There’s a great American Express ad written by Tina Fey listing the top twenty purchases she would make with her Amex, including, “A manicure. Because when you talk with your hands, they should be human hands.” I laughed out loud and didn’t think any further about it. Until the other day when I was going through some recent snaps with a gal pal. We came to a classic ‘talk to the hand’ shot. You couldn’t tell whose hands they were but they looked old. Very very old. And desert-thirsty dry. My friend and I started laughing and cracking jokes about retirement home inmates, I mean, guests being so down with the kids they know all the cool moves… Until about 45 seconds later… When I realised they were in fact my hands. My guffaws tapered to a nervous giggle, then I casually sat on my hands for the rest of the day.
I love abit (a lot) of good grooming, so how did this happen you ask/gasp? Winter is how. I was so busy visage moisturising and er, keeping warm, I neglected the body beauty basics. Specifically, if my hands and face are the only things you see during winter – they should roughly look like they belong to the same person. Also, I have to admit, I did not heed the warnings. I mean, who knew all that ominous, cryptic, ‘winter is coming’ chit chat on Game of Thrones didn’t relate to death, destruction, general bad times etc etc, but booking a pre-winter manicure before the wintry weather turns your hands from chic-to-eek? That author George R.R. Martin is more beauty-intuitive than his low-to-no grooming style would suggest.
After a fairly sleepless night – not due to the hand horror – but rather listening to the dulcet tones of a pooch howling all night long – (on the plus side, I’ve solved the question of ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’. Answer: Our neighbour. And that hound wants back in.) – I raced down to the mall to pick up some hand and nail repair prods. And perked up immediately once I saw the latest selection of pretty polishes on offer. So many choices, so many colours, so much fun in one tiny bottle! And such a small price point. A different colour for every day of the week? Yes please!
While making my selection I found myself chatting to a like-minded nail polish purchaser and discovered that not only does good hand/nail grooming look amazing it has a number of other key benefits.
My top nail picks?
Bobbi Brown has a gorgeous new range of polishes – I like Ballet Pink 3 for every day. Mecca Cosmetica also has a fab eponymous range, with a colour wheel of shades that make my heart sing. I picked up their Painted Beauty (translation: neon watermelon shade) – which is on my nails right now. And I’m typing better/faster/funnier… Plus I picked up Chanel’s Black Satin, 100% rock n’ roll. I also have my eye on a very fun green hue from Clinique.
Nails done – now to the hands. There are a lot of hand creams on the market, but after extensive (hardship) trials, there were two that came out on top. The first is by the brand This Works. And it does. It’s called Perfect Hands Intense Moisture. According to the prod intel, it’s anti-ageing and reduces the appearance of dark spots. Don’t have any of those yet. And happy to keep it that way. I also like Aesop’s Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. Both creams smell delish, are non-greasy and are bringing my hands back so I can freely use ‘talk to the hand’, without fear of being offered a digestive biscuit and discounted rates on a set of dentures.
