I’ve never thought much about nail files. My mom has used Revlon emery boards since the dawn of time, so that’s what I’ve always used. Julep sends me files in nearly every box, and I’ve acquired others in pedi/mani kits, impulse drugstore purchases, and random marketing gifts. But now that I pay more attention to hand and nail care, I did some reading of various blogs and decided to give glass files a try.

Now, I’m not going to claim to be any kind of expert in nail tools, but I’ve discovered that yes, you really should only file in one direction across the nail (same for smoothing the surface with a buffing board), and a higher (read: smaller particles) grit is better for natural nails. With that in mind, I followed a few blogger reviews to Mount Bleu, a Czech company that embellishes a variety of products, including glass nail files, with Swarovski crystals. How could I resist that?

So pretty! I want to file my nails all day with these sparklers.

I purchased a nail file set that included one regular size hand file and one mini, in the Blue Waterfall design, because, you know, blue. I though they would take forever to ship, but it only took about a week. The files are pretty, sparkly, and have a good heft to them that make it easier for me to control, especially with my non-dominant hand. The fine grit takes off length much better than I thought it would, and it’s easy to get around corners and along the side nail wall. Shavings just wash off the file, and the grit lasts for ages, making this a more cost-effective option over time than disposable cardboard emery boards.

Medium sized file.
Someday I’ll learn to take pictures where my fingers don’t look stubby.

The set of two cost ~$18 USD, with shipping of $3.70. I had a discount code that ended up equaling the price of shipping. The site offers a variety of products, including compact and stand mirrors, tweezers, scissors, larger files for toes (who knew I needed that?), hair and makeup brushes, jewelry, and other things all embellished with Swarovski crystals. Prices range from reasonable (~$8 USD for a hand-painted glass nail file) to crazy splurge (~$111 USD for an embellished hair brush). Some of these sets and items would make really lovely gifts.

Mini file. Big enough to get the job done and small enough to carry in my purse without getting broken.

The mini file stays in my purse, and the regular size has a spot on my new mani center in my spare room. I haven’t had them long enough to notice long-term benefits, but other bloggers report less splitting and breakage with glass files. Since that’s a huge problem for me, I hope that’s a real benefit.

What kind of files do you all prefer?

Mount Bleu website
Discount code: BLOG