Without a proper manicure, all your time and money spent on nail polish is going to be wasted no matter how good your polish is. A good manicure could even save you from everyday problems like ragged cuticles and splitting nails. The Essie Manicure uses ten simple steps to create the perfect base for beautiful nails, using salon quality products to create beautiful, flawless nails.

Why Choose The Essie Manicure?

Essie’s range of salon quality products features over 290 shades of nail polish, manicure accessories, specialist nail treatments and solutions to keep hands beautiful. Over the brand’s 25 year history, they have won many beauty industry awards, reflecting their commitment to superior quality and high fashion shades. The Essie manicure means you’re working with a beauty industry leader with a track record for both quality and cutting-edge style.

Stage 1

Remove all your nail polish right down to the last traces using Essie Purifying Nail Polish Remover, before treating each cuticle with gentle strokes of Essie’s Cuticle Pen

Stage 2

Work Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil into cuticles and fingers in a massaging motion and carefully push back the cuticles by delicate nudging with a proper cuticle pusher. Next, rinse your hands in warm water and place them on a clean towel before they’re dry.

Stage 3

You’ll need a spatula to mix up Essie Spa Sea Mineral Glow and then you’re going to apply this to the backs of your hands and fingers. Massage it in with circular movements, starting from your fingers moving upwards towards your wrists. Remove excess product using damp cloths and dip your hands into clean warm water again. Use Essie Spa Kirby Crème to smooth into hands and fingers. Next wrap them in cling film, ready for ten minutes in heated mittens. Press down on the mittens every three minutes to keep fingers feeling luxuriantly warmed and soothed.

Stage 4

Having removed the mittens and cling film, use the Kirby crème to massage hands and lower arms. Now spray each nail with Essie Refreshing Nail Cleanser and wait a few moments until dry.

Stage 5

If your nails have grown too long, use your nail clippers in a "nibbling" movement, helping to stop the edges of the nails suffering trauma from clumsy clipping. Any hangnails can also be carefully clipped away but use cuticle clippers for this.

Stage 6

Use an Essie Crystal File to file the free edge of each nail with one-directional, long strokes. Finish off with gently downward bevelling movements. This helps seal the free edges. Avoid backwards and forwards type movements at all costs – they weaken the nail leading to splitting and sometimes peeling.

Stage 7

Take some lint free cloth and wind it around your thumb. Dip your thumb gently in warm water, so you can wipe it carefully around your cuticles to remove the last tiny bits of oil, dust and other foreign matter. Apply a nail preparation treatment such as Seche Prep to each nail, working from little finger to thumb works best.

Stage 8

You’ve almost finished the Essie manicure, so just complete the last simple steps to that perfect glossy look. Apply basecoat from the nail centre adjacent to the cuticle but don’t touch the cuticle itself with the brush. Sweep to the left, then to the sidewall, sweep back to the nail centre. Sweep to the right, back to the centre again and sweep to the free edge. Moving from each left sidewall from cuticles towards the free edge 3 to 4 times should help expel trapped air from the enamel. Finally, sweep backwards from the free edges to help seal the nail.

Stage 9

Now apply 2 coats of Essie nail polish using the same method. Your first coat must be touch-dry before you apply the next one. If you need to ‘tidy’ up your polish, use the Essie Nail Corrector. Next apply one coat of topcoat and in 2 minutes, you’re dry and ready to move onto the final stage.

Stage 10

Use one or two drops of Essie Quick-E Drying Drops for each nail. Drop it near the cuticles, allowing each drop to glide down towards the free edges of the nails. Complete your Essie manicure with Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil massaged gently onto the cuticle areas and the sidewalls but be careful not to come into contact with the nail polish itself.