using a cuticle cream to keep the cuticles moist and healthy. I use Burt's Bee's Cuticle Cream, it's a heavenly lemon scent. I keep it in my purse and put it on as I see fit. If you need something a bit more intense, let's just say you don't take care of your cuticles yet... try Creative Nail Designs Cuticle Eraser, which is a an 8% blend of glycolic and lactic acids in a botanical base, to micro-exfoliate non-living cuticle tissue. It will work as a mini-manicure, helping to keep nails clean of build up and to prevent hangnails.

Now that your hands are in tip top shape, Michelle Pierno (Product Development Kiss Products) shared some tips with me on creating the perfect manicure.

1. Remove old polish and clean nails underneath to bring out the whiteness of free edge. This gives an instant healthy look to natural nails.

2. Gently push back cuticles with a manicure stick. (Kiss offers 10 in a pack.). Its best not to cut cuticles, just apply cuticle oil and massage in, then push back any excess skin.

3. Clip nails with a nail clipper to get straight, even edges. Or if nails are too short,
quickly file to shape and finish uneven edges. Nails should all be close to the same length, even if they are short.

4. Lightly buff nails with a soft buff block to remove ridges or nail discoloration and
buff off excess skin at the cuticle area that can sometimes grow on the nail surface. (or use Kiss All Purpose File & Smoother which has a medium grit surface on one side, and an extra fine grit surface on the other that serves as a file and buffer in one!)

5. Wash and dry hands one last time to remove excess oil before applying polish. Kiss suggests their French Manicure Kit that includes white tip polish, a sheer shade of your choice, UV-protective topcoat, and tip guides for the easiest application of a
perfect looking French manicure.

6. If you don’t have time to polish, simply use a Kiss Magic Shine File to achieve an instant ultra glossy shine to natural nails. If you do not have a Kiss Magic Shine File, one coat of a clear polish will give your nails a clean, finished look.

7. To extend polish wear and keep nail polish from chipping, apply a clear topcoat every day to clean nails. The added protective layer will keep them shiny and you’ll have a longer-lasting manicure.

Now with these insider tips and tricks there is no reason why your hands and nails will look less than perfect this fall and winter!