Gift Guide: Nail Products

Nail Gift Guide

Christmas is coming soon and I thought it would be helpful to create a gift guide of my favorite nail products! These would make great gifts or stocking stuffers. You could even sneak a few in your own stocking. Am I the only one guilty of that?! Haha! Links to all products down below for your convenience.

1. This Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover is lightweight and really gets the job done! It also comes at a great price.

2. I love to use this E.L.F. Smudge brush dipped in acetone to clean up my mani and create a crisp edge along the cuticle, making your mani look more professional.

3. I use this Angled E.L.F. brush to apply cuticle oil on the skin around my nails.

4. I have tried many cuticle oils and CND Solar oil is my favorite.

5. These Tropical Shine emery boards are my fave as well!

6. A Nail Tek glass file is so luxurious, a little more expensive but they last a long time.

7. My favorite nail polish remover is this ZOYA Remove +. Polish comes off like a dream and it doesn't leave your skin dry. The pump is also such a fantastic feature! 

8. As my final filing step I love to square up my nails with these cube files.

9. A silicone mat is good to have if you love to do nail art. 

10. Nail art lovers will also love this bundle of professional nail art brushes from Winstonia.

11. Aquaphor is my most used product. I love to apply this on the skin around my nails at least twice a day and always at night before bed. The secret to keeping your cuticles moisturized. Get this!!

12. Here are some more fine Berry Wine nail art brushes by Winstonia, and my most used.

13. This Tweezerman cuticle pusher works great especially when used with the Sally Hansen cuticle remover.

14. I use these dotting tools for nail art ALL. THE. TIME.

Here are my favorite base and top coats as well as some other great polish gift ideas.

1. My favorite base and top coat are by Glisten and Glow!

2. I have been loving this Glisten and Glow matte top coat as well.

3. Essie First Base is another good base coat option.

4. I also like Essie Speed Setter top coat.

5. Did you know Essie has an Advent calendar out this year? It is available at Costco and comes with 6 full size and 6 mini's. It's a great way to get your collection or a loved ones collection started.

6. My favorite nail line EVER is Essie Gel Couture! If you haven't tried them you must. You can get your mani to last up to 2 weeks. Make sure to use the color and the Gel Couture Platinum Top Coat together for best results.

7. This mini pack of the new Essie Concrete Glitters is such a great gift idea.

8. I loved the OPI Nutcracker collection and this Nutcracker Nail Lacquer Duo Pack from Ulta is another great gift idea for nail polish lovers. 

9. Here is another option for the OPI Nutcracker Collection minis.

10. Did you know OPI brought back Fan Favorites in their OPI Infinite Shine line? You can get old faves like Mrs. O'leary's BBQ and Vodka & Caviar and many more. So, this little gift pack would be fun to give as well.

11. Deco Miami has the cutest gift packs this year! Their packaging is super adorable, just as adorable as their polish bottles. This customizable Trio Gift Set definitely makes a great gift!

12. Another gift option is this Cuticle Oil + File Set

Proclaiming my love for Aquaphor

I am going to take a minute here and tell you about my most favorite product for my nails-Aquaphor! 

I have loved this product for over 10 years. I use it for so many different things. I have only been using it on my nails and the skin around my nails for about 3 years.

Let me tell you how I first fell in love with this product. Several years ago I used to be a habitual lip bitter/ lip peeler-gross I know, but it's the truth. I tried SO many different lip balms and chapsticks, even vaseline, and nothing worked. Finally my friend gave me a little sample bottle of Aquaphor. I applied it to my lips 3-4 times a day and every night when I went to bed. I made sure to not pick my lips and was determined to stop this bad habit. Who likes to talk to people when they have dried cracked lips?! It was embarrassing at times. Within a few weeks my lips were healed and no longer cracked or peeled. So, there wasn't a need to do any picking so...I didn't. Habit gone! Seriously...gone! So that's how I first fell in love with Aquaphor. :)

I have always been into nail polish, but three years ago I really started to enjoy painting my nails often and looking online for fun new colors. I knew I needed to do something for my nails I had been neglecting. Ugh, I guess that leads me to reveal another bad habit (please tell me I am not alone people)-nail peeling and skin picking around my nails. Not to the point of my fingers being red and sore all the time, just enough to know that I didn't have nice nails and I figured I probably never would. I started with just applying Aquaphor to my nails and cuticles every morning and night. They started to heal and once again I stopped picking! Now I have Aquaphor on my nightstand, in my car, in my purse, and in my kitchen. I will never stop using it. I apply it to my lips and nails (and heels, elbows and baby bums)- All. The. Time. (Especially in the winter).

There are other things I did to take care of my nails as well, like wearing gloves when cleaning my house (4 kids=lots of cleaning), wearing nice thick gloves while working in the yard (one of my favorite things to do), never using my nails as tools, and keeping them painted to prevent nail peeling. All these things combined helped me so much!

While my nails aren't perfect, they are SO much better! They still tend to peel in thin layers at times, although not as much as they did. I have come to realize they always will, it's just in my genes, and that's okay, because I discovered that I can have nails that look nice if I just give them a little extra care and keep them painted. Best discovery ever! This might sound silly, but there is just something wonderful about having pretty colors on your nails. Am I right?!

So, if you are struggling with any of these habits or problems, give this product a try, and let me know how it goes. Even if you don't have any of these problems, I feel like my cuticles are so much softer and easier to push back.

*This post is not sponsored. I bought this product with my own money. All opinions are my own. :)

-Go Polished