Do-It-Yourself Spring Manicure Looks

With spring approaching, it's time to make sure your hands and nails are ready to blossom. You may get regular manicures year round and always have amazing looking nails. Or you may be more like me and come out of winter with hands that need some TLC in order to rock a spring look. With supplies from your nearest drug store you can quickly and economically have gorgeous hands and nails.

Here is how to get two looks that always work in spring - neutral almost sheer natural color or buffed to a shine.

1. File and Prepare Your Nails. When your hands are dry, file your nails in a one-way motion until they are the length you want. Use a good quality emery board or a diamond dust nail file. Use a nail block on the tops of your nails to remove ridges and make your nail surface smooth.

2. Exfoliate. Make sure your hands are smooth and free from winter weather chapping. Invest in Pretty Feet and Hands - from the first application it does an amazing job of turning rough hands into smooth hands anyone would want to hold. I couldn't find it locally, but Amazon.com has it. Squeeze about a quarter size circle of lotion onto your palm (use on dry hands) and begin to rub and wring your hands. You'll notice a lot of dead skin sloughing off quickly. Continue rubbing your hands to ensure the backs, palms, and fingers are exfoliated and smooth. Add more cream if you need to. (This works very well on rough dry feet too - remember you'll be wearing sandals soon.) Wash your hands when you are finished and apply a moisturizing lotion like Suave Advanced Therapy.

3. Prepare cuticles. Rub cuticle oil into your cuticles and use an orangewood stick to push the cuticles back gently. Do not cut cuticles - you are asking for an infection or bleeding cuticles.

4. Clean. Wash hands in warm soapy water. Use a nailbrush or the pointed end of a nail file to clean under each nail. Dry your nails.

5. Decide on a look. Use step 5a for natural buffed nails or step 5b for neutral almost sheer natural color.

a. For natural buffed nails purchase a 4-sided nail buffing block, nail buffing boards, or a nail buffing kit. The idea is like sanding down a piece of furniture. Start with the roughest on each nail, then move to the next roughest, and so on, until you are left with the polishing surface. Once your nails are buffed to a high shine, apply more moisturizing lotion (preferably SPF 15 or higher to prevent sun damage to your hands) and you are finished.

b. For almost sheer neutral color, purchase base coat, topcoat, and a neutral nail polish shade that is one shade lighter than your hands and almost sheer. While you don't have to spend the money on OPI polish, their site does have a nice example of neutral almost sheer polish to give you an idea. Apply the base coat and wait for it to dry. Base coat is important - it acts like a bond and helps polish last longer. Apply one coat of polish, let it dry, and then apply a second coat. Top with topcoat to protect your polish. If you hate waiting for polish to dry, invest in a can of quick dry spray.

Now, find someone's hand to hold - your partner, your parent, a small child, or a good friend. Whether you opted for natural buffed or almost sheer neutral color, your nails will look natural and polished for spring or for any other season of the year.