Naked Nails & Products I Use

Hello, ladies. I have been having a lot of nail breakages lately so I decided to give my nails the day off. I was bad and I couldn't resist peeling off my Sally Hansen stickers which did a number on my nails. So, today I gave myself a mini-manicure sans polish. I'll show you the products I use on a daily basis and show you how my naked nails look. Lets kick start it with my nails.

this 9 fl oz | 266 ml bottle of St. Ives lotion only cost $3 at Walmart

Two of my nails on the hand I photographed each have a chipped side at the moment. I think I did it when I was planting my flowers this year, I can show you pictures of those later.

Now, onto the products I use:

Today, since my nails have been a little neglected, I have/will use all of these products. Actually, I already have except the cuticle oil which I will apply before bed. First I shaped my nails into my preferred squared shape then I HAD to buffer from the damage peeling off the stickers did. Be careful not to over buffer your nails or you will leave them thin and brittle. If you have nail yellowing, buffering can help diminish the coloring, but you should not do it more than once a week. After, I washed my hands with the Hand Scrub, applied lotion and then followed up with my Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream. After that set for a minute or so, I gently pushed back (without trimming!!) my cuticles with an orange wood stick. My apologies for forgetting to include that in the photo.

St. Ives is my absolute hands down favorite lotion. I am obsessed with moisturizing and I have been regularly applying lotion after showering since I was in Jr. High. Sometimes I apply a bit of baby oil too. St. Ives is non-greasy and fast absorbing just like the bottle says and it is very affordable. There are several scents to chose from, but I prefer the subtle scent of oatmeal and shea butter. I keep that bottle on my desk along with another of my most FAVORITE products; Burt's Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. It's called a cream,  but it's more of a balm. The texture reminds me of a soft wax. You apply with your fingers so make sure they are clean so as not to allow a build up of gunk in your product. I apply this sporadically throughout the day. It has the most delicious smell of fresh lemons and it also absorbs great which I love when I'm at the computer and don't want to have product all over my keyboard and mouse. So many girls rave about this product and I am definitely on the bandwagon. At night I try to apply a real cuticle oil. I haven't really tested any different ones and the one I have (by etré) was a gift. I apply it with a Q-tip before bed. It can be messy though... I also have my buffer stick which I got from Sallys, any trusty nail file and Julep Hand Scrub. I use the hand scrub maybe once a week to keep my hands smooth and exfoliated.

Well, those are the products that I use regularly. Everyone's nails are different and so is your skin, so some of these products might not be as lovely to you as they are to me. However, they are tried and true for me. If you have any favorite nail products and would like to share, I would be most interested.

Thanks for popping in today on your weekend!