It's been a long while since I've painted my nails. I go through phases where I get really into something & then just forget about it. Since the move I've just not had a reason to paint my nails but now that I get up & get ready in the morning I feel like it's time to start picking up the nail polish again to give my fingers a good look too. My nail polish collection grew a lot over the last year & every time there was a pretty color or a sale I snatched it up. I want to share with you how to create an awesome manicure kit that's more than just pretty polish.
Depending on the size of your collection may depend upon the size of the container you store your tools in. I have an entire basket (as pictured) dedicated to my manicure kit & it lives in a three tiered shelf in the bathroom. I've had this basket (along with another matching one) for ages & it's really falling apart! I see a new basket in the near future! I am also a fan of little plastic zipper travel baggies to separate things into. I use them when I travel, in my purse (see this DIY blog kit post!), in the bathroom drawers, etc to keep things corraled together.
These little baggies are perfect to keep tools together & top coats grouped so you're not digging around waisting precious manicure time! I've got a green bag of tools: clippers, cuticle pusher, files (my glass file broke but I still use it!), hand lotion, cuticle oil, & a nail brush. I've found that if I keep a small travel size of lotion in my kit I don't have to go searching for it when I want to paint my nails. It's also not anything frilly - just plain moisture! Since the winter does a wonder on your hands lotion & cuticle oil are important. I have a nail brush for just plain cleaning & for scrubbing off all the nail polish I get on my skin. I wait until the nail polish is dry then run over each nail with a soapy brush to clean up the edges. I don't do the whole q-tip & polish remover thing!
The pink heart bag hold all the top coats. This is awesome because you don't have to dig around your polishes to find your top coat. If they are all in the same place you'll be much happier :)
Top coats left to right: Sally Hansen No Chip Top Coat, Sally Hansen Acrylic Gell, Icing No Chip Base & Top Coat, Icing High Shine Top Coat, Naturals Matte Finish Top Coat.
Of course you'll need nail polish remover & cotton balls. I always just get the cheapest, non-acetone polish remover so it's nearly always the generic store brand - in this case Meijer. I also have a really awesome pink tray that folds out to sit on your lap if you're painting your nails in bed, on the couch, or sitting in the bathroom. It was a stocking stuffer ages ago & for the life of me I can't find one to share with you! I tried all sorts of search terms but it might be something you may be able to find at like Bed, Bath, & Beyond or in the stocking stuffers section of a store near the holidays. Seriously, it's awesome! It has three shaped sections to hold the polish & has two wings that fold out across your lap.
There you go, some key ingredients for an awesome manicure kit. Keeping all the little bits organized makes the manicure kit the most awesome. No more digging around for tools, now you just have to decide on colors! I grab & go sit in bed, at the table, or in front of the TV. I don't have to lug my whole collection around, just the key parts.
What's in your manicure kit? Is it pretty basic or are you like me & have gone all out?
xoxo, Moe
cute idea! I always start out organized, but it never stays!
ReplyDeleteSarah
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what is that pink plastic thingie?
ReplyDeleteHey there! It is a little nail polish lap desk thing. I got it as part of a Christmas gift but haven't found another one since. You can put it in your lap and to folds out so there's a place to paint your nails and it hold three different sized polish bottles.
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