Current Loved Nail & Hand Care Products <3

My nails have been weirdly strong and long lately, so I’ve been mindful to keep them tidy and keep up the good condition! I don’t know if it’s the Vida Glow I have a been taking (a marine collagen supplement) but either way, I’ll report back on the Vida Glow another day. Whatever it is making my nails healthy, I need to keep them tidy and neat for work. I’ve started to file them a little differently also, keeping them oval but a little pointed at the tip (so trendy I am, I know!). You may have noticed that over the last few months, I barely do any ‘Nails of the Day’ type posts, and that’s predominantly because I started to get shellac manicures, but the place I was getting my nails done wasn’t doing a good job towards the end, so I decided to try and remove the shellac myself (thrifty!). Big mistake – I didn’t do a very good job… my nails were a bit damaged as a result AND, the salon contributed to this, by filing down my nail bed every time I went in, which made my nails thinner I think. I gave my nails a loooong break after this from all types of nail polish. I was too busy with life to fuss with regular nail polish and only went back to my trusted Revitanail nail strengthener after some time (I wanted my natural nails to ‘breathe’ for a while). Now that I can shape them to my hearts desire and I’m getting better at doing my nails myself, I wanted to share with you some nail care products that I am loving 🙂 They are pretty ‘basic’ but sometimes, finding good quality basic tools and products can be hard.

Manicare Crystal Nail File – This crystal glass nail file (I’m not sure what crystal glass is, but it feels ‘tough’ and strong) is the bomb! It’s sharp in the sense that it files nails easily and smoothly, but it isn’t rough like a regular nail file that’s made of ‘sandpaper’ (I clearly do not know all of the correct terms here haha). You can quickly get the nail shape you desire and if you don’t have nail clippers and need to quickly shorten your nails without destroying them completely, this nail fail will do the job without wincing! Because it’s glass it costs more than sandpaper, but it is so so worth it. You can get yours at Priceline for $20 (there’s a 20% off sale on all Manicare goodies right now too!) or any chemist that sells Manicare. Note I took it travelling with me once, and despite being packed into my toiletry bag nice and ‘tight’, it broke in half. So it really is glass.

Revitanail, Nail Strengthener – This stuff is known all of the shop, because it just works. It’s a little ‘industrial’ in that sense and Dr LeWinn (who make all products found in the Revitanail line) suggest using the strengthener on and off via a ‘program’, but to be honest, I don’t do this. I do give my nails a ‘breather’ from this treatment after a few weeks, but then I just go back to it. I use it either on it’s own or as base coat underneath coloured nail polish. Two coats is what you need for the strengthener to build almost like a resin coat over your nails. It protects them from damage really, really well, and in this time, they have a chance to grow strong. It also dries very quickly, which is awesome if you are a little impatient! It’s a little expensive, but worth it. You also get 30ml of product, which is a lot for nail polish! They have a smaller 14ml sized bottle (good for travel perhaps!) but I just always buy the large size so my mum can use it too. It’s not cheap coming in at $29.99 for 30ml, BUT it definitely lives up to it’s acclaim 🙂  If nothing work for you and you have thin, brittle nails that never grow long or strong, try it!

My nails currently 🙂 Base coat: Revitanail Nail Strengthener, Nail polish Colour: OPI Samoan Sand, Top coat: Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

Revitanail Ultra Hydrating Serum – I think I received this nail serum as part of a trial of some sort, agggges ago, and I’ve only come to appreciate it recently. This serum isn’t a traditional ‘cuticle oil’, it’s a gel, so it sinks into your nail bed and softens cuticles without leaving a greasy residue behind. I’m doing my very best to massage it into my nails whenever I change nail polish or take off worn down remnants of the nail strengthener, before putting on a fresh coat. I find I use this more often knowing it’s not oily, because I don’t need to worry about staining things after using it and I can apply my nail strengthener really quickly afterwards. The beads melt into the skin and your nail bed very easily. The white beads are vitamin E, while the purple beads are jojoba & ‘L22’ (a combination of jojoba, macadamia oil, glycerin, squalene, amongst other ‘things’). The serum smells of coconut, despite not containing any coconut in the formula (it’s just a fragrance). It is moisturising and hydrating, which is the most important thing. Another plus, is that it dispenses through a pump! I don’t know if it’s helping keep my nails healthy and strong (probably is) but I feel good after using it, because it’s a step I’d usually miss back in the day (I’m lazy after all). I hope using a nail serum or oil becomes a habit of my ‘nail care’ routine eventually 🙂 Here’s the bummer tho… I think it’s been discontinued 🙁 It may have been replaced with the Keratin Strengthening Serum because the Hydrating Serum also contains keratin. You may be able to still find it at some Chemists however, because I found it online at Wollongong Pharmacy! It’s a shame if it is discontinued, but this one 15ml bottle will last me a long, long time at least. I’ll probably try the Keratin Serum once I’ve run out of this stuff.

Ingredients of the Revitanail Ultra Hydrating Serum 

Hello Kitty Hand Cream – This could very well be any hand cream in the world – hand cream in any form is just a must if you want your hands and nails to look well kept and happy! I bought this Hello Kitty hand cream in a pharmacy in Hong Kong (ironically, the box says ‘to be sold only in Korea’ ha!) because it was so cute! It contains Shea Butter, mineral oil, jasmine, lavender and rosemary extract and Japanese raisin fruit tree extract (this is a newbie!) amongst other things. Despite the flower and herb extracts, it doesn’t have a particular scent, which surprised me a lot. Because of the mineral oil, it forms a nice protective barrier over your skin but it isn’t greasy at all. It sinks in quickly and nicely, and most of all, feels soothing and hydrating (I have quite dry hands, so some hand creams just don’t cut it). It’s such a good basic, hand cream, I’m bummed I didn’t buy two. It wasn’t expensive either, I payed somewhere between $10 to $20 Australian dollars for it, from memory. I also believe it’s been discontinued (sorry Beauties, I didn’t plan this well did I!) because it’s not available on YesStyle anymore (or anywhere else). BUT if you do find it anywhere, snap it up!

Ingredients of the Sanrio Hello Kitty Shea Butter Hand Cream

That’s it for today Beauties! Some of my basic but favourite nail and hand care products at the moment 🙂 What are yours? I’d love to know what hand cream you are using at the moment and if you use a nail serum or oil for your cuticles! I’ll be sure to let you know about some more of my nail and hand care favourites soon! 🙂

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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