How to get the perfect manicure at home

A word to the wise, when you're prepping your nails and cuticles it pays to be gentle and precise.

Goldstein uses Tweezerman Nail Clippers ($16.96 from Oz Hair & Beauty) to take length off, but she never clips her nails from the centre outwards.

"It can cause your nails to split or break," she warned via Instagram. "Start from one side of your nail and work your way across, or do opposite corners first, then clip the middle."

The same goes for filing her nails too.

"When filing my nails I like to start by tapering the sides, working my way around the nail," she explained. "The way you angle your file will determine the shape. If you want a more oval or almond shape, angle your file on a 90 degree angle."

When using a lower grit file like OPI's Edge White 240 File ($7.95 from Oz Hair & Beauty), refrain from 'seesawing' your file along the nail's edge as this could damage your nail. It can also result in a jagged free edge, which is not what you want. 

After you've achieved your desired nail shape it's time to turn your attention to your cuticles. 

Goldstein likes to gently push them back with a professional grade cuticle pusher, but we rate this Manicare ManiPRO Cuticle Pusher & Cleaner ($17.09 from Oz Hair & Beauty) for the job, personally. Then she cuts away any excess skin with a pair of cuticle nippers like this precision tool from BeautyPRO ($14.41 from Oz Hair & Beauty).

"Never cut into the skin," she advised her Instagram followers. "Keep your nipper parallel to surface of [the] skin."

"If you don’t feel comfortable cutting or don’t want to cut at all, skip this step [and] just buff away [any] remaining cuticles stuck on [the] nail plate," she offered.

Once your cuticles look neat and tidy, you'll need to buff the nail plate to smooth any surface-level texture, and prep the nail for polish.

Gently buff the top of the nail plate — as well as the nail's edge — with a buffing block like Manicare's 4-Way Nail Buffer ($8.49 from Chemist Warehouse). Your nails should have a dull finish and a soft, dusty texture when you're done.

"One of the best ways to get your hands and manicure to look immaculate and beautiful is by having a good hand care routine — hydration is key," Goldstein advised via Instagram.

You can easily reach into your pre-existing beauty collection for this part of the manicure too. In fact, many of the products Goldstein uses in her own hand care routine are technically skin care or body products. 

First, the nail artist exfoliates the hands with a face and body scrub — we always have L'Occitane's Almond Body Scrub ($39 from Adore Beauty) in the shower for rough skin emergencies — paying special attention to the skin around the nails.

After she's finished scrubbing, she rinses her hands, gently towel dries them, and massages a combination of Chanel's hand cream ($96 from MYER) and Augustinus Bader's face oil ($152 from Augustinus Bader) into her skin.

Then she drops small beads of a vitamin E infused cuticle oil like OPI's Pro Spa Nail & Cuticle Oil ($28 from Adore Beauty) onto her nail beds and massages it in until it's fully absorbed. 

To clean the nail plate, Goldstein soaks a cotton round in Chanel's micellar water ($70 from MYER) and wipes the top and edge of each nail.

However, if you're planning to apply a few coats of nail polish after you've finished the preparatory phase of your manicure we'd recommend using a nail polish remover with acetone like this one from OPI ($12 from Adore Beauty). It'll help to remove any oils from the nail plate, which could disrupt the application and overall performance of your nail polish. 

Now that your digits have been buffed, filed and moisturised, it's time to start painting them. For long-lasting nail polish, Goldstein likes to stick to a very specific routine. 

First, she applies a very thin layer of Chanel's base coat ($49 from MYER) and allows it to dry completely.

Goldstein usually works exclusively with Chanel's nail polish range ($49 from MYER), but you can use any polish you have at home. The key is to apply nail colour in thin layers, allowing each layer to dry completely before painting the next.

Goldstein also recommends 'capping' the free edge of the nail with nail polish after applying each layer.

"[The] tips of our nails get the most wear due to typing on our phones and keyboards," Goldstein explained via Instagram. "This will give them extra protection."

Once your nail polish is dry to the touch, you'll need to apply top coat — Goldstein recommends layering two coats of Chanel's top coat ($49 from MYER) for best results.

"Apply your first coat, allow for it to fully dry, and then apply a second coat," she advised. "This will give your nails extra protection from every day wear. [Then] reapply [the] top coat after three days. This will not only refresh your manicure, it will also make your manicure last longer."

After your top coat has dried completely, you can rub a few more drops of cuticle oil into your nail beds — no manicure's truly complete without it in our opinion.

Personally, we like to spruce up our fingertips with a fragranced cuticle oil like this roll-on from Perth-based nail salon, Angel City ($60 from Angel City), which features an earthy, sweet and spicy, citrus scent.