Winterize your nails!

Poor freezing cardinal!

 Hi, all!
Winter is here! Ok, not really, but it feels like it. It's been snowy and freezing and so miserable here already. Where did Autumn go??? My hands are doing their best impression of the Sahara Desert. They are dry, dry, dry! My poor neglected cuticles are begging for attention. They're saying, "Please, please, please notice us...and oil us..." Well, maybe not because that would be weird if my cuticles started talking to me, but you know what I mean.

Julep's Winterizing Your Nails tutorial.
Click to enlarge.

Enter stage right Julep's How to Winterize Your Nails tutorial. I was recently contacted by Julep. They wanted me to share my tips on nail care. And, no lie, I squeeeed out loud like a fan-girl! They are my hands-down (pun intended) favorite nail company. The polish is usually one coat (the white takes two for full coverage), lasts so much longer than any other polish I've tried, is 5-free, vegan friendly, and has a special formulation making it healthier for your nails. That being said, I bought everything I use in my tutorial myself. (And have had some of the colors for ages.)

Improvising a bit (because I don't own all of the products listed), I followed their tips to beautiful, healthier nails.

Ingredients

Rough, right?

To start out, I shaped my nails using my crystal nail file.  I really love glass files because they last literally forever and are so easy to clean. This one is super gentle. I file going in one direction from one side and then the other. Never saw back and forth. It's too rough and will cause breakage and splits.

I then used a bit of coconut oil to soften up my cuticles and hands. I just rubbed it on and let it set a few minutes and then wiped the excess off. Then, I used an orange wood stick to push back my cuticles and buffed my nails with my three step buffer.

Julep's Crystal File

A bit better!

 After washing my hands thoroughly to get rid of the oil on my nails, I started the fun part - nail art!

Base color

After applying a clear base coat, I started out with one coat of Julep's Nicolette and painted four nails and did a crescent shape at the bottom of my thumb. Kind of a modified French manicure.

Tree branches

I then took Julep's Fiore and applied it with a toothpick to simulate patchy tree bark.

Cardinal

Using a combination of a crafting stylus and a toothpick, I applied Julep's Nan in a roughly cardinal shape. I Googled images of cardinals for an idea of how it should look. The little pointy bit at the top is too adorable.

Nearly finished

I then added details on the cardinal with Fiore and Gloria (my Mom's name). Gloria is no longer available on the Julep site, but I did find one bottle left on Amazon. Any orange should do. Julep has several still available on their site.

I also drew a snowflake on my thumb using the stylus and added dots with the toothpick in Nicolette.

Finished!

To finish up, I dotted Nan on the ends of the branches to look like Autumn leaves still stuck to the tree. Let it dry for a bit and then top it off with your favorite top coat.

Julep's Friendsgiving Collection. Gorgeous, right? Kiki reminds me of Frozen's Elsa.

Julep's limited edition Friendsgiving Collection looks amazing. I really thing I need Kiki and Joanne in my own collection.

A few tips:

1. Always keep your hands and cuticles moisturized. Check the ingredients of your hand creams to make sure it doesn't contain alcohol. Alcohol will dry your skin.
2. You don't need fancy tools to do nail art. Experiment with different things you already have. I pulled the stylus out of my craft hoard. Bobby pins make excellent dotting tools and so do toothpicks. 
3. A drop of cuticle oil on your nails each night before bed will make your nails look so much better for longer. Dry, cracked, bleeding cuticles are never cute.
4. Nail art is temporary. Have fun with it!

Love,