Give your engagement ring a worthy backdrop with these top five manicures designed to make hands look beautiful…
The Guinea Pig: Olivia Phillips, Fashion Features Editor
The Treatment: Vitamin Kick
The Location: The Loft Fifth Avenue, Wasl Vita Mall
The Rundown: Using Babor’s (Germany’s leading and most cutting-edge skincare brand) SPA line, your hands and feet are exfoliated with a sea salt scrub, wrapped in, er, cling film and heated, before being rubbed with rejuvenating vitamin C&E cream.
The Results: “Having your extremities slathered in delicious-smelling moisturiser before being wrapped in a hot towel is something I would recommend to everyone. My hands felt like butter afterwards. In a good way.”
Price: Dhs120
The Guinea Pig: Jade Sprowson, Style Director
The Treatment: The N.Bar Experience
The Location: N.Bar, Ibn Battuta Mall
The Rundown: A scrub, a dunk in a bath of warm wax (to help eliminate ageing), a massage and file and polish promising to breathe new life into hands.
The Results: “Torn cuticles, rough palms and dry knuckles from back-to-back photo shoots in the desert meant my poor paws had never felt more neglected. Fast-forward one hour with therapist Hani and I was left with baby-bottom soft skin and glossy talons. The polish may have chipped after two days but the softness of my skin lasted.”
Price: Dhs170
The Guinea-Pig: Sarah Garden, Features Editor
The Treatment: Paraffin Wax Therapy
The Location: Belle Femme at-home service
The Rundown: Once the paraffin wax is heated your hands are slowly placed into (very) hot bags and wrapped in mittens.When the wax has hardened into a moisturising gel, the bags come off with a relaxing massage finishing off the treatment.
The Results: “My hands always look a bit wrinkly, but the paraffin was like a dose of finger-botox. My palms felt silky-soft for days. I had a manicure to tidy up my nails after the treatment, which I would definitely recommend for Instagram-ready results.”
Price: Dhs200
The Guinea-Pig: Alexandra Venison, Junior Fashion Editor
The Treatment: Hand Repair Gloves by Skin Repair
The Location: Available to purchase at Boots Pharmacy
The Rundown: Promising a moisture-boosting formula with intensive rejuvenation a glove, with a double-layered inner mask, is placed over each hand for 20 minutes. It is advised to use the gloves twice a week for one month and then when needed, due to the skin’s four-week regeneration period.
The Result: “This luxurious, deliciously scented treatment contains marine collagen, shea butter, vitamin E, rose, orange and apple extracts that left my hands feeling wonderfully nourished. The fact that it’s an at-home treatment adds to the pros!”
Price: Dhs25 (contains two gloves)
The Guinea Pig: Carmel Gill, Fashion & Beauty Assistant
The Treatment: Spa Manicure & Pedicure
The Location: The Cure, Building 10, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
The Rundown: The Cure’s Spa mani/pedi includes three steps – exfoliation, massage and mask. Hands and feet are massaged and restored with a nourishing mask before nails are filed and painted.
The Results: “My usual mani is always the express option; the quicker the better. However, I was amazed at how relaxing the Spa Manicure And Pedicure was, the leg, arm and shoulder massage felt like I’d had a full body. Two days later I got engaged and my silky smooth hands and pretty nails were more than camera-ready!”
Price: Dhs220
Main Image: Getty
