Nail Strengthener Review

Wow, I've been skimpy on posts. Bare with me, it’s nearly finals week so I'm reaching that edgy – panic mode when school seems like a looming, crushing monster about to eat you. I'll be back into the swing of things once my classes are over. T.T 

Unfortunately today I don’t have a polish to show you, but I AM going to do a review of Sally Hansen’s Green Tea + Bamboo Nail Strengthener. This review will probably span over a few days, so tune in later for results and such. 

A few months ago I noticed that my nails were peeling every time I took off my nail polish. So I tried giving my nails a break, and it really didn't seem to be working. I would cut them super short past the peeling areas, and when they would grow back, they would peel all over again. Super frustrating!

So I decided to try to use a nail strengthener and see if it helps me. I picked up Sally Hansen's Green Tea + Bamboo Strengthener, and here it is:

It comes in a 0.45 fl. oz frosted glass container, and a shiny green chrome cap. The brush is kind of long and it picks up a LOT of product, so be careful to wipe the excess off before you apply it to your nails. The directions say to shake it gently, and then apply 2 coats, letting each coat dry in between application. You can use this as a base and top coat so you can still wear color on your nails, but I wanted to use it clear.

The formula is a bit like really thick nail polish, but it was easy to control, and it still smells like nail polish but not as strong. I read somewhere online that to get good results with weak nails, you shouldn't use anything with chemicals like Ethyl Acetate or alcohol in it, and unfortunately this contains both in the first few ingredients.  

I used two coats on all my nails, and although it shows the ridges of my nail the product dries pretty glossy, so this is a clean, classy look if you want to go bare. Just make sure to carefully clean out your finger-nail beds, because that shiz gets nasty if you don't.

Ahh naked nail!!

This picture is super mis-leading because my left hand isn't as damaged as my right (go figure).  But there is some definite peeling, it's just not as visible.  To show you the visible damage, I edited this photo with a swanky little arrow. The area it's pointing to isn't glossy like the rest of the nail. It's wonky from the peeling. You might have to click on the picture for full size to get the idea. 

Well, that's my initial review of the nail strengthener. I'm going to give it a week and see if there's any improvement at all. I don't want to give my opinion on the Strengthener just yet since I don't have results, but so far I found it easy to work with, and it dried relatively quickly so that's a plus. 

This product was not sent to me for review, I purchased it all by my lonesome. 

Fatigued

Not much to say about today, other than when I woke up, I felt refreshed and happy. I haven't felt that way in a very long time. Normally I wake up half dead and miserable, and I feel like a zombie the rest of the day. Not today!! So in order to take advantage of my good mood, I have my day planned out and am ready for it.

I have a weakness for the nail polish that Target puts out, by Sonia Kashuk. It's probably the simple bottles they use, or the shiny silver brush cap, but I can't help myself! I changed my polish last night, and put on Sonia Kashuk's Fatigued.

When I bought this, I was positive it was a dupe for Essie Sew Psyched, but I've been looking of photos online, and I'm now convinced Fatigued is much darker (I'll have to get the Essie to investigate!). I'm sure they thought of this when they named the color, but this is the exact shade of Army fatigues. It's the same drab olive color that you'll find in any military surplus store. It's not my absolute favorite, but it's a good alternative for neutrals when you want something understated, but with a twist! Just look at this close-up: 

You might have to click on the photo to get the full size, but can you see all those tiny pink and gold and green sparkles?! They're not apparent until you get in full sunlight, and you have to look pretty closely, but it's so pretty! I saw a slight shimmer in the bottle before I painted my nails but I wasn't hopeful that it would show up on the nail. I'm glad to be proven wrong! Most of the time however, it looks like this:

Cloudy

And although you can't see the pretty shimmer all the time, it's still a great color. I probably won't keep it on for very long, but I'm a fan. 

So about yesterday. I said I was making a pie...well, I didn't. I bought a pie, cause I'm lazy. We ended up with peach! The BF picked it out, and although I had never had peach pie before, it was really good. It was much more tart than I expected! 

What I'm listening to right now: Fallin' For You by Colbie Caillat.

Cocktails Anyone?

It appears that the laziness I acquired over spring break hasn't dissipated yet. I'm still struggling to get motivated, and we only have 3.5 weeks left of school as of today. SCARY!!

Last Friday I painted my nails, and was a bad nail blogger and didn't take (really bad) photos until Monday. So all I have to show you are not fab photos of a not so great manicure. BUT the color was pretty :)

This is ULTA's Cocktails Anyone? Its a deep, vampy purple, and i loved the formula.  However, the color was really dark, almost black in normal light, and I'm not sure that I like that on me. I caught the reflection of my nails in the rearview mirror on the bus this morning, and it just looked almost too dark. This photo however was taken with a flash, and it really shows the blue-purple base of the color.

As much as i wasn't super excited about the color ON me, it looked fabulous in the bottle, haha. Sorry about the smudgy-fingerprints. I'm a slob. pah.

Tonight I'm making pie. It will be delicious, but I'm not sure which type to make yet. I love love love cherry pie, so that's a thought. I made muffins the other day too, which were incredible even though I didn't put them in paper muffin cups and should have. (The tops were ripped off when I took them out of the pan...woops). I used strawberries, walnuts, and cinnamon, and they were perfect for breakfast.

As I have a test in two days, so I'm going to go study, and hopefully I'll do well. Wish me luck!