Nail saviors

Hello hunnies! I don't have a manicure for you today so I thought I'd tell you a little something about my 3 musketeers - my three nail saviors. :) 

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, than you probably know I wasn't posting any manicures up until August, last year. The main reason behind this was that I never really wore nail polish much and during the 3 years at college/faculty, I wasn't allowed to wear nail polish on my nails or even have long nails for that matter (I'm a future nurse - so you know what I'm talking about). But when I was done with all of my 'internships' I started to venture in the polish world a bit, mustered up the courage and decided to post my first manicure. The rest is history and I think my nails haven't been bare more than 2 days straight since then - I seriously love to wear nail polish now. :)

One of the reasons I started to wear nail polish were also my soft, weak nails that broke much too easily. They always looked super nice with seriously white tips (people always thought I had a french manicure done), but I couldn't have long nails because they would just start braking, one after the other. So, that was initially the reason I started painting my nails - to make them a bit stronger. And I have to say that really worked, but... my nails soon started to layer and look a bit dull (which I wasn't really happy about) and here's where these three miracle workers came in... :)

♥ Essie Grow Richer - Because I was new the whole 'nail painting thing', I never used a base coat underneath my nail polish (no wonder my nails started to hate me). When I noticed some serious layering and tearing going on with my nails, I decided I need to get something asap. I was searching for Essie's Nourish Me because I read so many awesome reviews, but when I came to the store, there was no sign of this base coat ever existing so I ended up grabbing the Grow Richer 'version'. Later I read they were supposed to be the same thing, under a different name, but it seems they are actually two separate products (correct me, if I'm wrong)? Plus I've seen a Grow Stronger and a Grow Faster version on the internet, so I don't know what's what really. :) Anyway... the Grow Richer base coat is seriously amazing and really makes my nails grow faster and well, richer. It did really help with the layering as well, but it didn't stop it completely... that honor goes to Nailtiques. :) 

Price: around 10 € in our drugstores

♥ Nailtiques Formula 2 base coat - I found this base coat on BeautyBay, it was one of their best sellers. After reading a ton of amazing reviews, I decided to get it and see what all the fuss was about and oh boy did I see it... I noticed an improvement after just a couple of uses. It really makes my nails stronger and it stopped my nails from layering completely. :) I don't use it all the time, because this is a protein base coat and it's not good to use it nonstop (they also have a Formula 1 base coat, which is a 'milder' version and is supposed to be used after your nails have been repaired with Formula 2 and Formula 2 Plus which you can use, if your nails haven't responded to treatment with the regular Formula 2 verison). I just exchange the Formula 2 and the Grow Richer from Essie - one week I'll use Formula 2, the next week Grow Richer (and it also depends on the state of my nails). 

Price: the 7 ml bottle is currently 11.40 €, the big, 15 ml bottle is 18 €

♥ Seche Vite Dry fast top coat - Now this stuff is seriously amazing! It's the best top coat I have ever tried and it makes my manicure last up to 11 days(!) with only a little tip wear. It's a clear top coat that's a bit gooey in texture but applies easily. It gives a wonderful shine to your nail polish and protect is from almost anything - I can do the dishes, shower, plant my flowers... and the nail polish just stays put, looking like new. Now, I've heard some people say that it messes their nail polish up, kind of 'shrinks' it form both sides. I've had that happen to me only once and it was only on one nail because I applied to much top coat. Other than that, it works like a charm every single time. Amazing stuff!

Price: I got the single bottle for 10.20 € back in August

Another reason why my manicures last that long on me and look like new a week or more later, is that I really take my time when I'm doing my nails - sometimes I'll do them for up to 2 hours. I'll file them down, clean them, make sure there are no sharp edges (which can make them tear and break), then I'll apply my base coat, wait for it to dry, apply my nail polish (normally I do two layers and always wait for each layer to be completely dry and I always coat my tips with nail polish - very important step!) and only when I'm done with the nail polish, it's dry and I've cleaned up around the nails, will I go for my top coat and finish up everything. After I apply the Seche Vite top coat I wait for quite some time before I do anything, because even though it dries really fast it is still a bit soft and can be damaged. 

So, here you go... my nail saviors and also a bit about my manicure 'routine'. It turned out to be quite a long post, I hope I didn't bore you. :) Do you use any of these products, if not, what do you use?