Holiday Gift Ideas for the Woman Who Loves to Do Her Nails

The key to getting a nice holiday gift for someone is knowing their tastes and interests. Here are some suggestions for the lady who loves to do her nails. Buy what you think will work for her and her tastes and wrap it up in a nice box, gift bag or display it in a nice tin bucket. And best of all, this is a gift that will keep on giving for a long time!

Nail files: You can find these in all sizes, with all kinds of designs and different textures at just about any place that sells beauty supplies. Sally Beauty Supply (http://www.sallybeauty.com) has countless options. You can get four-sided blocks, for edging rough spots to buffing your nails to a satiny sheen. You can also find sleek glass or crystal files or ones with flower designs or zebra stripes and more. Sites like www.avon.com and www.ulta.com (or go online to find a representative or store near you) have a lot of options as well. Avon and Ulta have had files with multiple grits that fanned out and were small enough to stow in a purse. Ulta and Avon have also sold little matchbooks of files, which are light and portable, and they are handy when you need to file a chipped nail in a hurry.

Top coats and base coats: If you want a better manicure, a good step is to start with a base coat and end with a top coat. These are easy enough to find anywhere, including Ulta stores, your corner Walgreens or CVS or Sally Beauty Supply. These are never a bad idea for the woman who loves to do her nails. And you can get "green" versions, basic clears, tinted coats and problem-solving formulas (for chipped nails, encouraging growth and more).

Nail polish: You can't go wrong with a gift set (which pop up just about everywhere in time for the holidays). One such set on Ulta.com is the Essie 4-Pack Mini Mega Collection, which has a taupe, a black, mauve and a hot pink shade.

If you'd rather pick and choose, there are plenty of brands that won't bust your gift-buying bank. Wet n Wild has a new line, called Craze, and features a variety of shades, from hot pink to bold gold to a glossy lime green. Visit wnwbeauty.com/cosmetics/nail/ to check out its selection or find out where it's sold near you. At $1.99 a pop, they are a good product and a good deal.

Rimmel also has good deals and good nail polish in a wide assortment of colors, from natural pinks to wow reds to emerald greens. Plus they have fast-dry formulas that are perfect for someone in a rush. See the selections at www.rimmellondon.com/US/home.aspx

Eyes Lips Face/e.l.f. Cosmetics are a fabulous way to buy without going bust. Many of their cosmetics are $1, including nail polishes. www.eyeslipsface.com

Sally Hansen also has a huge variety of nail products, from the Insta-Dry Fast Nail Color line which really does apply in one coat and dries super fast, to the HD Hi-Definition Nail Color in eye-popping hues to French manicure sets. Visit www.sallyhansen.com to check out a huge variety of shades and formulas, and while there, you can "try" on various shades as well, by choosing your skin tone and nail length and then picking color options.

Bling beyond paint: Sometimes you want more than just a coat of polish. Maybe for the holidays you want to add a snowflake pattern to your nails. Sally Beauty Supply has plenty of nail decals and sparkly add-ons, from gold striping tape to glue-on rhinestones. Just make sure the glue is included, if it applies to that particular add-on. And of course Sally Hansen and many other brands have French manicure sets. Sally Hansen also has the Nail Art Pen, available in a variety of colors. If someone wants to doodle or add wow design to their nails, this is a fun option.

Nail polish remover: Of course you're going to want to remove nail polish a few days after you apply it, and nail polish remover always is handy. The latest thing I love are nail polish removal packets. e.l.f. Cosmetics has a nice little container of nail polish remover pads for $1 for a pack of 15. These work well and they don't stink to high heaven like some other removers do. Sally Beauty Supply has Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Remover Pads, and other brands, such as Cutex, have something similar, with or without acetone. They're handy, effective and portable. I'll never go back to cotton balls and bottles of polish ever again.

Toe separators and cuticle pens and cuticle pushers: Separators are handy and a fun touch for the at-home pedicurist. These sell almost everywhere, but for extra good deals, e.l.f. Cosmetics sells these for $1 a set. Cuticle pens are great for conditioning the nails and keeping the skin around the nails from looking too dry and ragged. Cuticle pushers also help tidy up the nail bed and let you clean under nails. e.l.f. has these at the same low price, and Sally Beauty Supply and Sally Hansen also have these in their lines.

Moisturizer/hand cream: In the drier winter months (unless you live in humid Florida), some hand cream or moisturizer is a nice touch. Once October kicks in most people experience drier hands. Just about every company has some sort of lotion. Neutrogena has some nice options, as do Sally Beauty Supply and Sally Hansen. Or, just pick up a tube or bottle of some lotion in a scent your gift recipient will love. It's an added touch of pampering. You can't go wrong with that.