nail care 101

when it comes to nail care I'm a little bit of a geek.

I try to take good care of my mitts so I put aside a hour or so each week to indulge in a pampering session (yep it gets pretty darn girlie up in here..) 

cowshed cow pat manicure set* 

I had some new products to try from fragrance direct including this cute cowshed manicure set so I was looking forward to putting this through it's paces. 

• first up file your nails and get rid of any sharp edges. 
• you'll need to soak your nails next, add a few drops of the cowshed manicure oil to the warm water and dip your hands in for a few minutes.
• dry off your hands, apply the cuticle oil and leave to soak in. take the orange stick and gently push back your cuticles (if you have cuticle scissors now is the perfect time to trim them but don't go overboard and chop off half a finger, those scissors have a mind of their own sometimes) 
• apply a liberal amount of hand cream and pop your hands into the moisturising gloves (ideally overnight) but an hour or two will do the trick.
• follow up with nail strengthener and polish if required!

burts bees beeswax and banana hand cream*

I also doused my hands in this burts bees beeswax and banana hand cream, this stuff smells AMAZING. I've used quite a few burts bees hand products including their cuticle balm but this hand cream has topped them all as it's so scrumptious, seriously I could eat it.  it's thick, creamy and perfect for overnight soaking! delicious aroma aside it leaves my hands nice and soft (currently residing on my bedside table so I can pop it on before I hit the pillow)

the cowshed set includes the cow pat hand cream, cuticle oil, orange stick, nail file and most excitingly a pair of white moisturising gloves (yep, I've wanted some of these bad boys for AGES!) 

the cuticle oil is really good, as it the hand cream which is very quickly absorbed (I hate greasy feeling hands so this is a huge plus for me) I really recommend this set especially if you don't have many nail care products as it has all the basics you'll need for a quality pampering session and my hands felt princess smooth afterwards.

I love the moisturising gloves but I have been warned by the boy that if I sport them to bed I will be forcibly removed and forced to sleep on the sofa (I'm going to have to resort to sneaky late night moisturising tactics..)

it's compulsory to finish off any manicure session with a large helping of hot chocolate, lashings of cream and a sprinkle of marshmallows. 

because all that urmmm calcium is good for your nails right??

caroline x