OK, OxiClean does not exactly belong in a kitchen, but I couldn't help channeling Paula Deen.
For unknown reason, China Glaze Khromes left really ugly dark orange stains on my nails. One day I was doing laundry pretreating some stuff in OxiClean solution; and on a whim decided to try it on my nails. I dipped my hands in a laundry bucket, for about 30 seconds. Voila - stains were almost gone! That makes sense, since one of the OxiClean ingredients is hydrogen peroxide. I washed my hands immediately and followed by a heavy-duty moisturizer and did not see any adverse effects.
Lemons. I was making hummus (I make really mean hummus) and tried to squeeze as much lemon juice as possible. I was actually scraping the pulp with my fingers, squeezing out that last oz. About a minute inside the lemon made my stained nails absolutely clean. I'm talking "no stains at all" clean. I don't know why, but limes, which I tested while making Margaritas Mojito guacamole do not do the job as well as lemons do; yet I see a big improvement in stains.
If you want to try these tips, please exercise your good judgment. Do not stick your fingers into a lemon if you have the tiniest cut/scrape - it's gonna sting like a mofo. Or if you are allergic to citruses and/or any components of OxiClean. I'm allergic to the OxiClean dude, but it's OK - as I've said, no adverse reaction.
PS: I have had some pretty manis lately, but damn weather sucks. It was snowing today - for Pete's sake, it's GA!
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You might know that I'm a big, big fan of the silk patches from Sally's. They are cheap, they are easy to apply (or so I thought) and easy to maintain.
Have to tell you, I've been through a breaking spell recently. Couple of days ago I broke a nail on my right middle finger - opening a car. Who does that? Anyway, I was a very nasty break: my nail split both horizontally and vertically (you know, when it sorta splits in two layers). Not really reparable with the patches.
I was about to file all my nails down; and then I remembered Orly Nail Rescue - my good friend L. swears by it. To Sally's I went.
Long story short, I basically made a fake tip for the broken nail, in one minute. It looks really good and holds up very well.
You need to cover your nail with a special glue (this stuff reeks); then dip your nail into a white powder; then tap off the excess and buff. Done!
Definite pros, compared to the patches:
- it's faster; no cutting/sizing needed;
- you can repair these nasty little cracks here:
which is pretty much impossible with patches;
- you can use Nail Rescue as a preventive measure (actually, it was exactly what L. did before her vacation)
Cons:
- I do not see a "spot treatment" possible here; you have to cover the whole nail, no matter how small of a break you have;
- buffing is a must. I personally suck at buffing: I either overdo it or have unbuffed spots left;
- related to buffing: I still have rough edges close to cuticles - it almost impossible to buff in this area; so the overlay is somewhat visible (especially if you use Macro function of your camera and/or a microscope):
To conclude: I will probably use up the patches - they are really good as a spot treatment for the small, easy to reach breaks; but won't buy them again.
Couple of words about application and maintenance. I did all my ten toes tonight and instead of dipping them into the powder (what am I, a gymnast?) I sprinkled the powder over the glue. Worked out perfectly. Use non-acetone remover; acetone will dissolve Nail Rescue.
PS: Dear L., thank you so very much!
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Do you know this dreadful feeling - when you are watching a performance of a person you care about; and this performance is really, really bad? I hope you don't, but chances are, you do. So, you know exactly how I feel about Misa'a top and base coats.
Let's start with something positive. Well, I really like the names. BREAKneck and BACKbone, top and base respectively. Creative, but without a cuteness overload.
Now to the performance.
Base coat is available at Transdesign and Head2Toe for about $3. I cannot tell you much about this one - I use ridge-filling coats exclusively, so I don't know how BACKbone compares to other non-ridge fillers. Polish peeled off from one nail the very next day, but I don't know whether it was a top or a base problem. BACKbone has a red hue to it, but it's not noticeable on the nails. My guess, it's just to distinct a base coat from the same brand top coat, since bottles are identical.
Hard part. Top coat. It's marketed as "Fast-Dry Non Yellow Top Coat" and available from the same sources.
What does typical fast-drying top coat do?
a) dries
b) dries fast
c) smells offensively
Well, take out (b) from the equation and you got yourself Misa'a top coat. It does dry (a). Eventually. Let's say, my pedi was smudgeable (is it a word?) in 3 hours after I used BREAKneck. And it did smudge, indeed; and ruined my otherwise perfect pedicure. Call me a top coat nazi, but I do not like when top coat behaves this way. In addition to that, it pulls polish while being applied to the nail. It's weird, actually, for BREAKneck is watery thin and I do not expect something this thin to be a polish-puller. This product, thou, performs excellent in a smell department (c). As you can guess, I'm used to the smell of nail-related chemicals; but this topcoat is something really different. Seems like Misa chemists have tried to disguise an offencive, yet usual smell with some kind of pleasant aroma. This mix is no good.
Bottom line: do not waste your money, got a bottle of Misa polish instead and stick (no pun intended) to your regular base/top.
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