The Mani Routine

A few weeks ago, it was my birthday. I turned 26! We were hosting a little gathering that night (we played Card Against Humanity and it was awesome) and I wanted to give myself a good manicure. It was the perfect excuse for picking out a new nail polish and because metallics are kind of a thing right now, I thought I could rock a copper color for my special night. But not just a copper polish, copper polish with a copper glitter accent nail. I was going all out. I ended up choosing Essie's Penny Talk and Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure in Copper Penny.

When I rounded up all my usual mani essentials, it dawned on me I should take a couple pictures and post this on my blog. I don't think I have ever explained my manicure routine before!

Here are the polishes, in all their glory.

And my supplies!

The pile includes:
- My Chosen Ones (the polishes)
- A Sally's (the store, not the nail polish brand) nail file
- CND Base Coat
- Nubar's Diamond Topcoat
- Nail Q-Tips. I think I found these at Wal-Mart in the nail polish section. They are incredibly useful for when you paint over your cuticles.
- Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover
- The Body Shop Almond Hand Cream
- Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil

I usually start every mani by using my Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover. It's a necessity for me to obtain a smooth finish on my nails. I push back my cuticles after the product has worked its magic, then I wash my hands.

Then, it's time to shape my nails. I usually go for a square-ish shape.

I follow up by applying hand cream generously and then wiping off any oil off my nails with nail polish remover and a cotton bud. That way, I know my nails have no excess oils and are ready for my favorite basecoat of all time, the CND Base Coat.

After the base coat is dry, which only takes a few minutes, I apply my polish.

I then clean up any mistakes with a cotton bud. For some reason, my application was pretty difficult with this polish!

It was really runny, and because it was a metallic formula, I had a hard time not making it look streaky.

I added my accent nail on my thumb and ring finger and after a coat of Nubar's Diamond Topcoat, voila!

Birthday mani!

As much as I love the look of a metallic polish, it isn't the easiest to work with! I actually chipped my mani pretty badly after this picture was taken.

Do you have any staples in your manicure routine? Any favorite topcoats and basecoats? As much as I love mine, I'm not opposed to trying something new.

Have a great weekend!