YB Loves: The Naked Manicure
Zoya’s Naked Manicure System will change the way you paint your nails.
Each day the editors of Yahoo Beauty are sharing one noteworthy product we feel should be on your radar. From the latest and greatest items that land on our desks to indie products with a cool backstory to the old standbys that have earned a permanent place on our vanities, trust us: You’ll want to check them out.
I’m one vibrating pedicure chair short of operating a nail salon out of my 600 square foot apartment. I have over a hundred bottles of nail polish to choose from on a daily basis and a full-blown gel manicure kit for times when I really don’t want to worry about chipped nails. For years I’ve been someone who always has her nails painted, but lately, I can’t stand the sight of polish on my hands. I want a clean, pretty, bare nail look. The problem: I don’t have very nice looking nails and can’t get away with leaving them totally bare. This is where my newest nail addiction, Zoya’s Naked Manicure System, comes in.
The kit, which includes base coat, top coat, and six different nail “perfectors,” works to correct discoloration, smooth ridges, adjust tone, and protect nails after just one application. Think of the system as no-makeup makeup for your nails. Figuring out exactly what combination of the six perfectors you want to use can be a little bit of a guessing game (as a general rule, start with the brighter shade first when layering), but once you set your combination, you’ll never look back. After applying the base coat, I like to apply one coat of the Lavender Perfector ($10), which works to neutralize discoloration, followed by a coat of the Buff Perfector ($10). This duo leaves behind a warm, neutral finish that doesn’t make you feel like you’ve got creepy all-one-color mannequin hands, but instead the nails of a (highly paid) professional catalog hand model.
When it comes to your top coat, the kit comes with two options: The Satin Seal that leaves your nails looking freshly buffed and a Glossy Seal for high shine. I like the Glossy Seal for my hands and the Satin Seal for my toes. (Yes, I’m addicted to the point where I’ve started doing Naked pedicures.) The system also includes a white Tip Perfector, which helps to brighten your nail edge. The best part about the entire system isn’t that it just makes your nails look better, but that the health of your nail actually starts to improve thanks to a blend of vitamins and proteins that work to strengthen and condition. My hundred-plus polish collection is rapidly gathering dust.
Related:
This Really Works: An At-Home Gel Manicure Kit
