If you’re looking for simple tips on how to turn your nails winter-gorgeous without spending too much $ or time, this is your must-read stop! I’ve been doing my nails for years, also I’ve been keeping an eye out for the latest beauty news and I’m in measure to give you my personal tips&tricks for awesome winter nails with minimum effort!
What you’ll find below: simple tricks for saving loads of time and money while obtaining the best nails results. No brands, just general outlines from personal experience!
Time is of the essence, as always, so let’s get to it!
{1} Healthy Winter Nails
whenever you take out that lip balm, put some lip balm around your cuticles as well! That is if you don’t have cuticles oil already! Use cuticle oil (or plain olive oil/coconut oil) three times a day and you’ll see magic right under your eyes! beauty is a matter of attention and dedication, just like everything else. Give attention to your nails and they’ll give back beauty! (I swear by ‘less is more’ and my beauty products have double duties: my lipstick doubles as cheek tint and my clear, un-fragranced lip balm doubles as emergency cuticle oil!)
{2} Base/Top Coat Your Nails
if you want un-stained nails, use Base Coats! If you want long lasting nail polish, use Top Coats! These two are just as essential as cuticle oil, don’t neglect them and your nails won’t look neglected either! Always use two different products and not the base coat AND top coat all in one! Quick dry top coats work wonders and are my personal favorites!
{3} Winter Accent Nails
if you want your nails to look really special, choose one nail you’ll paint differently than the other 5. That’s usually the ring finger nail from both hands. I wrote this with everyone in mind, so I won’t appeal to your inner Van Gogh to make the ‘accent nail’: use Glitter! Glitter in a shade matching or contrasting the other nails! Say silver or gold glitter for red/green/purple/white/grey or any other color flights your fancy! That glitter accent nail will do more difference than you know!
{4} Winter Nails With Special Top Coats
you can choose glitter/holographic top coats (with little shiny particles), flakies/confetti top coats (with irregular shaped shiny or colorful particles), shimmer top coats (they just add a shiny wet-like look to your nails), crackle top coats and matte top coats (they add a matte finish to your polish)
See also: Real Gold Nail Polish Top Coat!
{5} Winter Nails With Appliques
taking the fancy at a new level, this requires a basic skill of pick-up and drop a tiny applique on your desired nail/s. Starry, studded, sequined, rhinestones tiny particles that can be picked up with a toothpick, placed on the still-wet polish and sealed with a top coat. It’s like jewelry for your nails!
Don’t miss: Next season’s nail trends straight from the catwalk (with tutorials)!
Now some general tips: don’t spare your expenses when it comes to the base coat or the top coat! These are actually the only ones that matter most! Use acetone-based polish remover, regardless of the general ‘acetone-free’ trends – they’re just marketing tricks! Acetone will remove your nail polish faster, thus drying your nails less than non-acetone removers that require more time to take off the polish, thus stripping your nails and cuticles of the natural oils!
If you use base coats, the cheaper brands of polish won’t stain your nails so you can have more fun with nail colors as affordable brands have released dupes of expensive nail polish colors. If you know you’ll be using glitter, you can paint a layer of Elmer’s Glue on that particular nail only and you’ll be peeling off your glitter polish without the fuss and headache that comes with taking off that gorgeous glitter!
Don’t miss: Fancy nails on the Red Carpet
Even if you don’t have special cuticle oil, regular cooking olive oil will do just fine, even your usual hand cream. Just rub a little extra around the nails and massage for a couple of seconds each nail. Healthy cuticles will always result in healthy nails! And hydrated, moisturized and oiled cuticles are always the healthiest, happiest cuticles!
If you want your polish to last longer, prevent chipping and breaking your nails, it’s capital that you polish the free edges of the nail as well! Yes, you’re reading that right – use the base coat on all the free edges of the nail, even underneath! Top coat as well on all the free edges of the nail! Raise your eyebrows all you want, you’ll thank me when you’ll see even the brittlest of nails stop breaking!
Keep in mind that these tips and tricks work for any season, not just winter! I just happen to love Christmas/winter nails best and I think they’re the most festive, sparkly nails of all seasons! Lots of partying, lots of special time with your friends and family and lots of giving and receiving as well, the perfect time to stock the right polish (wink)!
See also: 25 Thanksgiving nails ideas!
Was this guide helpful? Did you find out things you didn’t already know/use? Do you have more tips and tricks you think I should include here? Please, share!
(carefully picked and put together, the images above come from favnails, bruisedupdollie, jen_npp, hailthenails, majikbeenz)
4 comments
I really like all of these finishes Kpriss!
I like nail polish but I hate it when it is too busy or fussy.
These are neat and nifty! : )
I have times when I go a bit over the top, and that’s always during the Christmas season ;) and for New Year’s Eve too! I just looove the season <3
Love these ideas! What nailpolishes are the ones you used for the matte top coat photos? One is grey the other a lovely nude brown..
Thanx!
Thank you Nina! The closest match for the grey (holding the cup) is American Apparel Factory Grey with matte topcoat (you can add a matte finish to any nail polish if you topcoat with a matte lacquer like Essie’s Matte about You or other). As for the brown neutral, the closest match is OPI’s Taupeless Beach, also with a mattifying topcoat – actually, of all my toppers, the matte topcoat is the one I love best, so if you’ll try one, you’ll quickly fall for its amazing charm!
Leave a Comment