Hey ho! Hope you have all had a lovely weekend, the weather has been lovely yet again all the more reason for us girlies to spend less time waiting for our nails to dry and more time wrapping our freshly painted paws around a cool glass of wine. Anybody who knows me knows I am probably the most impatient girl in the world. I mean, I totally have time to pamper myself and I absolutely LOVE painting my nails but I HATE waiting for the to dry and I hate putting so much effort in only for them to chip after 24 measly hours. Since being younger I have always taken the time to paint my nails each night, and I have always loathed that painful wait in between putting the colour on and showing the colour off.
Now that I spend a lot of my time at working I don't have as much time to paint my nails. I most definitely don't have the time to do it every night. I've been on the hunt for a polish that will last a fair few days and also a product that will cut the time I have to wait for my polish to dry right in half. And if I found something that gave me a little extra that'd be even better!
Firstly I'll talk a little bit about the not-so new but AMAAAZING Barry M Gelly, Hi-Shine polishes (£3.99). The first time I tried these colours I was really unsure because I felt like I literally had to pile the product on in order to get my desired colour. However after giving a few more colours from this range a little try that is definitely not the case. I find the colour goes on perfect when applied properly, two even coats should be enough to give your nails the beautiful POP they so deserve. I literally could not love these polishes anymore and for someone who loves a good gel manicure these little babies are most definitely the next best thing at half the price. The varnish is super shiny, the colours are perfect and these babies usually last me around 3-4 days without a single chip. When I use these varnishes I sometimes can't stop looking at how pretty my hands look, okay when I say sometimes, I mean all the time. If you're like me and love shiny, beautiful, bright nails then these Barry M polishes are definitely for you.
Secondly we have the Maybelline, Forever Strong, Super Stay Gel Nail colour £4.99. A mouthful right? This varnish comes in only a few colours and claims to give a shiny, long-lasting (7 days to be exact) gel effect to your nails. Let me start by saying in no way, shape or form did this product last 7 days. In fact I had peeling nails within 2 days. Which for most isn't bad but I do however think that if a product claims to do something in particular and if the company are using this as a major selling point for the product then it should at least have lasted more than two days. I found the colour really nice and really easy to apply and with the lovely wide brush, and you barely need two coats as it's so vibrant and really glides on well. For me that's where the joy ended. I tried everything I could to get the varnish to last, gloves for washing up, top coat, base coat, no top coat no base coat and nothing. I also found that after a few uses my nails became really dry and brittle a few even starting to splinter. This varnish is definitely a no and for the price isn't worth it. I haven't bought any other colours since.
On to the quick drying products. I decided that I'd try three different types in order to see what type of effect they would have during and after the drying process. I chose a quick drying spray, an liquid and a varnish.
First up is Elegant Touch Rapid dry for nails, with vitamin E. This is an aerosol (with quite a lovely scent) and set me back a mere £2.99 from Boots. I find this product easy to use and it does the trick although claiming to take on 60 seconds I did feel I needed a little bit longer before the tackiness of the varnish had gone completely. I do like this product however I find it takes the shine away from the varnish so you end up with a bit more of a dull version of the colour you started with. This product did not dry out my nails which is a massive plus however I don't feel as though I'd buy it again simply because I have found something just that little bit better.
My second choice is Sally Hansen, Insta Dry top coat. This cost me £5.99 again from Boots which I got as part of a fabulous 3 for 2 deal. This is my favourite of all the products I tested because it's simply fabulous. This is a quick drying varnish which sets your colour as well as acting as a high-gloss, anti-chip top coat. After waiting for around 2 minutes for my actual varnish to dry a little I then applied the Sally Hansen top coat and within another minute or so my nails were dry and suuuuuuper shiny. My varnish lasted again around five-ish days after use and not a brittle nail in sight! This is most definitely my go to product and I'll be stocking up even before the one I have runs dry.
Last but not least we have a quick dry spray from H and M, £2.99. I do like this spray because it's quite oily and is brilliant for any dry skin around the cuticle area. However, I don't think this spray is anything special but the fact it doesn't claim to work miracles is great because it doesn't exactly what it says on the bottle, it's a quick drying spray that will set your nails in around 60 seconds and that's it. I probably wouldn't buy this product again but that is because again I have found something that works best for me.
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