Mani Mondays: The nail care basics

Apologies for being absent over the weekend but my best friend came to stay at my new house so we were busy catching up. It was a proper girly weekend: shopping in Southampton, tapas and cocktails at La Tasca and a spa day at Bournemouth Marriott Leisure club. Okay we didn't actually have any treatments but we had a lovely, relaxing few hours swimming in the heated pool, sitting in the jacuzzi looking at the seaside and first time tries of the sauna (which I wasn't keen on) and the steam room (which I loved).
This week's Mani Monday's post isn't technically a nail art design for you, but rather taking things back to basics and properly taking care of yours nails - after all we all need a good base for any nail tutorial whether it's a simple French manicure or going made with dots and stripes.
I've been researching some top tips for keeping your nails in good condition as part of an assignment for Black Box Beauty - where I work as a beauty writer - so I thought I would share some of the best ones as well as my current favourite products.

Models Own 4-way nail buffer (very well used)

Filing and Buffing
Most people are split when it comes to buffing but I love it! One of my favourite products has to be my Models Own 4-way nail buffer. It comes with a nail file and then 3-stage buffer so it's really handy to carry in your handbag. Buffing removes the top layer of the nail bed to get rid of any ridges or bumps, so if you have weak or brittle nails you might want to avoid it altogether.

Nail Shape
This varies for everyone, my housemate keeps hers short and square where as I grow them long and file them into an oval shape. Even when I cut them off I still keep them rounded, I just think it looks nicer and also makes your fingers look longer and slimmer.

Some of my favourite shades for Autumn: Polishes from Barry M, Rimmel Lycra Pro, NYC Nail Glossies, M&S, Max Factor Nail Effects, Bobby Pin and Acessorize.

Colour
This winter is all about deep, berry shades which look amazing but do lead to stained nail beds - as I've found out the hard way. My favourite base coat is Save the Nail by Nails Inc, but recently I've been using Rimmel Nail Nurse which you can use as base coat and top coat - great for lazy girls like me.

Soap and Glory Hand Food: Hydrating hand cream

Extras
Winter is on it's way and it's definitely getting colder, which means dry, sore red skin. To keep this at bay I've been using Soap and Glory Hand Food. I also suffer from quite weak nails at times. I always seem to be bending them back, and then ripping the top part of my nail off, though only on my thumbs or ring fingers! It's really  painful but not exactly something you can make a fuss about so, when I remember, I like to apply a strengthening coat. It's also helpful to cut off any nicks as soon as you notice them to prevent them catching on anything.

What are your favourite hand and nail care products?

Beth xx