better than natural

After Sally Hansen Natural Shine didn't quite give me the shiny nails I was looking for, I couldn't help but browse the makeup aisle at the grocery store for a replacement.  When my roommate called me out on looking at makeup instead of picking out juice I quickly grabbed the nearest pale pink Rimmel shade and moved on without giving it much thought.  This little bottle turned out to be everything I hoped Natural Shine would be.

Stronger, a strengthening and hardening base coat with lycra, gives the most gorgeous lacquered shine with one coat- hard to believe this is meant to be a base coat.  Where Natural Shine was kind of too clear, Stronger has a touch of ultra-fine shimmer and looks a little milky with two coats.  If your nails are in good shape, this is a great product to get a subtle, French mani effect.  Plus, it dries completely in two minutes, masks any flaky skin along the nail bed, and lasts for four full days before starting to chip.  My nails are even a little less brittle after two weeks of use.  At around $2, this is definitely a steal.

road test: sally hansen natural shine

My manicurist back home was a firm believer in nail polish, used in moderation and not re-applied every few days, as a way to protect nails from harsh winter weather.  Until I moved to Central NY I found that to be true and could generally maintain my nails on a manicure scrub and coat of Revlon Sheer Snowflake Pink or Essie Ballet Slippers once a week.  But now that we've had a couple weeks of rain/snow and it's down to 9 degrees outside, I'm finding even using nail polish remover once a week is too harsh.  It seemed like the perfect time to try one of the new vitamin-packed protective nail polishes.  I opted for Sally Hansen's Natural Shine Instant Nail Finish because it boasts purse-portability, speedy drying time, and all sorts of beneficial ingredients from white tea to Vitamin E.

But to really put this product to the test, I packed it along in my messenger bag for a week to see if this product is really an on-the-go fix for beat up nails.

Sunday- Applied two coats. The low-viscosity gel dried to a buffed look with one coat and a reasonable shine with two.  One caveat: the dead skin on my nail beds wasn't masked at all; clear polish usually does the trick, but not so with this product.  I should have used a manicure scrub beforehand.
Tuesday- It was starting to look a little flaky on the sides by the cuticle, so I applied a quick and stealthy coat in about a minute during a coffee break at work. I was concerned the fumes would give me away but it was dry enough to type after about 30 seconds and was completely set in about a minute. After a dab of lotion my nails look perfect.

Wednesday- The temperature dropped and wrecked my cuticles, so I experimented with using a manicure scrub with the polish still on.  My cuticles looked great and it didn't seem to wreck the polish at all.

Friday- By the end of work the area around my cuticles was chipped beyond repair, so I removed it.  My nails seemed a little less brittle, but not much.

Overall this product's fast drying speed is a huge bonus, but it really didn't do anything to mask the dry skin at my nail bed.  If you're not a big polish wearer, I would definitely recommend this for a quick spruce-up before an event but you'll only get a perfect manicured look if you use a scrub before application.  If you like the look of lacquered nails, this product is probably not for you.

For a No-Fail Mani/Pedi

'Tis the season to bear those toes proudly. But if you're like me, you fail at keeping your polish looking nice and can't stand it when it gets dull and begins to chip but can't stand to attend a special occasion without making those toes presentable. That's why the only bottle of polish I own is Revlon's Snowflake Pink.

Nude polish is my favorite; it's probably because I'm obsessed with ballet, but I just can't get over the look of a well done nude or American manicure (a sheer and less ostentatious version of the French). But nude polishes always go seriously streaky on me, which just bugs the crap out of me. While reading through an old issue of "Glamour" I found an article on the best nude polishes for every occasion, Snowflake Pink being recommended for weddings because of its micro shimmer. After checking the reviews on makeupalley.com for potential streaking issues I decided to give it a shot, figuring I'd take advantage of RiteAid's cosmetics return policy if it turned out to be a dud. It turned out to be the best polish I've ever owned.

One coat looks like a slightly glinty clear, due to the fine icy shimmer. It dries in minutes, so it's perfect if I have eight minutes before an event and want my nails to look nice. Two coats gives me the perfect slightly milky clear that I wish my nails were naturally. Three coats looks like one coat of more opaque nudes, but with nary a streak in sight. Plus, the shimmer is completely unnoticeable except with close scrutinizing but adds to the shine beautifully- a bonus because it keeps the polish looking nice after the shine begins to wear down after a few days. I'm not an expert on how long polish lasts because it all chips on me after a few days no matter what I do, but this is definitely some of the longer lasting polish I've ever used- it lasts 3 or 4 days chip-free, compared to OPI which lasts 2-3 on me if I'm lucky. Pedicures last about two weeks before looking slightly terrible, and that seems reasonable to me. And because one coat is basically clear, it can also be used to mend nylons. Whether you're a polish fiend or an earthy girl who generally can't be bothered with cosmetics, this is the versatile every season/every outfit nude polish that is totally worth owning.