these two beauts are ‘field fox’ and city scape’
Nail polish that sticks around longer than your blow dry!!!!
If I could add up all the hours spent doing my nails in my lifetime…well it would amount to another persons lifetime I suppose. Not a whole lot of that is from the last few years though – motherhood takes a lot of those luxuries off your to-do list! I’ve only just started painting my nails again and I’m loving it. I little bit of grooming or self care inevitably makes us feel good about ourselves. I always found doing my nails really calming and I’ve missed having the time to do stuff like this. So glad to be finding the opportunities once again…
My new obsession for nails has to be CND Vinylux (they’ve been around for years but I’m only discovering them now!). CND do a gorgeous line of Shellac but I’m not so keen on the idea of being stuck with the same colour for weeks. I was introduced to the Vinylux range on one of my visits to Lemons in Clontarf and I was instantly smitten. Check them out here – this gorgeous shade is ‘Grommet’…
When I did start DIY-ing my own nails again I had to go back to the drawing board slightly. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t get anything to stay put on my nails for more than a day or two but in fairness my nails were so weak and peeling (due to the fact that they get washed about 20 times a day, coz you know – kids!).Too much water and not enough TLC is the double kiss of death for pretty nails so I got my hands on the latest magic gloop from CND which is the Rescue Rxx. This was made to bring weakened or damaged nails back to life. It contains keratin protein which bonds to your nails to strengthen them and sweet almond and jojoba oils to replenish the moisture for both nails and cuticles. I used it twice a day every day for the first month and my nails really came back to their old strong selves. I don’t grow mine particularly long as my preference is short and groomed rather than ‘show stopping long’ but even relative shorties need the love. A surprising thing about this is how good it smells (that’ll be the sweet almond oil) – not something you expect from a nail product . Rescue Rxx is priced at €21.95.
Good nails thrive with good cuticles and to keep them in check you really need to keep them well moisturised by using a good oil and I think their ‘Solar oil’ offering is the business. It absorbs really quickly so you’re not left with greasy paws while you wait for it to disappear! A very reasonable €14.95 for the large bottle and it will last you for a long time.
One thing you will need to really extend the life of your polish is the all important top coat which is €11.95. Theres no base coat as such to apply, you simply paint your bare nails (a quick buff is always a good idea to blitz any ridges) with two coats of colour and pop this on top. Drying time is pretty quick too and definitely faster than regular nail polish. Under ten minutes should do it! And not to labour the point but this is a real plus for mothers of small kids as it’s not the painting but the drying time that most of us have a problem with when we use regular polish.
It’s a brand that claims to last for a full week without chipping or peeling and I can testify that they are pretty much true to their word. I got a full week when I had them done in the salon and only took the polish off because the regrowth at the base was starting to look a little dodge! Unfortunately when I do them myself I don’t quite get the same results but it’s still far better than regular polish – somewhere in the region of 4 -5 days and that ain’t bad at all. I am getting better at applying though and the more care I take and the stronger my nails get, the longer the polish lasts.
CND Vinylux is available in tonnes of great salons and spas all over the country and it retails at €11.95 a bottle.
NB All the CND products I used and discussed were sent by their pr company. Just a reminder – I’ll never speak about any product in glowing terms unless I really mean it!
