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Nailed it!
As people are practicing social distancing and taking the necessary precautions amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, it almost feels like now is the time to indulge in a little self-care.
One of the many things people can do at home during this time is play around with their beauty routine. Whether you find yourself making DIY face masks, incorporating serums and/or using your body scrub more than ever, there’s something relaxing and refreshing about taking the time to pamper yourself.
However, there’s one beauty area we all seem to forget about: our nails.
And it’s safe to say that after washing our hands non-stop, our claws could use some extra love.
Luckily, celebrity and editorial manicurist Christina Aviles Aude shared her best tips and tricks with E! News. So if you want to treat yourself to an at-home manicure or need some advice on how to remove gel polish safely, the Star Touch Agency founder has you covered.
Considering Aude frequently works with Hollywood A-listers—like Gal Gadot, Renée Zellweger, Viola Davis, Sandra Oh and others—it’s safe to say she’s know exactly what she’s talking about.
So with that in mind, read out interview with Christina below!
E! News: What tips do you have for doing a manicure at home?
Christina Aviles Aude: “If I’m going to be doing my own mani-pedi, I’ll file on dry nails first, and then I’ll take a shower. After, I use my towel to push back my cuticles on my hands and feet. Then wait about 30 minutes or so to let the nails get back to that dry state. When they hold onto water that’s not the time to polish, because the nail is expanded. When you put polish on expanded nails, it shrinks back down and your polish chips faster.”
E! News: What are some trendy styles you’ve done on your celebrity clients that we can do at home?
CAA: “For people who aren’t good at applying polish, they can try the dry brushing technique. You wipe off as much polish from the brush, then sweep it across your nail. You can use different colors or the same color, and each time you brush, you’re going to get less and less so it’s more of a sweep-like texture or ‘feathered’ look. You can pick three colors, anything more than that is too much, that way you’re not worried about the perfection and there’s lots of room for creativity.”
E! News: Any other trends we can try at home?
CAA: “French is coming back, so why not do it with different colored tips? To get that perfect line, you’ll want to use more polish than you’d use for the dry brush technique, but less polish than if you were going to polish your whole nail. I like to start on one corner and then swipe it across, so that the brush is going horizontally across the tip. You can use any type of detailed brush and back-swipe with polish remover. Keep in mind, if you’re back swiping, you can’t put anything underneath. People are loving a French manicure right now, so why not practice with springtime colors for your tip.”
E! News: What nail designs are your clients loving right now?
CAA: “I think year-round it’s dark nails. It’s okay to wear a dark nail whenever you want! It’s not just for fall like it used to be. Gal Gadot always loves a dark nail like a deep burgundy wine color.”
E! News: What are some spring trends your clients like?
CAA: “I work with Chloe Grace Moretz and she is a fan of anything green, blue, gray or metallic. Something that’s less expected than your springtime pastels or cool tones. Also, I think that the color tips, different color tips with French, I think we’ll see a lot of that.”
E! News: What’s a trend that’s just over and done with?
CAA: “I personally never got on the neon bandwagon, I think it’s just too much and I’m not that loud. When I do nails, because in the realm that I’m in, it’s more of a fashion look. So that trend was never for me.”
E! News: Because people are washing their hands a lot now due to COVID-19, how can we protect our nails??
CAA: “Zoya and Essie definitely have some that add moisture back into the nail. And using a really good hand cream and applying it at least every other time, if not every time, you’re washing your hands. My favorite lotion is called Essentiel by Adele. You can use it on your face, on your feet and everywhere in-between. I feel confident using it on every one of my clients.”
E! News: For people who have gel manicures but aren’t able to book appointments, how can they remove it at home?
CAA: “You want to break the seal of the top coat of the gel. I recommend filing off as much of the gel as you can without damaging the skin. Take your time and file and then dampen a cotton ball with acetone, wrap it in tin foil and it should just lift it up. If you have a soft buffer, you can buff the rest off. If you don’t have a cotton ball and/or tin foil, you can soak your whole hand in a bowl of acetone. However, I don’t recommend doing this all the time that because that’s a lot of exposure to acetone.”
E! News: What YouTube tutorials or channels would you recommend for doing at-home manicures?
CAA: “One of my manicurists, her name is Bana. I don’t know if she has a YouTube channel, but she has a huge social media following. She does a lot of tutorials on Instagram for nail art and she does really cute stuff.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.