Your DIY guide to doing a professional mani on the couch

It is the season where the amount of socialising  calls for well-groomed hands and nails. Celebrity manicurist Jocelyn Petroni shares her tips for perfect DIY nails every time… 

1. What do we keep forgetting?
Most people don’t soak during their DIY mani. Soaking fingers in a bowl of warm, soapy water after filing makes every other part of your at-home manicure easier, as soft cuticles will push back efficiently and cleaning under the nail plate will be quicker. You can even soak them in the bath, which makes the perfect location for a manicure!

2. Three good nail habits to adopt
Keep cuticle oil on your bedside table and massage it in before you go to sleep. Upgrade your cuticle oil to a keratin treatment, such as CND RescueRXx 3.7ml, $8.95, which visibly strengthens and repairs nails. Finally, treat yourself to a monthly manicure and maintain the results yourself at home.

3. How do we make it last longer?
After a manicure, reapply the top coat every day to make polish last twice as long.

4. What are the must-have hues right now?
Bold, beautiful, sophisticated colours. Ferrari red, blush-pink nude and deep rose, worn on short, neat nails and removed as soon as the polish chips.