Nail file: Sarah Priddy

Sarah Priddy says while bold colours are in, a cream, pale, translucent polish will suit most skin tones if in doubt. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

Sarah Priddy, of the boutique Newmarket nail salon Sarah Priddy Nails + Brows, does a mean manicure and pedicure.

What's the best thing you can do for your hands?

It's really a combination of small things that will get your hands looking amazing.

Always keep your cuticles pushed back. This is the root of your nail and will stimulate new growth as well as making the nail shape look much neater. Use plenty of hand cream.

Evolu's Hand and Cuticle cream is great, and I've discovered the wonderful Cetaphil cream as well. It's good to start a little ritual of pushing back your cuticles, rubbing in your hand cream and dropping on a cuticle oil or almond oil before bed.

This way your hands have all that time overnight to be soaking up the goodness. If you're really keen, put on some cotton gloves - sleeping with them on will transform your hands.

Hot colours for winter?

You really can get adventurous with colour this winter as our wardrobes tend to be darker. Vampish reds, raspberry reds and even fire-engine reds. Keep nails short and square for the neatest look with these bold shades.

If you have age spots on your hands, try to avoid any browns as it will make them appear more prominent. A cream, pale, translucent polish will suit most tones if you are ever in doubt.

How can you get a week out of your nail polish?

Use a top coat and paint a coat over your polish every two days.

What can you do for weak nails?

Wear a nail strengthener. Paint a coat on every day for seven days, remove it all and do it again for another week.

Try to keep them out of excessive amounts of water as it weakens nails. I've been taking the Silicea supplement for months now. Other than that, try an acrylic overlay. It will instantly give you strong nails and prevent breakages, allowing you to get them all to the same length.

What should you look for in a nail file?

Look for a fine grit. Files are basically sandpaper and have different grits of coarseness. The higher the grit the finer the file. You should be able to run your fingers over the file without feeling shivers down your spine. The file should have two sides with one side finer. Avoid metal and coarse files as they will shred your nail and cause breakages.