When I was about 12 years old I developed an obsession with long fingernails. My mother who was always beautifully manicured (still to this day) thought it was cute and bought me my first pinkish-nude nail polish by a brand called Miss Marion. My mom was and is a jack of all trades. She did everything from cut my unruly curls, to sew my prom dress. I would sit and watch her for hours on end as she carefully and meticulously gave herself a manicure every week.
After weeks of relentlessly begging her to teach me, she finally budged and taught me how to give myself a proper manicure. At 12, I learned how to maneuver a cuticle nipper, file, and polish my nails. After a few years of weekly practice, I mastered the art of manicuring and started doing it as a side hustle for my high school friends. Soon, the word got out and I had a slew of clients of all ages by the time I was 16 years old. This, along with doing everyone’s eyebrows in the school bathroom, and doing hair for prom solidified my idea of going into the beauty industry.
My love for manicures has never died. To this day, I still do my own nails and find it to be one of the most relaxing and therapeutic things I do for myself. Taking care of my hands and looking put together is a must for me since I’m so often photographed doing other people’s hair and makeup. My hands must always feel like silk.
To me, one of the worse things you can have as a makeup artist (besides having no talent) is to have rough, unkept hands. This is why I’ve recently incorporated the Borghese Fango Uniforme Brightening Mud Mask for Face and Body into my manicure routine. This mud is made up of a blend of extracts, including Birch Bark Extract, which helps even skin tone and smooth skin, while Safflower Oil softens and soothes.
I love giving myself gel manicures. The polish looks so shiny and is very long-lasting, especially when you wash your hands 300 times a day (guilty). What I’m not a fan of is the damaging UV and LED rays from the gel curing lamp. Let’s face it. Hands are a dead give away of your age and we’re not here for that.
This limited edition set came with these great UV protective manicure gloves by ManiGlovz. The gloves act as a UPF 50+ UV protective sunblock. These gloves, offered in a myriad of stylish designs, can be used to protect from the harmful UV and LED rays during gel manicures or the drying lamps during regular manicures. With the powerful material that embodies ManiGlovz, they are also perfect to protect hands post laser or cosmetic treatments and great for driving as well, which I use every day.
This is very simple to use, and as you can see in my images, my hand is visibly lighter and brighter after using the mud. They were also baby soft.
- Apply the mud to the top of the hands. Leave on for 5 mins and rinse with warm water and a washcloth. Pro tip: Do not apply this to the nails or cuticles as it will be difficult to remove. Use 1-2 times a week or as needed.
- Wear the gloves any time you are getting a gel or powder manicure to protect from the LED and UV lamps. Also, wear daily while driving to prevent premature aging of your hands.
The Borghese + ManiGlovz Limited Edition Set is available for $55 ($72 Value)
online at Borghese.com and ManiGlovz.com