My Nailcare Favourites

Ever since I featured the UNT Ready For Takeoff Peelable Base Coat in my September Haul post, I’ve had so many people ask me for my thoughts on it so I figured I’d do my Nailcare Favourites all in one post so I can go into detail about what I use, and how I utilise each product within my nailcare routine. I know a lot of people claim to be a nail polish addict, but I truly am with over 500 nail polishes within my collection which I know is insane.

Especially as I have a monthly cull of polishes I won’t use but I buy as many as I get rid of so my collection just grows and grows, but I’m absolute fine with that as I change my polish three or four times a week so I do rotate my nail polish collection to some degree.

In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than dry and raggedy, flaking cuticles especially in a nail polish blog post so I have a little routine which keeps my nails and cuticles in check so I can hold products within my blog photos without worrying that I’m going to offend anyone with my cuticles/nails and I find my nail polish looks so much nicer when my nails and surrounding skin looks healthy and smooth so it’s a win win. Read on for My Nailcare Favourites…

Once I’ve removed my nail polish, I like to prep and preen my nails ready for my next manicure and I do this routine everytime I do my nails to keep my cuticles at bay and ensure my nails are as healthy as possible. Firstly I like to apply the amazing ORLY Cutique Cuticle & Stain Remover to my nails and cuticles, which is like a gel but it does an incredible job at removing dry cuticles and removing any staining to the nails in less than a minute, and it’s the best cuticle remover and stain remover that I’ve ever used.

Once I’ve left the ORLY Cutique on my nails for 60 seconds, I use wooden hoof sticks to gently scrape away any dead skin and cuticles, being careful not to scratch the nail bed and then rinsing my hands.

Once I’ve slayed my cuticles, I like to go ahead and use my Rococo Pro Glass Nail File which looks to be discontinued which is such a shame as it’s my holy grail nail file. I’ve tried lots of glass and crystal nail files including the super hyped Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File, but I didn’t like the Leighton Denny File sadly and I much prefer the Kiko Glass File which is only £2.50 and much more effective in my opinion.

Once I’ve filed my nails to my desired shape, I like to go ahead and apply a generous coat of the ORLY Calcium Shield Strengthening Basecoat once a week, when wearing an easy to remove nail polish as I can’t use my peelable base coat when using this basecoat but this is the most incredible strengthening nail product I’ve ever tried and everyone needs to try it!

It dries to a super glossy finish, very quickly and can be worn alone or under nail polish and is a protective calcium coat which claims to instantly increase the thickness of weak, thin nails, leaving them flexible, yet strong enough to prevent breakage and to help nail growth.

My last preening step is to remove all of my dry, raggedy cuticles with the fantastic Tweezerman Cuticle Nippers which have completely upped my nailcare game and I would never be without them now. They’re the sharpest nippers I’ve ever used, and they quickly nip any loose skin or loose cuticles or hangnails making my nails and surrounding skin look considerably better, especially once they’ve been loosened by the ORLY Cutique Cuticle Remover.

If you have dry, unsightly cuticles, I cannot recommend the Tweezerman Cuticle Nippers enough – they are quite pricey, but there’s always a promo code on Lookfantastic or Feel unique and I use them three times a week and they’re still as sharp as they were when new, and I’ve had then for two years. I’ve tried so many cheaper alternatives but nothing compares to these, they’re simply the best cuticle nippers.

Once my nails have been prepped and preened, it’s time for polish and this is where the UNT Ready For Take off Peelable Base Coat comes in. I ordered this from the UNT website which is US based, but they offer FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING so it cost just £8.14 and it’s absolutely amazing, and ANYONE that uses nail polish *needs* this product in their life. I have tried endless peelable base coats from OPI, MUA, Sally Hansen and Indie brands and none of them compare to the UNT Peelable Base Coat.

It isn’t glue based like most peelable base coats, and applies just like any base coat does and dries within two minutes and leaves behind a super smooth canvas for nail polish. Once I want to remove my nail polish after a couple of days, I simply take one of the wooden hoof sticks and gently coax the corner near my cuticles and my polish peels off in one go without needing to use any nail polish remover whatsoever.

I’ve had this product in my nailcare arsenal since August and my nails are so much healthier without having to use nail polish remover 3-4 times a week, and I only ever use remover when I have the once a week applicator of my ORLY Calcium Shield. I used to hate using glitter polish as it was such a bitch to remove, but now I can’t get enough of glitter polishes as it’s effortless to remove thanks to this UNT base coat – I love it so so much, and it’s possibly my favourite beauty discovery this year.

Next in My Nailcare Favourites is my topcoat – Once I’ve applied my UNT base coat, I go ahead and apply my polish of choice and my holygrail topcoat of all time is the Glisten & Glow HK Girl Fast Drying & Super Shiny Clear Top Coat which I reviewed in full here. I have tried almost every fast drying top coat from ORLY to Essie to Sally Hansen and Seche Vite and absolutely nothing comes close to the HK Girl Top Coat.

It dries within minutes, and not touch dry – we’re talking completely dry, with a very shiny gel-like shine. It doesn’t shrink my polish, nor does it go gloopy and I have just started a brand new bottle as I finished my other bottle – and I’ve never finished a top coat bottle as they always go gloopy half way though, but not this one. It also somehow intensifies nail polish colour which I’ve never experienced before with a top coat and I love, love, love it so much and it’s only £6.85.

So they are all of my Nailcare favourites which I use almost daily to get the perfect DIY manicure. I also use cuticle oil three times a day, and hand cream throughout the day but I’m not particularly loyal to any cuticle oil or hand cream so I didn’t include them within this lineup as I’m constantly chopping and changing which I use but the ones I’m currently enjoying are; the CND Solar Oil and the NUXE Reve de Miel Hand Cream.

I hope you enjoyed reading all of my favourites, and I could hand on heart recommend every single product within this post as they truly are my favourites, and if you try them too, I really hope you love them as much as I do as they’re all fantastic products.

I’d love to know your thoughts on My Nailcare Favourites?

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