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Beauty expert – Chantel Simmons – www.thekit.ca

Esthetician - Catherine Lichtel - Education Ambassador, CND – www.cnd.com & www.badensalonspa.com

Caring for your nails this Fall

3 simple steps we call the 3 Cs.

To maintain strong, healthy nails, you want to care, condition and coat for your nails every 7-10 days.

CARE: Just like your nails your cuticles grow so they need to be groomed. To remove dead cuticles, you can use a liquid cuticle remover such as Revlon Gentle Cuticle Remover.

You rub this on your cuticles to soften them, and then use cuticle trimmers like Sally Hansen Conquer your cuticles, to clip any dead hangnails or skin. If you don't feel comfortable with cuticle trimmers you can just use an orange stick to push back cuticles.

Catherine is using a cuticle pusher and a gentle-C formation to push back the cuticles.

Then you’ll want to trim your Nails, so cut with nail clippers them rather than filing them because that's going to keep them stronger.

Of course you'll still need to file, and my tip is to use either a crystal file or a sapphire file. They are better for your nails than a cardboard file because they'll prevent your nails from splitting and weakening.

Catherine is using the CND Girlfriend Buffer. It’s foam, which is good because you can disinfect it, unlike some buffers that are wooden or cardboard. And it’s rounded so it really shapes to the nail. Then, if you don’t want to apply polish, I love this Revlon Crazy Shine, which really does give your nails a crazy shine when you buff them.

CONDITION: Just like you apply conditioner to your hair, you want to condition your nails – every day if possible. To keep your cuticles from getting dry and hard, which is when we tend to pick at them, you can use either a cuticle massage cream or an oil like CND Solar Oil – which is what Catherine is using. I like to keep this product at my desk and just apply a bit of oil while I’m working. This product is great because there are only four ingredients and it’s really natural – there’s sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, so it’s really good for your nails.

Then you can apply a hand cream throughout the day to make sure your hands are well hydrated. Catherine is applying CND Almond Soothing Crème.

COAT: You want to keep nails coated at all times to protect them from dehydration – especially this Fall - by everyday elements such as water and dry air. Some people think having polish on your nails can be bad for them, but it adds a layer of protection so it's actually really good. It's the nail polish remover that dehydrates nails.

You don't have to apply a colour. You can apply a nail strengthener. I swear by nail strengtheners - Sally Hansen makes a line of colour polishes that are strengtheners and colour in one called Nailgrowth Miracle. I love that the line has about 24 great, trendy shades like this one, called Wholesome Earth.

And what better way to care for your nails this fall then to sport a great colour – and it’s good for them!

The latest trends in nail colour:

Nude nails are hot for Fall. We're seeing nude as the hottest accessory and that goes for nails too. Now if you’re thinking nude is sort of boring, then we’re giving it a twist:

Trend #1: Nude with a statement tip. The first trend is nude, and Catherine is showing us how you can step it up a notch. She previously applied nude in Shellac to the nail, so it’s already dry. Now she’s adding a line of black polish on the tip to just give it that little element of surprise. You can do this with any dark polish shade.
Trend #2: Layering. You want to start with a dark colour like a deep burgundy, blue or black and then layer on gold overtop. We’ve got this kit from CND called The Look Fall/Winter 2011 and it comes with two colours – a blue and a burgundy and one gold effect polish. Catherine has previously painted Jayne’s nail in blue polish and now she’s applying the gold overtop for a really shimmery, multifaceted effect.
Trend #3: Ruby Slippers. This is literally making your nails look like ruby slippers. Instead of a bright red shade, which not everyone can pull off this gives it a bit of girlish charm. First you start with a red polish. Here we have CND Relay Red, and then Catherine is applying a sparkly red glitter overtop. Even if you wouldn’t normally wear red on a daily basis, it's a great look to think about at the holidays.