Before I had children, I always liked to have nicely manicured nails.  Now, I find that it’s almost impossible to keep my nails looking good.  Long nails aren’t practical, and I always seem to break them before they get too long.  Instead of trying too hard for a perfect manicure, or just giving up, I’ve come up with a great manicure that’s minimal work and looks nice and neat.

First, start out by filing your nails into a short, slightly rounded shape.  Don’t file too short, but do try to get all of your nails a uniform size.  Next, put cuticle cream (I really like Lemony Flutter from Lush) on each nail, and gently push the cuticles back.  Then wash your hands to get off an lingering cuticle cream - anything left on the nail will make it difficult for nail polish to stick.

The last step is to add several coats of nail polish.  You can start with a base coat, add a very light color polish, and a top coat, or my preference is to just add strengthener.  I absolutely love the strengthener from Sephora by OPI.  It has a light beige color, is long lasting, and does make my nails stronger!

To maintain your manicure, you should get in the habit of putting cuticle cream on daily (I do it at night), and always make sure that your nails are neatly filed (carry a file with you if your nails tend to break).