Showing posts with label Cuticle Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cuticle Care. Show all posts

Monday, May 8, 2017

6:00 AM

Simply Pure Cuticle Oil


     For some reason in the middle of March, I got the wild hair to try doing builder gel nails on myself. March 15th to be exact. For the life of me I can not remember why I wanted to do this but at the time I thought it was the best idea ever and had to do it right away. Now let's not forget I am not a licensed nail tech and have no formal training.  I just watched a few YouTube videos and made my sad attempt. And as a side note: Just because you see it done on YouTube does not mean you should try it at home. Consider that my little PSA for the day.

     Also,  I need to add that while I am an affiliate for Bliss Kiss nail products their affiliate program is on hold until further notice as of April 28th, 2017. I will not make a commission off of any sales during this time but wanted to add the affiliate link to my post in the event that the program gets reinstated.



    I have to say I was pretty proud of myself for doing a semi-decent job but regretted putting them on almost immediately. I felt like I had flippers on the ends of my fingers and I just knew that my natural nails would be trashed once I took them off. Which I decided to do about 2 weeks later on March 31st.


     Ouch!!!! I knew my nails would not be in good shape after removal but what I saw made me want to cry. Just look at that mess, not to mention they were thin and brittle too. How was I supposed to be able to blog about nail polish when my nails looked like this!

     After staring at my nails for 20 minutes, on the verge of tears, the entire time inspiration struck. I could do a thorough testing of my simply pure cuticle oil. After all if Simply Pure couldn't save this hot mess nothing could.

    I decided that I'd had the gel nails for two weeks so I would test for two weeks. I applied the oil in the morning before work and at night before going to bed. The only other products I applied to my hands during testing was some St. Ives Lotion. I tend to use hand sanitizer at least a dozen times a day at work and my hands tend to suffer from it. I did try to only apply the lotion to my actual hands and not rub it in around my cuticles like I normally would, but old habits are hard to break.

     After 2 weeks (April 14th) these are my results. Now keep in mind that I didn't do anything but apply the oil. There was no cuticle removal, nail painting or filing. And I'll warn you if you're expecting a miracle that's not exactly what happened, but I think you'll still be impressed with the results.


    You can see that my nails and cuticles are still in rough shape. But would you look at that nail growth! And the nails themselves while still being on the thin side look healthier. 2 weeks after finishing my experiment I closed on my new house and started the moving process. Sadly my nails are no longer this long. All the packing and moving did a number on them because they were still thin and a bit brittle at the tips. I can't imagine what the would look like if I hadn't been applying the oil to them so religiously beforehand. Once all the moving is done and the last few boxes out away I will do my full nail care routine but until then I'll still be applying Simply Pure twice a day. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Monday, November 17, 2014

6:00 AM

Blue Cross Cuticle Remover Review

*Affiliate Link*

     Today I'd like to share with you my thoughts on the Blue Cross Cuticle Remover. I picked this up at Sally's quite a while ago and it has remained my favorite out of all the cuticle removers I've tried.




     When using this product you do need to be a little careful. I have heard that people have had a burning feeling if they leave it on their skin for too long. So please test this out on a small area first before diving in. Thankfully I have not had a reaction. But I am careful to only do one hand at a time and I wash everything off in between.

     Blue Cross cuticle remover is a liquid instead of a gel or cream. I have found the best way to apply it is by dipping a Q-tip into the bottle and dabbing it around my nail.  After applying Blue Cross to the entire hand  I go back to the first nail and start pushing the cuticle back gently with a cuticle pusher. 



     Here is a picture of my nail before applying Blue Cross cuticle remover. I intentionally let my cuticle on this finger grow out for about 3 weeks so that you could get a good idea of how well this product works.  I know it's pretty bad, I can tell you it drove me a little nuts to let it get this way.



     And here is the after shot. The cuticle looks a little red but that fades away after a little bit. Especially if you apply some cuticle oil. I hadn't done that in this picture to give you a real look at how Blue Cross works.  I know this isn't a perfect nail, but in my opinion, it's 99% better. Now can you see why this is my favorite cuticle removing product? And a little bit goes a long way, so it's definitely worth its price and then some. I've been using this same bottle for over a year now and have barely made a dent in it.

     Blue Cross Cuticle Remover can be purchased at Sally's Beauty supply either online or in store for $5.99 or $4.99 with a Sally's card.

     Have you tried this product out for yourself, if not what is your favorite cuticle remover? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

8:42 PM

Get Naked Challenge results


     So as some of you may have read, I participated in a 3-day challenge using Pure cuticle oil from Simple Nail Art Tips.  Well, the results are in! But before we get to that, I have a few things you need to read.

     Ana Seidel of www.SimpleNailArtTips.com and www.NailCareHQ.com   has created a nut-free cuticle oil that I fell in love with after just a few applications. I have the "crisp" scented one and it is wonderful. Nothing too strong but also no medicine smell like other cuticle treatments I've tried. If you're interested in purchasing some for yourself you can do so here at PureNailOil.com.
The Initial Hydration Treatment was the Challenge that Ana put out for people to try. This is a 3-day treatment that requires you to have naked nails the entire time. These are the instructions that came with my refill order.

"Your nails will absorb the oil like a sponge so you will be reapplying frequently. It is best to use the oil bottle for this treatment. Otherwise, you will use up the pen in one day."
1. Remove all nail polish.
2. Brush oil all over your nail, cuticle, sidewalls and under your free edge of the nail.
3. Periodically through the next hour or two, rub the surface oil into your nails. Each time you do this your nails will feel less oily.
4. When you feel the oil has been absorbed and your nails aren't oily, reapply.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the first three days. When you get to the point that it takes your nails 4 hours or more to absorb the oil, you can move to the basic daily application.

     I want to remind you of what my nails looked like before I started the treatment.


     As you can see they were in terrible condition. Very dry and screaming for some TLC. The cold Minnesota winter has taken its toll on my hands this year. It would probably help if I wore gloves but I feel clumsy in them, and I'm stubborn.


     I have to tell you that I was a naughty lacquerista and didn't follow the instructions. I really couldn't with the job that I have. I was informed by my boss that since I mix paint and stock food for most of my shift,  he didn't want to run the risk of the oil getting into the paint or touching the food.

*side note* While the oil smells absolutely delicious it does not taste that way.
I may have found this out the hard way..... twice.

     So what I did was an application right away in the morning while I was getting everyone ready for school. On a break at work I would apply a small amount just around the cuticles that I could rub in quickly. About a half an hour before bed I would do another application rub it in slightly and then let it soak in for 30 minutes before crawling into bed.



     Unfortunately I had 2 nails break on Monday so I had to trim my nails down to nubbins during the challenge but the results are still clearly visible. The skin around my nails is softer, and not as ragged. My cuticles look better all around and the dry patches on my nails are gone. Even the natural nail coloring is better. I wish I was able to do the full treatment, I'm sure my nails would be in even better shape than this! My plan right now is to keep up the treatment schedule I have been using for the rest of the week and then resume my normal polishing. I am so grateful that Ana sent me a pen to try before this was available for sale. I really think this is a great product and know that once you try it, you will never want to use another cuticle treatment again.

     And now, just because I can, I'm going to leave you with a comparison picture of day 1 and day 3 so you can really see the difference for yourself.


Sunday, January 27, 2013

7:41 PM

The Lets Get Naked Challenge


     Now-now-now don't let the title fool you, I'm not trying to promote everyone stripping down to their birthday suits and strutting around. What I am doing is having naked nails for 3 days while I use Pure Cuticle oil from Simple Nail Art Tips. This stuff is seriously amazing. I first got a chance to try it last summer when Ana was nice enough to send me a sample before it was available for sale. I would apply it once a night while I caught up on my TV shows and before long I saw a huge difference in my nails and the skin around. What I didn't realize at that time was that I was hardly using any oil at all when I was applying it. That got me thinking.... if it could do such an amazing job the way I was using it, then it must do miracles when applied correctly. And then Ana offered up this challenge which can be found here.
   With the extremely cold weather, we've had here lately and the amount of swatching I've done my nails are in need of some serious TLC so I'm going to do the challenge. Here is a picture of my nails before starting the 3-day hydration treatment.

   As you can see these are in some pretty rough shape. I have peeling on my middle finger and they are very very dry. Even the skin around my nails is beaten up. I can't wait to see what they look like after I'm done with this challenge and I will post a picture of the results for you all to see.

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