Go Nails: 1 Product to Lengthen, Strengthen and Improve Your Nails

While we all want to have great looking nails (yes, even if you don't get regular manicures chances are you still keep things neat and tidy), not all of us are blessed to have strong nails that look great. So, what is a girl to do? Try out all of the different nail treatment products that go on underneath nail polish? Just start taking prenatal vitamins?

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Product I'm Dramatically Overusing: Poshe Cuticle Care

Did you ever become so obsessed with a product that you want to using it, about 10x more each day than you probably should? But you really just do not care that you're overdoing it? Because you're addicted to the product?

Well, that's me right now with this cuticle cream from Poshe. It contains alpha hydroxy acids which help exfoliate your cuticles over time, keeping them in shape. Not a replacement for a cuticle remover, more of a maintenance product. And yes, you can overdo it with the AHAs, as evidenced by the slight stinging I had yesterday after my 10th application (I washed my hands and was fine, probably more like 2-3 applications a day max is reasonable.) I told you I was addicted to this stuff!

Well, with reasonable use of this product, I have flawless, hydrated cuticles. No more ragged edges, no painful hang nails.

And if you're thinking, didn't Christine write about a similar product before? Yes, I did. I admit that I fell off of the Cuticle Eraser band wagon after a year or so. Why? Suddenly all of my tubes separated into white clumps and oil. It was gross. The Poshe is more hydrating, creamier and I've had no separation issues. I prefer the Poshe over Cuticle Eraser.

Poshe AHA Cuticle Care

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Essie's Good to Go: The Fastest Drying Top Coat I've Tried

That's right, it's definitely the fastest. You probably know about my nail polish obsession (I have hundreds, I'm very particular about what products I use and I'm sometimes found over on the MUA Nail Board). So, you know that I've definitely tried nearly every top coat/base coat/treatment product for nails!

While Essie makes many of my favorite nail colors, I have to admit that I'd pretty much only tried their non-yellowing top coat, the ridge filling base coat and left it at that. I'd discovered Stickey and Bonder basecoats and fallen in love with my Seche Vite by then. But, recently I decided to give a few more Essie treatment products a shot.

With my love of a quick drying mani, the first product I picked was the Good To Go. Essie promises that it is the "Fastest Drying Top Coat" and while I haven't timed it against every other product on the market, it is most definitely the fastest I've tried!

I'm one of those people that applies their polish coats without waiting for them to dry. I do my base, 2-3 color then top coat. This top coat dries all of these layers within about 5 minutes. They aren't 100% dry, but definitely dry enough to go and do things like empty the dishwasher. That's twice as fast as my Seche Vite!

The shine is a little bit less than Seche Vite, but is still pretty comparable to other top coats. When I did a head to head comparison for wear against Seche Vite I did have a little bit more tip wear at day 5 with the Essie, but both hands developed major chips on day 6 requiring a polish change. So, not much difference!

I think for such a dramatic difference in drying time this is a great product to pick up!

Essie.com

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Artemis Woman Heel Smoother: The Lazy Girl's Pedicure!

Almost exactly a year ago I told you about my new found love for the Artemis Woman Heel Smoother. This is a great product that I'm still loving and thought needed to be mentioned again with my "pretend" month of pedicures.

In the last year I've cut back a bit on my use of the heel smoother (I'm not using it about every 3 weeks or so), mostly because it can be very easily overused. It's very easy to use, I sit down in the shower and use the tips on my heels, any rough spots but mainly on the cuticle area. It makes quick work of smoothing my skin with very little effort. Truly, I do have to be careful to not over do it, as I just end up prone to blisters if I'm not paying attention! I love that my Heel Smoother is waterproof as well, making it very easy to use in the shower and rinse off afterwards.

Artemis Woman Heel Smoother


Great News! I have 1 Artemis Woman Heel Smoother to giveaway! I've decided to make this a short contest, so enter now!

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Nailtiques Oil Therapy

While it might seem that there are a lot of cuticle oils on the market, I can definitely say that they are not all created equal. Most seem to leave an oily film on my nails. Even worse, they dull my polish and do not hydrate my cuticles, which is why the oil was put there in the first place! If you can find one that sinks into your cuticles and doesn't mess up your mani then a decent smell is just an added bonus!

Well, one product that I'm really loving right now is Nailtiques Oil Therapy. This cuticle oil is really a collection of 10 different natural oils, with a faint apricot smell. It has a brush just like a nail polish, making it very easy to apply! Simply brush on, then rub in. It really does sink right in, really hydrating your cuticles. It actually does stay a bit on your mani, but rather than dulling it I ended up super shiny.

In fact, this oil has quite a few other uses besides cuticle hydration! When a light layer is applied over my polish I noticed that my drying time was cut almost in half! Really! This is also a great option for particularly rough skin areas, such as elbows and ankles. I've been using this on an old blister on my heel (darn those cute new shoes!) which has now softened up quite nicely due to this product.

Ingredients:
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Helianhus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Prunus Persica (Peach) Kernel Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) kernel Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Jugians Regia (Walnut) Seed oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid, Fragrance, Red 17

Nailtiques Oil Therapy

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SpaSensials Moisturizing & Deep Conditioning Treatment for Hands and Feet

I have to admit that I'm becoming more and more of a germ-phobic person. I suppose that you would be too if you had my job, but that phobia is beginning to spill over into many of the choices I make in my "normal" life. Now, while I'm not lathering myself up in anti-bacterial gel every 5 minutes (there are some in the infectious diseases community that think this just selects for resistent bacteria), I am someone who tries to make good choices. One of those choices has been to not buy those gel gloves and socks that are in every store this time of year. I just look at those socks, imagine the sweat and heat building up, and the pseudomonas and staph multiplying like crazy... Yeah, not a pretty picture! I'm not putting my hands and feet into anything like that.

So, until now I've had to make do with very time consuming treatments. For my feet I've been using Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Foot Cream under socks overnight. On my hands I'll occasionally use my Paraffin Wax home treatment and my favorite hand cream, Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. While these treatments work, they take a lot of time and planning. I have to leave socks on overnight, the parrafin bath takes 4 hours to warm up and melt the wax, and the hand cream is great but not very intensive. Sometimes a girl just wants to be pampered but without the time commitment. Or, perhaps you have an event you need to wear your strappy heels to, but your heels are dry and cracked and you only have a few hours until the event...

Well, there's a new product line that is perfect to solve those problems! SpaSensials are disposable socks and gloves that have been infused with a deep conditioning treatment. All you need is 15 minutes! Just slip these on, continue to do whatever you're doing (though they are a bit slippery, please don't walk on tile and you likely won't want to do much with your hands). You can stop at 15 minutes, or leave these on longer if you want. Just throw them away when you're done! They are made out of paper-like material that reminds me a lot of some of the disposable things we use in the hospital, and they won't stand up to repeated uses.

So, do they work? I tried out both products for 15 minutes. The socks gave me soft feet that were similar to the way my feet feel when I've used my foot cream a few days in a row (a rare event, I usually only do this once every few weeks). The gloves gave me the same moisturized feeling I get from a paraffin wax treatment. I'm not going to stop using my lotions and paraffin wax bath. However, I think these are great when you don't have time to do your other usual treatments. They're also perfect for all of the holiday parties that you're sure to be rushing off to this year!

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Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

As you can tell, I have a bit of a nail polish "obsession" (according to my dear husband). Along with taking care of my nails, I also try to take very good care of my cuticles. The biggest part of this is most definitely moisture!

One of my favorite cuticle products is one that I discovered by accident about 7 or 8 years ago, when I still lived in Michigan. At the time, Burt's Bees was rolling out nation-wide, and it was still pretty hard to find in the Midwest. I remember walking into a gift shop on Main Street in Ann Arbor, and finding a small display of Burt's Bees. I was so excited to finally see this brand I had been reading so much about, I knew I had to buy something! The display was small, pretty much only some carroty (is that a word even?) lotion, a waxy chapstick and the cuticle butter. Given my attraction to all things citrus, this was the obvious winner.

I love this product! It comes in a little tin, making it incredibly easy to carry with you everywhere. It is waxy, but has a pleasant lemonade smell, and when a small amount is applied to your cuticle area your body heat will melt the product, making it very easy to rub in. I find that this product is really great to use after washing your hands, it really seals the moisture in. The main downside is that due to it's waxy nature, this can build up on your nail surface, dulling your mani. However, it is easily washed off with simple soap and water.

Luckily for all of us, Burt's Bees is much easier to find these days! Pick one up for your purse today!
Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

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Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

I've always had issues with my cuticles. Whether they were dry and ragged or full of painful hangnails, I could never seem to trim them enough, keep them moisturized enough or fix them to be what I considered to be "decent."

That's all turned around due to my new cuticle remover, Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover (Buy the blue one! They make a green one as well, which is fine, but I like the blue one more.). Don't let this cuticle remover scare you! The packaging says it removes cuticles in 15 seconds, but if you have it on longer it won't dissolve your skin away. I like to use this in the sink. I simply apply a small amount to each nailbed, rub it in and then run my thumbnail over each cuticle. It quickly and painlessly removes any excess, and with regular use (about every 1-2 weeks) and daily use of Creative Nail's Cuticle Eraser Cream, I don't have to cut my cuticles any longer. Simply wash off with hand soap. As a bonus, this stuff is cheap and very easy to find.

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

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Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser

I'm not sure that too many people outside of professional nail techs and my fellow obsessive nail junkies over at MUA's Nail Board know about CnD's Cuticle Eraser. I love this stuff. I carry it with me everywhere in my purse, I have it in the kitchen drawer, I even have it in my night stand drawer and I apply it every night before I go to sleep!

This product is fantastic. It is a blend of AHA's meant to very gently exfoliate your cuticles and the surrounding skin. Simply apply a small amount to your cuticle and rub it in, no need to wash off. I also apply enough that I can rub it into the sides of my nail bed and the tips of my fingers. I try to apply at least once a day, and in an ideal world I would do this 2-3 times a day. Since using this cream my cuticles have been in much better shape- they are much less ragged, I once was plagued by painful, almost daily hangnails (they are no more), and even the tips of my fingers no longer peel!

While Cuticle Eraser is not a total replacement for a good cuticle remover (review coming soon), I do have to say that daily usage of this cream has dramatically improved my hands. Cincyfan over at All Lacquered Up also recommends using this on your feet to keep your pedi looking fresh this summer. At only $3.95 for a 15 ml tube at Head 2 Toe, there's no excuse for not stocking up!
Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser at Head 2 Toe Beauty

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Artemis Woman Heel Smoother Pedicure Device

I went to Target a few weeks ago intending to purchase the new Oil of Olay thermal foot scrub. I literally was standing there with the $10 bottle in my hand when I turned around and saw this Pedicure gadget. I've checked this out before on Amazon, and recently Courtney at Champagne Tates on a Beer Budget also reviewed it. I was pretty excited too see it in person there at Target. When I saw that it was $1 off, and only cost $18, a quick cost analysis resulted in the Heel Smoother in my basket rather than the Oil of Olay.
I've used this a few times now, and I love it! It's best used after a shower, I actually just sat down in the shower and used it. This gave me a great spot for all of the dead skin to come off and it was easy to rinse off the Artemis. And really, there was a lot of dead skin coming off! After about 10-15 minutes total, my feet were incredibly smooth and it was so easy!
Artemis Woman Heel Smoother Pedicure Device

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