Manicurist Jocelyn Petroni answers our top nail questions

Always front row and centre, your mani should be on point every day of the week. To help you get well-groomed hands and nails at home, we asked celebrity manicurist Jocelyn Petroni to answer our top questions for how to get a perfect DIY manicure.

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!

Three good nail habits to adopt

Keep cuticle oil on your bedside table and massage it in before you go to sleep. For brittle nails, upgrade your cuticle oil to a keratin treatment, such as CND RescueRXx, which visibly strengthens and repairs nails. Finally, treat yourself to a monthly manicure and maintain the results yourself at home.

How do we make our mani last longer?

After a manicure, reapply the top coat every day to make your polish last twice as long.

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.

Toolkit: Clarins Super Restorative Hand Cream; Manicare Cuticle Stick; Crabtree & Evelyn Pear & Pink Magnolia Hand Primer

CND RescueRXx; Sally Hansen Mega Shine Extended Wear Top Coat; OPI Nail Polish in Bubble Bath

Have you heard of nail contouring? This is everything you need to know about this new beauty trend.

For more manicure tips from New Idea, check out newidea.com.au

Main image: @jenhawkins_