As a nail swatcher and all-around nail polish enthusiast, I have to be on top of taking care of my hands and nails. I feel that I am lucky in that I have naturally strong nails, but I do tend to have very dry skin which obviously affects my cuticles. Many years ago, I used to bite my nails and cuticles to the point of making them bleed which is why I started wearing acrylics. Lucky, this helped me kick the biting habit but I also have to stay on top of avoiding hangnails and such because it will tempt me to bite them. Gross, I know! Well, today I have some of my favorite nail care products to share with you; these are items I use often to help keep my hands and cuticles well hydrated and soft. Continue reading “Favorite Nail Care Products”
Category: Nail Care
Vapid Lacquer Nail Sauce
You guys have no idea what a deplorable state my hands an cuticles have been in lately. I am going to 100% blame this on the face wash that I bought last month. Since I’ve been getting random acne (poo to adult acne!), I bought this Murad Anti-Aging Acne Cleanser that has salicylic acid as well as hyaluronic acid which is supposed to help keep skin moisturized. My skin is drier than the Sahara so I figured this would be a good product for me. So far it’s been ok–I haven’t noticed any bad side effects–but it has basically killed my hands. My fingers got so dry they started to crack and peel and my cuticles were pretty disgusting. I kept hearing about Vapid Lacquer Nail Sauce so I figured I might as well give it a try and added a little jar to my last order. Buying creams or anything with a scent online makes me nervous because I am so particular about product scents, but I decided to get the Wandering Rose scent against my better judgement. Let me tell you what I thought about this product.
First of all, I was not happy with the scent. You know what it smelled like? Those cheap religious candles that you buy at Hispanic markets. Yeah, not good. Vapid’s website described the scent as “Wild roses, fresh, wonderful and true rose scented cream. This is not a perfumey fake rose, this is the real deal, a plant based natural fragrance.” NOPE. Maybe I’m being kind of critical and I do have a crazy nose when it comes to scents, but I was super unhappy. Whenever I don’t like a scent, it will give me a headache and will actually make me nauseous, so I wondered if I would even be able to wear the product long enough to test it. There is a certain type of spiciness to the scent that I think is what I don’t like overall, but it wore off enough once the product soaked into my skin. The product has a typical cream consistency: not too thick and not runny. It is very easy to work into the skin and cuticles and it soaks in pretty quickly. I’ve been using Nail Sauce consistently for the last 6 days, and I really love the results. My cuticles are softer than they have ever been. I would like to try some of the other scents but I am cautious about disliking the other scents even more. I do not like sweet scents which most of the scents seem to be. Maybe next time I will purchase the original scent which is supposed to be more of a citrus. I’ll let you know if I end up getting it.
Overall, I am happy with the product despite my issues with the scent. While I won’t claim that the product is revolutionary, it is nice. I do realize that if you use any moisturizer consistently, you are bound to see similar results. Still, I like this creme and will continue to include it in my regular rotation of cuticle products I use. Do you have any favorite cuticle products that you can’t live without? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!
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Brand: Vapid Lacquer
Price: $5.00 /1 oz
Purchase: Vapid
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Lush Lemony Flutter
Ever since I started blogging around 2 years ago, there has been one product that has been lauded but that I had resisted trying out…until now. Behold the glory of Lush Lemony Flutter.
This is also a momentous occasion because I finally visited a Lush store, and I hate myself for it as I now want everything they make. To be honest, I didn’t even know that there was a Lush store close to me and I actually stumbled upon it when I hunted down Brown Sugar at Neiman Marcus. Once again, Tom Ford is responsible for leading me down ANOTHER road of cosmetics perdition. Are you ready to hear what I think about Lush Lemony Flutter? Well, put on your conversation caps because I’ve got a lot to say.
I didn’t take a picture of the virgin container, so excuse the fact that I’ve already dipped my pudgy fingers into it. Well, first of all I want to say that I was very worried about what this product would smell like because if you’ve read about my issues with scented products, you know this is a big deal to me. A VERY BIG DEAL. Well, this product smells lemony, of course, but it also has another subtle scent…a little bit like gasoline. Doesn’t lemony gasoline sound delightful?! In addition to that delicious lemony gasoline scent, I also detected another scrumptious scent: corn tortillas. Ok, ok…hold up. Yes, you read that right: corn tortillas. Since I basically eat corn tortillas every day, I think I am pretty qualified in the science of tortilla-ology so this seems pretty accurate to me. Despite the caucophany of scents, I didn’t hate the smell of the product which is pretty awesome. Secondly, the consistency is very thick so a little bit goes a long way. When I tried it out at the store, the associate slathered some on my cuticles and it felt like I had dipped my hands in lard. Even though the product feels very greasy, it soaked into my skin within a few minutes. Unfortunately, I felt that the product left a film behind which was very bothersome so I have resolved to only use it at night as an intense overnight treatment.
Have you had a chance to try Lush Lemony Flutter? I am glad I finally got this because I always read about it online. Since I’m kind of a cheapskate, I was a little surprised that this container was like $17+ tax. That’s some expensive cuticle butter! Because it’s so thick, you only need a tiny bit so I can see this lasting a looooong time. Bailey from Partial To Polish (check out her blog cause she’s awesome) had mentioned to me that her Lemony Flutter had gone rancid so she had to throw it away. Maybe keeping it in the fridge will extend its life. Have you guys had yours go rancid? Man, I’d be so pissed–especially if it was still fairly full. Well, I hope you’re all doing well and that you have enjoyed your weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.
Vapour Vernissage Ether
Today I have a new-to-me brand to share with you: Vapour Organic Beauty. I first came across Vapour when I was looking for some new foundation solutions since my skin is incredibly difficult to work with when the winter months arrive. Perusing through their site, I immediately noticed that the also had a line of nail polish so I’m glad to be able to share my experience with the following three products.
Because of my constant swatching and the fact that I am a bit of a clean freak, my hands are constantly beat up. One of the most important and crucial things that you can do for your hands and nails is to keep your cuticles well-moisturized. I always make sure to have a good moisturizing lotion on hand as well as some cuticle oil. Since it has been rather chilly and dry here in Southern California, my cuticles have been in a deplorable state. After using my usual cuticle remover, I proceeded to use Vapour’s Replenish Organic Nail & Cuticle oil. The first thing that I noticed about it is that it has a very pleasing and citrus-y scent. Like all cuticle oils, it is best to really work the product into your nails and cuticles if you don’t want it to just sit there and give your greasy fingers. Replenish is made with a unique collection of high-grade organic oils and botanicals traditionally used for facial treatments including Evening Primrose, Pomegranate Seed Oil and Reishi Mushroom. I felt that Replenish sank in to my skin fairly quickly and my cuticles are still soft and moisturized despite numerous hand-washings throughout the day. Of course you have to keep using the a product like this to see long-term results so I will let you all know what I think down the line.
Ether is an inky midnight blue with some purple tones to it. It also has a shimmery quality that is only visible in direct and bright light. The formula was very nice and easy to control–I didn’t have to do any clean up! While it was a little on the thin side, I only needed two coats for full coverage. The thing that most surprised me about this polish is how incredibly shiny and glossy it dried before I even applied a top coat. Vapour’s Velocity Top Coat is a quick drying top coat, but I did not feel that it gave me the results that I was expecting. While it does dry the polish fairly quickly on the surface and leaves a very glossy finish, I don’t think that it dried the polish completely because 2 hours later, I accidentally bumped my nail and it made an indentation.
Overall, I am very much liking the Replenish nail and cuticle oil and will continue to use it especially during these cold and dry months. Ether is a lovely color that I would wear regularly even if it is not entirely unique. I very much like the formula and finish of the polish even though I didn’t quite get the results I was hoping for with the Velocity quick drying top coat. You can find more information on their diverse product lines by visiting www.vapourbeauty.com The Replenish cuticle oil, Velocity top coat and Vernissage polishes retail for $12 which is definitely on the pricey side for such tiny bottles. An important note: Vapour Organic Beauty does not test on animals nor are any of the raw ingredients in Vapour tested on animals. Have you ever tried products from Vapour Organic Beauty? Are you familiar with their line of products?
Thanks for checking in with me today and I will talk to you soon. I hope you enjoy your weekend and stay warm!
Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my disclosure tab.
Nail Care and My New Gym Rant
It’s not like I’m some nail guru, but because I technically have a nail blog (is this REALLY a nail blog??), people tend to ask me about what I do to care for my nails. I am more than happy to share what I do with my nails, but please bear in mind that this is what works for me. What works for me, may not work for you. So the following is a list of my HG products:
CND Solar Oil
This stuff is like liquid gold to me. I have tons of bottles all over the place, and I always keep one in my purse. This cuticle oil is by far the best product that I currently use on my nails and cuticles. It soaks in quickly and doesn’t leave my hands and fingers greasy like other products. If I could only keep one nail/cuticle care product, it would be this one.
Barielle Intensive Hand Treatment Cream with gloves
This Barielle hand cream is the shiznit. I try to use it every other day right when I go to bed. This cream is incredibly thick and lightly scented so it doesn’t bother me. Once I rub the cream all over my hands and fingers, I add a little bit more to my fingertips and then I slide on the gloves and go to bed. When I wake up the next morning, my hands are soooooo soft. I adore this product.
Nail-Aid
Every time I start to grow my nails, I reach for my nail-aid to help strengthen them. I am deathly afraid of those horrible breaks people get when their nails are long so I always use this as a base coat. I use the Collagen nail builder when I am trying to get my little nubs to grow faster as well. The 3 Minute Artificial is a great base or top coat, and it supposedly makes nails 11 times stronger. I can’t substantiate those claims, but my nails are definitely stronger when I wear either of these.
Sally Hansen Cuticle Removers
I honestly have not been able to find cuticle removers that are better than these two. I use both of them and don’t really have a preference. They are both manicure staples for me because my cuticles are my #1 nail problem. When I was a kid, I used to bite my nails and chew off my cuticles. You can’t even imagine how horrible my fingers and nails looked back then.
Now, for something that is a little different, I take a biotin supplement which is supposed to be good for your hair and nails. Some people will say that it makes no difference and that there’s no scientific evidence, but I know it makes a difference for me. As soon as I start taking biotin, I notice that my hair gets stronger, doesn’t fall out as much and my nails grow like crazy. For this same reason, I like to take protein powder supplements. I started drinking protein shakes when I started working with my personal trainer, and I also noticed what a huge difference it made when it came to my hair. In case you’re wondering why I’m taking about my hair so much: one of the symptoms of having PCOS is that some people experience heavy hair loss. My hair has thinned a lot over the year even though most people say they can’t tell at all. I used to have super crazy thick hair and now I don’t so I want to make sure I take care of the hair I have left! lol
Now, for my gym rant. So I started going to the gym again and I’m sad to say nothing has changed. Why do people go to the gym to stand on machines and admire themselves in the mirrors? It’s like I’m an alien in there sometimes because I go to work my ass off–literally. I sweat a lot. If you annoy me, maybe I’ll fling my sweat at you.
Look at the sweat on my t-shirt. (No, I’m not trying to pull a Flashdance with the off the shoulder thing–my tshirt is just too big. lol) Does this look like the sweat of a person who wants to listen to you blab with your friend or even worse, on your cell phone? I just want to throw a 5lb free weight at their faces sometimes. I have way too much rage at the gym. I guess it’s good that I’m taking it all out on the treadmill, huh?
So there you have it. These are just a few things I do for my nails. Do you have any holy grail nail products that you can’t live without? I’m always open to trying new things so please share. Talk to you later!
