Cuticle Care

Wow, it's been too long, my polish-lovin' friends!  I can't believe it's been over a week since the last post!  But, here I am, alive and well, blogging from a much more awesome - and larger! - new home.  Even after the long weekend I still am only about 2/3 unpacked, and I haven't quite yet figured out my setup for nail polishing/blogging/photographing.  I actually painted my nails Saturday night sitting cross-legged on my kitchen floor - not ideal, but we were going out drinking, and a girls got to do what a girls got to do!

I was hoping to be up and running by now, but alas, it isn't so.  I have so many new polishes from fall 2011 collections to show you!  Oh well - hopefully they'll start later this week.   One thing  I do want to talk about today is nail care - it's been on my brain a lot these past few days, as moving wreaked HAVOC on my nails.  I've had to trim most of my nails down - and the others I didn't trim was because they broke off - and give my cuticles some much needed TLC.  

Healthy cuticles are important to maintaining healthy nails, and there is no shortage of products available on the market to help get your cuticles in tip-top shape.  Cuticle care is available in both oil and a balm formulas.  I used to used cuticle oil regularly, but I didn't feel it penetrated and worked very well as I'm constantly washing my hands and would only sometimes remember to reapply afterwards.  Instead, I switched to using balms which, in my opinion, last longer and work better.

For days like today, when the cuticles are particularly damaged and need a lot of help, I go for Qtica Cuticle Repair Balm.  Qtica is the sister brand to Zoya, and the Cuticle Repair Balm reminds me of the texture of Vaseline.  A little goes a long way, and I carry this around to reapply 2-3 times a day.  I can normally see improvement within the first few days, and really use Cuticle Repair Balm only when I need to do just that - repair the cuticles.

Once my cuticles are healthy and back to normal, I switch to LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Balm.  Lemony Flutter is the balm!  Hehe.  Seriously, it's a lightweight formula, and kind of feels like butter once it has softened at room temperature.  A little bit of Lemony Flutter goes a very long way - the picture below shows a new Lemony Flutter after using it 2x a day for about 3 weeks.  I apply Lemony Flutter at night before bed and again in the morning as I'm heading out the door, and my cuticles are all the happier for it.

 
So there you go!  Have you tried either balm from Qtica or LUSH?  What do you use to keep your cuticles happy and healthy? And are there any other products from these brands that you think are must haves?  Sound off in the comments below!