Manicure Rant

I went in for a professional manicure 2 days back. It had been part of a package i took and manicure was left out. So I decided to treat myself on the way back from work. The manicure was all ok. Nothing great. Then, came the time to select a nail paint and I was really peeved! The shade selection was terrible!!! They had emerald green, cobalt blue, golden, fuchsia, true yellow and even orange! But not a single nude color… Now, I understand that they were bang on when it comes to trendy colours; but as professional manicurists, should they not offer neutral ones too? The kinds I can easily sport at work without worrying abt the attention they’ll garner or the outfits they will clash with? The manicurist finally a shimmery light pink that I would not have picked out for myself. But it was the only halfway decent shade out there so I went with it. Here is how it looks…

The other issue i have with salons is that they stock cheap nail paints. Ok, I get that you need to have a lot of shades, I get that you need to manage costs and I get that nail paints are expensive. But can you not have a few options? For those who do not want to use these?I have found the perfect solution… the next time I get a manicure done, I am carrying my own nail paint 🙂

If this post makes you think I get manicures done all the time, you are wrong! I only go for manicures when my cuticles look horrendous and need some serious grooming. I don’t take care of my hands at all and that is now beginning to show. Notice the tanning around knuckles? So, I have now taken to exfoliation whenever i remember it and slathering cream or moisturiser over them at least twice a day. I have also reduced the use of sanitiser because that was drying my hands. I used sanitiser a lot when Kuhu was born. Oh, I digress… what I wanted to tell you is my 15 minute home manicure 😉

• Step 1: exfoliate with a body / facial scrub / loofah (not a bath lily mind you, a proper dried gourd loofah)
• Step 2: slather some cream (hand or regular) and rub it till the cream is absorbed
• Step 3: use the same cream to rub your nails and cuticles
• Step 4: cut your nails and shape them (we are on time saving mode here, so no filing… just cut along the shape you want)
• Step 5: apply nail paint or base / top coat for a shine

And that’s it…. you are ready to roll…