Sure, it’s relaxing and it feels nice to be pampered at the nail salon. But sometimes getting a professional manicure could cost you a lot. Even if you’re not looking to save a little stash of cash, every girl should master the art of the at-home manicure. Plus, it will be handy when you have no time to head to the salon.

Step 1:

Start with clean, dry, paint-free nails. Your first step is to file and shape your tips. Pick your shape: square, round, oval, or pointed. Oval is the universally flattering shape. Although the normal nail file is alright, using a glass nail file is recommended. Always file nails in one direction using short, smooth strokes. It will help keep split nails away.

Step 2:

Soak your hands in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to soften up your cuticles and then gently push them back with a cuticle pusher or orangewood stick. Try not to cut your cuticles. It will lead to ragged edges or worse – a bad infection.

Step 3:

Put on your base coat. Even if you skip the top coat, it’s best if you don’t ditch your base. It gives polish something to grab onto. Some base coats can also nourish your nails while helping prevent chips and peeling polish.

Product:

OPI Base Coat | Best Buy World Malaysia

Step 4:

Pick a nail polish of your favourite colour. Using short strokes, start in the middle of the nail and work outward. To keep it uniform, try to get the same amount of polish on the brush for each finger. For better results, put on a second coat.

Product:

#1 Nubar nail polish: Milk Chocolate Crème, Contempo, Night Sparkle, Marble Tower

#2 Orly nail polish: Halley’s Comet, Naughty Or Nice, Rockin Rocket, Candy Cane Lane

#3 OPI nail polish: Bagota Blackberry, Blue My Mind, Atomic Orange, Big Apple Red, Dim Sum Plum, Cosmo Not Tonight Honey, Copper Mountain Cooper, Flit A Bit, Lincoln Park After Dark (Matte), Oh So Glam

All from: Nail Fiesta

Step 5:

Finish off your lovely manicure with a top coat! And you’re all done!

Product:

OPI Top Coat | Best Buy World Malaysia

Extras:

Of course, if you ever mess up, you can always try again. Just remove the polish with a nail polish remover. Practice makes perfect!

Product:

OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover | Best Buy World Malaysia

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How was your Christmas? Mine was great! The best part for me was giving away presents and see the smile on the receiver’s face. This year, I hand painted seven different coloured t-shirts using fabric paints. They were all amazed when they realise that I made the presents myself. I love the fact that the shirts are one-of-a-kind. Others appreciate the fact that I took the time and effort to make something instead of buying something off the shelf.

It made me thought that if we have the time, we should make something for someone. My next project would be making tote bags from tank tops! (Yes, Christmas is over but New Year is near and birthdays happen often!). I was elated when was looking through Tanks for 5 and saw them mentioning about turning a tank top into a tote bag.

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Crafty Nest blogged about how to make a tote bag out of tank top. The instructions seems easy and the supplies are not hard to find. The minimal you need is a tank top, straight pins, water-erasable fabric marker, sewing machine and thread, scissors, seam ripper and a ruler. With just that, you can create a tote bag! We found some tanks tops from Tanks for 5 which cost only RM 5 per piece. The only problem is that the tanks are t-back. I’m wondering how I could alter that…

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