Photo: Imaxtree

Newly resolved to have perfect fingernails? You don’t have to drop major money at a salon to keep your nails glossy and strong all winter. Set aside about an hour, follow our eight easy steps, and you won’t want to cover up with winter gloves or coat sleeves. You’ll need: Base and top coat (see our top pick below) Nail polish remover Cotton pads or Q-tips Nail file Cuticle pusher or clipper.

1. Soak your hands in warm water for at least three minutes. A little bit of lemon juice will help loosen any nail color, meaning less damage done by nail polish remover.

2. Remove any old polish with a cotton ball or Q-tip and apply moisturizer to your cuticles. The alcohol in nail polish remover leeches moisture from your skin, so make sure to apply lotion or hand cream before, and after you take off old polish.

3. Push back cuticles. If you’ve left your nail beds unattended for a while, you can trim your cuticles but be careful, if you cut your cuticles too short they’ll bleed.

4. Shape your nails with a nail file, being careful only to file in one direction. A back and forth motion will weaken your nails. Give yourself square edges, and a round tip, the perfect shape for growing out your nails and keeping them strong.

5. Buff your nails so you have a smooth surface for the polish to stick to.

6. Base Coat. Always use a base coat! It helps your color stick and strengthens your nails. We love Sally Hansen’s Double Duty Polish, which can be used as both a base, and top coat. It’s packed with vitamins to strengthen your nails, and is a hardcore chip resister.

Photo: Courtesy of Drugstore.com Sally Hansen double duty nail polish, $5.

7. Color. Always roll the bottle (never shake!) to mix up the color, and get your perfect shade. 8. Top Coat. Wait at least half an hour before applying a top coat to seal in the color, and keep your nails looking lovely for as long as possible.