affiliate link Happy third advent everyone!
Only 10 days until Christmas. Have you finished your gift shopping, yet? This year, I am a bit late and haven't bought a single present so far. I do have some ideas, though, so I only need to find the time and patience to dive into the Christmas shopping madness in my city - but I'll probably end up ordering many things online :) If you have family members or friends who are just as obessed with nail polish as you, or if you're looking for something to treat yourself with this Christmas, I put together a little gift guide with nail items as an inspiration.
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For this Holiday season,
Sally Hansen put together some nice duos consisting of a creme nail polish and a matching glitter topper. There are festive deep red, taupe and brown hues to choose from. I have tried quite a few of the
Sally Hansen Complete Manicure polishes and have not been disappointed.
"At home gel manicures" have become very popular this past year and almost every major nail polish brand came up with their own UV LED nail polish line - shown above is the set from
Anny Cosmetics, but similar kits are available from
Artdeco,
OPI or
CND. While I have not tried a UV manicure myself - because I like to change my nail polish often - these kits are nice for people who do not want to spend their money on a professional manicure, but still get long-wearing color on their nails.
Well-groomed nails and cuticles are a must when showing off pretty polishes and it all starts with a good moisturizer. The one I currently love is by
Weleda. Their
Pomegranate Anti-Age hand cream leaves your hands soft and moisturized without being too heavy or greasy, so it is perfect to use during the day. As a bonus, it is made of organic ingredients - I like!
Especially during winter time, our cuticles need a bit more pampering. A budged-friendly
cuticle remover comes from
Essence. Apply the product with the doe-foot applicator, leave on for 30 seconds and carefully push back those stubborn cuticles. Additionally, I like to gently (!) scrub my nails with a nail brush to get rid of last traces of dead skin. Then just slab on a rich cuticle butter like the one from the
Douglas Hands Nails and Feet range and you're good to go. Other cuticle products I love are the
Nail & Cuticle Butter from
KB Shimmer and the
Apricot & Jojoba Cuticle Cream from
Greenhouse Cosmetics.
If you want to gift hand lotion and a good cuticle butter, I highly recommend the
Burt's Bees Hand care set. Their
Almond Hand Cream smells divine and their
Lemon Cuticle Butter has been a staple in my nail care routine for years. With this set you also get a Hand Salve, a chap stick and a foot cream, which always come in handy.
For the lazy people who do not want to go through a lengthy nail care routine I recommend the
Alessandro Magic Manicure. This is a mixture of nourishing oils and peeling salts. You just shake the bottle, rub a few drops into your hands and rinse everything off. Your hands will feel uber soft and well moisturized afterwards.
And in case you end up with a hang nail or overgrown cuticles, there are some good
cuticle nippers available. I carry this one from the German brand Pfeilring in my purse. As always, use these sparingly and do not cut live skin! Cuticles actually will grow back even thicker if you cut them regularly.
I hope this nail gift guide helped you out!