The Brazilian manicure

Every time when I go to Brazil, the first thing I do is to book myself a manicure. Manicures are a big thing in Brazil… you rarely see a women without painted nails. They are not too crazy on colors here, mostly they wear nude or red, but they are very picky on the way they apply it. They want the PERFECT manicure although the way to get it, is a kind of messy. First of all, they remove the cuticles completely, which was a huge surprise for me. I really don’t like that my cuticles are removed, as they are the barrier between the nail and the skin. I asked the technician why they do this and she told me it’s because Brazilians think a manicure looks much more pretty without cuticles. They want the surface of the nail completely flat and without any imperfections.  Also, this way your manicure will last much longer. Brazilian women also don’t like unpainted nail edges, so the technician not only paints the nail but also all around the surrounding skin area. The first time I saw that, I thought I would go home with a messy manicure but of course they have a trick for this problem: they wrap a small pieces of cotton ( that they soaked in nail-polish remover) around a wooden stick and clean up all the polish around the nail. The result: a perfect manicure. And it’s true, my manicure lasts longer than a week perfectly ( read: fully painted, shiny and without any big chaps)… how amazing! So now I always ask for the Brazilian manicure but without cutting my cuticles ( I’m too afraid for infections) and I always go home very happy! Have you ever had a Brazilian manicure? XO Sofie