NAIL POLISH
Other than color and price we rarely think about nail polish.
Lately I have been doing my own nails to save money, and nail polish now gets a thought or two from me. Manicures, just a basic manicure with no acrylic or gel can cost as much as $30.00. For many that may not sound like much, but $30.00 a week for me is like having another bill. On top of that the polish peeled and chipped and more often than not my nails cracked. The added discomfort from manicurist in a hurry and being careless, pretty much made me feel like I could find better ways to spend $30.00 a week.
The first thing I noticed is not all nail polishes are alike, and you can't judge a polish by its packaging, or even price. Some of the prettiest most expensive bottles have the worst color coverage and ability to last the week. Brand names don't guarantee a satisfactory result either.
Some brushes are too fat, too thin, too long, too short, and then there are a few brushes that are fitted perfectly to the nail and the hand. By hand I mean the hand holding the brush doing the painting. Sometimes there is just no comfortable way to hold the brush, and get a good stroke going. A steady comfortable hand is extremely important to giving yourself beautifully painted nails.
When it comes to colors, I quickly learned to stick to the basics and even then the choices seem unlimited. I have learned that while the bright lime green, or lemon yellow and other colors that are bright iridescent and loud call my name, they don't like me. On my hand they are garish and cheap looking. They also aren't forgiving to any mistakes or un smooth nail surface. So leaving them on the shelf makes sense to me. After all, home manicures are about saving money right. Along with the standard pinks, tans, creams, and a red, I have a selection of blues, greens and a few metallic ones for holidays and such, I even keep a bottle of black on hand for halloween.
Is a brand I have used forever. It is pricey and I believe considered a designer brand, and can be worth the money. The brush and bottle are easy to use, I find the brush the perfect width for my nail bed, I get full coverage without overlapping on the sides. Essie offers a variety of types of polish, some are gels not requiring a light just a base and top coat, others are a basic polishes, while others are high shine. The color range is large and always changing, up dating. I find the gel polish to not be as long lasting as regular polish and it gets dull quickly. I do dishes, wash cloths, sew, and do house hold chores daily and the gels chip almost immediately upon doing a dish, every time. Their normal or regular polish does last better but still chips too, sooner than many other polishes. I find I only buy Essie now if I see a color that really calls to me. While you can get Essie in salons and beauty supply stores, I also find it at CVS and other big chain stores.
Also a brand I have used forever. I first became aware of OPI when it was used in the salon. It wasn't even available in stores. The design of the bottle and brush are excellent and as far as I know they haven't changed in at least a decade, maybe longer. The bottle is easy to hold and the brush allows for good even coverage without overlapping on the sides. I really enjoy the color selection and as much as Essie can be pastel, OPI is completely on the other end of the spectrum. They both over lap in colors but when I think Essie I think pink, mint green or baby blue, and OPI I think plums and roses, and rich warm autumn colors. Again OPI is pricey and considered top of the line Nail Polish. It has a fairly good long lasting wear. There can be chipping and fading but it takes a some wear and tear for that to happen. I like the clear strengthening polish in their line and buy that faithfully, I do feel like it helps my nails keep the strong healthy feeling. I find OPI in CVS as well as beauty supply stores. I have not really seen it in the large chain stores I frequent.
We all know how Long Revlon has been around and as far as I can tell they update and remake their polish line to keep up with the times. All brands now carry a verity of styles, like gel and so on and Revlon is no different. This isn't my favorite brand and it never has been really. Depending on the bottle style, and Revlon has a few different styles, that dictates the brush and for the most part I find them, long and thin making control almost impossible and achieving an even coverage isn't easy. I always get drawn in because of colors. Revlon knows how to do red. Their reds are always the most eye catching on the shelf. I am however more often than not disappointed in the results when I use this brand. Slow to dry, spotty coverage, and worst of all the trace marks left behind when my nail drags across different surfaces. Unless the color has grabbed me and won't let go I normally leave Revlon on the shelf.
This is the royal blue you see in the photo. It isn't more then 2 days on my nails and as you can see the wear and tear I put on my hands has the tips fading off. I love the color so I wear it anyway.
Then I found Revlon's Ultra HD Snap, the newest addition to their line, I think. The brush is better and it wears very well, dishes and all. Even the red impressed me, drying nice with a pleasant finish and no color trails left behind. You won't find Revlon in salons or beauty supply stores but all drugstores and large chains normally carry a large selection of Revlon products. If like me you are ruff on your hands and nails I strongly urge you to try the Ultra HD.
Has been around as long as I have and this line has come a long way baby. I remember this polish being a top name in drugstore nail care when I was too young to wear polish. I remember hating it when I first starting using polish. It just had no staying power and seemed to not help strengthen my nails. I don't hate it any more. The gel line like all the other gels out there is less impressive than you would hope. It chips and dulls out much quicker than any of their other lines. Sally has a Vegan line that I like a lot and find wears well the entire week. They have a line called " Color Therapy" I really enjoy this one. I only have one bottle of it and every time I use it I get incredible results. This one is a pearlized frosty one and it wears so well.
I applied the polish on Dec 30 in the AM today is Jan 2 late afternoon I have done dishes, baked, colored my hair, and scrubbed a floor or two. Not a single chip and my nails feel good.
I do have to note that in all brands that I use, I notice frosted colors wear better and pearlized polishes give the nail a stronger feel to them.
This a relatively new company to me. I have only found this brand in one of the beauty supply stores I go to, Sally's. They have a few different lines, no gel that I saw, but some other fun stuff like glitter polish, polish that changes color according to your body temp, a quick drying gloss and a basic polish as well as a vegan line. The colors are some what limited, but I am sure with time it will grow. This polish has not disappointed me once. Long wearing, bright and shiny the way polish should look. I like the brush, but am not a fan of the lid and top of the brush. I like the look of the bottle but the design of the lid is less than desirable. It is priced around the same as Essie and OPI and worth the cost. I am impatiently waiting for some new colors to come out, except for the vegan line I have all the colors on Sally's shelf.
Now last but absolutely not least, is on of my newest favorite brand of nail polish. I just discovered it this past year on the sale table at Sally's. I make of point of looking for this now.
Long Wear Polish, It says it right on the bottle in large capital letters. The bottle is simple, plain, old fashion even. The brush borders on being a big no for me because it is a little long, but it flattens out and fits perfectly to the nail bed. As I said I found it on the sale table for 2.50, there was only one color a neutral tan that looks different depending on the light. I will never regret giving it a try. Regular price is under 6.00 and each time I go back the brand seems to be expanding its lines. I now see a gel line and more colors becoming available and that has me very excited. The Gel will stay on the shelf, well maybe one bottle just to see, but as you may have noticed the Gel line in every brand fell short of actually living up to the cost.
There are so many other brands out there that I either haven't tried or didn't actually care for them when I did try them and I never used again. Every brand I talked about today I have in my closet and there is at least 2 if not more bottles of each brand. I love trying new brands and finding more go too's for my closet, it is like getting a present when it isn't even your birthday.
As you can see my home manicures are not mistake proof, and I have a few imperfections showing on my nails, but it gets better with every manicure, and the health of my nails is improving as well.
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