The Secret of Your Beauty Is in Your Fingertips!

Elegance is the first of the qualities at which every woman aims, and our ladies show endless ingenuity in devising the newest fashions, just as they vie with one another in dressing their hair and beautifying their faces. But do you know, Madam, what a deep effect your dainty, soft fingertips have on your appearance and your elegance alike?

"Polish" lends a luster to your nails, besides protecting them and keeping them sound. To give them their due of care, you must use the special implements suited to the work of cleaning the nails, trimming them, and then polishing them. The kit does not cost much and will serve you for several years. It contains a small pair of scissors, a buffer, and tweezers; in some kits there is an instrument for removing the cuticle from the nails, a fine stick for cleaning under the nails, and a fine file. You should have ready balls and squares of cotton and soft paper, and put hot water and soap in a basin. There is a cream for the nails — do not forget it — or perhaps you may substitute a special nail oil for it; the nail brush has its work to do, and you will also need a towel. And to be sure the polish stays on longer, put on a first coat of it, follow it with another, then cover both coats with a third layer.

Do your nails at the dressing table, or on any comfortable surface, and remember that resting your forearms and elbows will help you while you work. Now gather your implements — you are about to begin — and make certain you have plenty of time, for you need half an hour to do this operation properly. If time does not allow it, divide the work into two sittings: one for treating the nails and cleaning them, and the second for polishing them.

1 — Dip a piece of cotton in polish remover, hold it on the nail a moment, then wipe off the old polish with a single stroke.

2 and 3 — Use an instrument for removing the cuticle covering the base of the nail, and pass it slowly and carefully over the skin. You may need nippers to remove any protruding remnants when the instrument cannot take them off; the tweezers will also come to your aid.

4 — Wipe the nail with a piece of cotton wound around the tip of a fine stick and dipped in the oil or the special cream, so that the remnants of skin clinging around it come away.

5 — If your nails are uneven, cut their tips with the scissors, and be careful in your use of the file, which you should draw in one direction only — the nail may be damaged by working it back and forth.

6 — Now comes the turn of the buffing: pass the buffer covered with soft leather twenty times over the edges of the nail, to polish its surface before the polish goes on.

7 — You need the hot water and soap to wash the nails with care, using a small brush; then dry them.

8 — You can clean under the nail with a sharp-pointed stick, and after this comes the turn of the nail-whitening preparation, so that the color of the polish on the nail will not vary.

9 — No doubt you want the "manicure" to last longer and be in better condition, so paint the nails with a first coat of it, using no more than is needed, and let the polish dry well.

10 — Paint each nail with two strokes: the first covers the lower part and one side of it, and the second begins from the tip of the nail to fill in its surface (of course, you must wipe the brush against the edge of the bottle each time you take up polish). When the first coat is quite dry, add the next after its fashion, testing the dryness of each coat by running your thumb over the edge of the nail.

11 — The third and last coat of polish adds to the nail's gleam and preserves the "manicure" longer, so that in its beauty and elegance it looks like a sparkling jewel. It is advisable to let your hands rest for half an hour or more after this operation, so that the polish acquires resistance to any harm, keeps its luster, and lasts the longer.