OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener with Color

I am always changing my nail polish color out and everyone that reads this blog knows that my nails always seem to need some extra TLC (especially in the late fall and winter months).  I recently started to get one manicure a month, I had dismissed them for years as a waste of money especially since I tend to change my polish color almost every other day.  My view was changed once I saw how nice my natural nails would look once they were filed nicely and my cuticles were cleaned up.  I use mostly OPI shades in the salon and my stylist recommended one for me to use at home and continue to look and feel of salon manicures.

Cue the backstory.  The first time that I got my nails done, I was asked why I kept my nails so short.  I replied that I often cut them all when one or two break and then I keep them all short.  She recommended that I try a good nail strengthener and use it at least twice a week.  Her favorite is the OPI Nail Envy and I loved that it is available in some of their best selling shades so I can use it alone instead of only as a base coat.  I started by buying one shade and am considering the original clear base coat on one of my next visits. 

The Ulta website provides a description of the product and the benefits that can be reaped with the use of it.  "Nail Envy Colors - strength in color.  Original Nail Envy is renowned for strengthening natural nails with hydrolyzed wheat protein and calcium. Now Nail Envy is available in three favorite, classic OPI shades plus one exclusive shade to add a tint of color to nails while strengthening them.  With Nail Envy Colors, your nails can be harder, longer, and stronger - beautifully!"

I didn't know that one of the colors was exclusive...now I have most bottles that I will want to get.  The available colors are:

- Hawaiian Orchid - medium cool pink cream
- Samoan Sand - pale nude cream
- Bubble Bath - pale pink cream
- Pink to Envy - clear with a pink tint

I bought the Bubble Bath shade, I have used this shade for a few months already and had it on frequent rotation in my polish line up.  Using the Nail Envy was a no-brainer on this, I can combine the shade that I love with the benefits of the best selling base coat.  I can already see a difference in the length of my nails after using it three times and I can click them on hard surfaces with ease now (I could never do this before or they would break).  The Hawaiian Orchid shade would be pretty for spring and summer so I will want that shade but not right now.  My next shade will be Samoan Sand and I am on the fence about Pink to Envy.  I will either love or hate the way this tint appears on the nail so I might need to try it in a manicure first.

photo courtesy of OPI

Butter London Hardwear P.D. Quick Topcoat

I have been playing around with the Butter London Base and Topcoats over the past few days and I have used them in all different kinds of ways to determine how high quality these products are.  I wrote a very favorable review on the Nail Foundation Basecoat the other day and I loved how I could it by itself for a natural look and then under nail polish to anchor the shade.  My favorite way to use it was actually alone, I loved the pretty finish that it gives my nails and I have now used it with and without the topcoat over it.  The topcoat makes this great basecoat even better!

The Sephora website has been my go to for Butter London lately, Ulta has been sold out of most of the products each time that I go and the exchange rate is just too horrid for me to even consider ordering from the Butter London in England.  So I tend to hope that Sephora will have what I want in stock and know that they will email me quickly when items come back in stock. 

The Sephora website states, "A quick-dry, ultraglossy, chip-resistant top coat.  Hardwear™ P.D. Quick Topcoat protects the layers of color beneath it and gives a super shiny finish. Nails look wet, vibrant, and freshly painted even when they are dry. This expert formula protects your lacquer, significantly extending the life of your manicure.  In case you were wondering, P.D. Quick stands for "Pretty Darn Quick!" butter LONDON™ is a new-era design house, creating extraordinary moments in color by living on the inside edge of fashion. butter LONDON does not add formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP to any of its nail formulas. It's color without compromise."

We will look at this product in two ways; first how it performs as a topcoat and then how I use it in conjunction with the basecoat from this polish line. 

As a topcoat, this product performs very similar to most high quality topcoats.  It helps to keep polish shiny and allow only very minimal tip wear for about five to six days.  I found very little difference between this product and the topcoats that I have used from Deborah Lippmann and China Glaze.  I really can't say that I have ever seen that much difference between most topcoat formulas and they either perform well for about five days or they don't even last two or three days.  This is a solid topcoat formula but I can't say that there is anything special about its performance in this aspect.

Like with the basecoat, I prefer to use this product without  a colored nail lacquer.  The combination of the top and basecoat provides a lovely natural finish to the nails with a nice shine.  The combination is easy to wear with any type of style and provides a low maintenance approach on busy weeks.  Two coats of the basecoat and one of the topcoat is the perfect formula for this and I can see myself using this approach a lot. 

I love the combination of the base and topcoats and I would love to see these product recognized for the look that they create together, I want to see Butter London sell these two products in a set and then explain how well they work together.  This combination creates one of my favorite nail looks and will be one that I can wear for many years to come.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Butter London Nail Foundation Flawless Base Coat

Yesterday we looked at a brand new (to me at least) nail polish brand called SpaRitual and today we are going to continue to trend of nail polish and products.  My latest Sephora package arrived last week and I ordered two new products from Butter London that I was very excited to try.  I ordered both the base and top coats from Butter London and have been using both of them to see how well they enhanced the performance of my polish and its wear.

I go through top and base coats like water, I use one or both of them with nearly every single manicure and pedicure and am always looking for new formulas to try.  Today we are going to look at the base coat from Butter London and we will then follow with the matching top coat in the next few days.  I started with wanting to ordered the base coat alone but then decided to throw the top coat in my online cart at the last moment to see how they work when used together.

My obsession with this base coat, Nail Foundation Flawless Base Coat, started a few weeks ago wen I was reading an issue of Vogue.  The article that I was reading focused on the models' backstage beauty habits before they go out on the runway.  This was the base coat that many of the manicure artists used on the models but then the article went on to say how many of the ladies then bought this product for themselves to use alone for simple matte manicure.  Sine you all know how much I love to wear pale cream polishes on my nails, this polish appealed to me right away and ended up in my Sephora shopping cart within a few hours.

"A basecoat that hides and smooths tiny ridges and imperfections in the nail giving a wonderful result to the look of your lacquer.  This silk-finish, stain-resistant basecoat provides the perfect foundation on which to paint butter LONDON™ nail lacquer. The non-toxic formula has a matte effect that’s so beautiful, you can also wear it alone.  Butter LONDON is a new-era design house, creating extraordinary moments in color by living on the inside edge of fashion. Butter LONDON does not add formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP to any of its nail formulas. It's color without compromise. For brilliant results, use butter LONDON lacquers with the corresponding butter LONDON base and topcoats. When used together, the products last significantly longer than a typical manicure."

I have this product both of the ways that were suggested and this is one of the best (if not the best) base coats that I have ever used, I love that I can use it alone or with other polishes.  When used as a traditional base coat, it helps to create a smooth finish for polish and I love using it to smooth out the ridges in my nails.  My nails are awful with ridges and this helps to improve the wear of my polish and improves the overall texture.  When worn alone, it creates a nude hue on the nail with a sheer matte finish and lasts for about three days without any type of wear issues.

What way do I prefer this base coat?  I really don't know which way it works the best, it is a very nice base coat formula but I am just tickled pink that I can use it in multiple ways and brush two coats on when I need a quick low maintenance manicure.  I think this is officially my new favorite base coat and based on the fact that it was out of stock on the Sephora website for two weeks after I read the Vogue article, I will order another bottle of this polish for a back up when mine starts to get low.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Creative Nail Design Solar Oil

I use hand cream every single day, often more than once a day.  However this time of the year, not even the best hand cream can help my hands and especially my cuticles.  I complained about my cuticles for the past few weeks until my friend gave me a small bottle of cuticle oil that her stylist had given her to try out.  Apparently she felt that I needed it a bit more than she did...

What she gave me was a bottle of Creative Nail Design's Solar Oil, one of the product most often used in manicures and a star on the Makeup Alley Nail Board.  "A synergistic blend of naturally light oils and Vitamin E, designed to deeply penetrate and protect skin and nails.  Jojoba Oil carries Vitamin E deeply into the skin to help reduce visible signs of aging.  Naturally light oils keep skin soft and supple.  Keeps natural nails, nail color, and nail enhancements tough and flexible.  Repeated use drives oils deeper into the natural nail.  Super-penetrating formula conditions skin and nails."

The most positive part of this product is that it works exactly as designed, when rubbed on the cuticles at least once or twice, it helps to soften them and greatly improves the appearance of dry, ragged cuticles.  I use this on bare, cleaned cuticles and then layer my regular hand cream on top, I don't recommend using them in the opposite order since the oil wouldn't be able to pentrate through the hand cream barrier.  It smells very pleasant, the Sweet Almond Oil in it is responsible for the fragrance of the product. 

This product is formulated with Vitamin E and Sweet Almond Oil, both of which are very effective.  But considering that they are the two major ingredients, this isn't a very unique formula and the same type of effect could be achieved by buying the pure oils at a health food store.  Not to knock this formula but I really think that it could be more complex if the company wants to treat it as a unique product and give the consumer a reason to only purchase this formula. 

This product only has one downside but it is pretty large, the product must be used every single day in order to keep the hydration levels the same in the cuticle.  I forgot to use it one night before bed and the next morning, my hands looked exaclty like they did before I began using this product, I would love if there was a product that would actually keep the hydration levels constant since I will end up being a slave to this product if I don't want my cuticles to be awful for the next few winter months.  I can see myself using through bottles of this product really quickly...

photo courtesy of In Style.com

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

The past few weeks, I have been talking about my new China Glaze obsession and along with all the polish shades that I have been ordering, I made one practical purchase of buying a new top coat.  I had finished up my last bottle of Deborah Lippmann top coat so I was looking for a new product and decided that I should add a bottle to one of my Sally Beauty Supply carts when I was checking out more polish shades.  So far this top coat is just adding to my China Glaze obsession and is giving me even more reasons to continue ordering more bottles of this brand.

The top coat that I ordered was the Fast Forward Top Coat, a product that turns my nails very shiny while protecting them from the elements.  "Fast Forward Top Coat penetrates and dries all layers of nail polish quickly.  Dries in 60 seconds.  Leaves lacquer with a glossy finish.  Good for natural and acrylic nails.  DBP, Toluene &, Formaldehyde Free." 

I use this product every other day on top of my manicure in order to help prolong my polish.  I tend to change my polish at least three times a week so I don't always need to apply a top coat over my polish since I change it before it has a chance to really chip off.  The aspect of this polish that I use the most is the shine factor, this top coat makes my polish very shiny and is perfect over deep reds and jewel tones.  It makes my deep blues and silvers new car shiny, exactly the way that I like to wear them. 

I can't say that this is the best top coat that I have ever used since I barely keep polish on long enough to really give them the test of wear.  I tried it out over a pale pink shade and it kept my the finsh chip-free for about five days but it didn't really go any longer than that.  When I pick out top coat, I mostly look for at the shine factor first and then the long-wearing factor second.  I love that this polish has a huge brush and covers my whole nail in two strokes, it is easy to apply and dries quickly so it is very easy to fit it into my daily routine.  The face that it dries quickly and makes my polish really shiny makes this is a great top coat for me and it makes me want to try some of the other China Glaze nail treatments out too.

photo courtesy of China Glaze