REVIEW: Skinfood Pine Nut Cuticle Oil

8ml of cuticle oil that moisturises and nourishes the nails

~MG~

Before I go on talking about this product, let me share with you a little (embarrassing) history of myself. Everyone who knows me in the past knows that I am someone who always have super short nails with bad hangnails. My cuticles were real nasty. I couldn’t stop myself from peeling it, which eventually will end up bleeding and resulted in uglier nails. My fingernails were not ladylike at all! In the past, I could not keep long nails, I couldn’t stand the how it looked, often times yellowish at the tip. I could not be bothered to paint my nails because 1) I do not know how to paint my own fingernails, and 2) Even if my nails were painted, it would chipped off in 1-2 days!, 3) I am too lazy to go to the nail shop for have it painted. However, all these changed when I wanted to prettied-up myself for a wedding celebration and decided to try out Gelish manicure! I was amazed at its long-lasting power! Thanks to Gel manicure, I could now have lady-like fingers! Long colourful nails with healthy cuticle! No more hangnails! I feel more like a real lady now! Ever since I did Gel manicure, I kept going back to the nail shop to beautify my nails. To fully ensure that there will be no return of hangnails and ugly cuticles, I decided to include using cuticle oil in my daily skincare routine. Before flying off to Seoul this recent February, I did a research on Korean cuticle oil and this Skinfood’s Pine Nut Cuticle Oil took the top of my cuticle oil ranking. However, it was not easy getting this product. Not all the Skinfood stores carry the Pine Nut Cuticle Oil. But I was determined to get it! And when I finally found it, I bought 2 at once! Kinda wished that I bought more but AG always make fun of my beauty stock. She always joke that with the insane amount of new beauty products in my beauty stock, I could open a cosmetic store! I use this every night as the last step of my night skincare routine. I would brush a thin layer of the product across all my cuticles and slightly massaged it. After using this cuticle oil nightly, my cuticle looks even healthier! My Gel nails could now last up to 4 weeks instead of the usual 2 weeks, without it chipping off. To help your painted nails to last longer and without any chippping, it is important to have your cuticles moisturized. It has been 4 months since I have started using the product and it still have 1/3 of the product left. Thus, this cuticle oil is a super value for money because it only cost around 5,000KRW (~ SGD 6)! I would recommend all ladies with manicured or non-manicured nails to start using the Skinfood’s pine nut cuticle oil! The next time I see this cuticle oil in store, I would definitely go home with more than 2 bottles!

Photo Credit: Skinfood Pine Nut Cuticle Oil

Nail Polishes Haul

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat and Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Twin Set in Birthday Suit

~AG~

Since my younger sister was going to the States, I decided to do a little online shopping. A little haul from drugstore.com. The first product on my shopping list was Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. It retailed only for US $7.09 (~S$10). This quick-dry top coat was introduced to me by the manicurist at Seasons Nail Bar. Seche Vite Top Coat is very chip-resistant and long-lasting, plus it dries up very quickly. My pedicured toenails did not chip off at all, even after 4 weeks. I managed to save S$10, because Season Nail Bar was selling it for S$20.

Another nail product that I purchased was the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Twin Set in Birthday Suit. drugstore.com was having an offer, and it was retailing for US$ 12.79 (~S$18). I just found out that it would have been cheaper to buy it in Singapore; Guardian sells Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Twin Set for S$16.90. The twin set comes with a gel color and a gel top coat. I love gel nails for its long-lasting and durability, you do not have to wait for it to dry nor worry that it will chip. With that being said, going to the nail salon to do a gel nail can get pricy. Plus, too much gel nail application & removal can be harmful for your nails. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel claims to give 14 days of color and shine. This a great at-home option, plus you do not have to cure it with a UV lamp. 

I cannot wait to try out these nail polishes! Stay tuned for my review of them!

REVIEW: CND Shellac Gel Manicure @ Seasons Nail Bar

~AG~
 
The first week of December, I headed to Season Nail Bar at Shaw Center to do a classic gel manicure and classic pedicure. Since I have an existing packaging with them, I thought it will be good to use them before the year ends. In 2015, I only managed to get my nails done there 3-4 times. Previously, I have tried their GellyFit and Tiffany gel manicure, and was very satisfied with it. This time, I decided to try the CND Shellac. The manicurist told me that CND Shellac is less harsh for the nails as it requires no buffing when removing it. The CND Shellac gel nail will supposedly "slide off" when you soak it off. I do find that my nails become brittle after a gel manicure. My nails are usually strong, and do not break easily. But after the removal of gel nails, my natural nails became noticeable weaker. I had to paint on a hardening nail polish for protection. That is the only downside to getting a gel manicure.

On the upside, a gel manicure can lasts a minimum of 14 days without any chipping. It is great for people like me who cannot maintain their usual manicure for more than 2 days. The manicurist claimed that CND Shellac Gel Manicure lasts as long as GellyFit and Tiffany - 14 days of wear. Sounded good, all the benefits of a gel manicure, without the nail damage that comes with it.
Though, Seasons Nail Bar required me to pay an additional $5 for CND Shellac compared to our gel nail. This additional cost I did not appreciate!

The application of CND Shellac Gel Manicure is similar to that of other gel manicure. EXCEPT that, you have to put your nails for 2 minutes under the UV lamp for each time. I remember other gel nails not taking that long, probably 30 seconds or so. The manicurist told me that CND Shellac requires the use of their own CND Shellac Base Coat and Top Coat. Whereas other gel nail brands such as Gelish or GellyFit can use base and top coats from other gel nail companies.  

After 5 days of wear, no chipping of nail color was noticed. My nails were still as shiny! Though, I have to say that my nails had a slight chemical smell 2-3 days following the gel manicure. I did not notice such chemical smell when I had done the JellyFit and Tiffany Gel Nail.

A natural taupe color

Shiny nails after 5 days of wear

During the soak-off process, it took about 20 minutes to thoroughly remove the gel nail. The gel nail was removed easily after 10 minutes of soaking it in acetone-filled cotton. There was no buffing required to remove the gel nail. Yay! What the manicurist claimed was true! My nails also did not feel brittle after the removal of the gel nail. Double Yay! I will definitely do CND Shellac Gel Manicure again. Though the color options available for CND Shellac is limited at Seasons Nail Bar. The colors available at Seasons Nail Bar are mostly nudes, pinks and other natural shades.

Nails Inc Spray Can Nail Polish

~AG~

So excited when I heard about this! It sounds too good to be true. Great for people like me that cannot sit still and wait for their nails to dry. A shame that it is not readily available in Asia yet. For now, it is only available in the UK.  

Say hello to spray on nail polish - the world's fastest manicure!  Perfectly polished nails are only a spray away! Get ready with a base coat, spray over the nail area and then wash your hands to reveal a show stopping manicure. Paint can has been designed for those time-poor nail fans who are on the go; simply spray onto the fingertips and the polish adheres to the basecoat. To remove the excess polish, quickly wash away from the skin with water or cleansing wipes. And viola, perfectly applied polish in a heartbeat. Apply topcoat for endured wear and a glassy finish.

Nails Inc Spray On Nail Polish