The Nail Essentials- My Favorites

Hi all! I am currently attempting to procrastinate finishing statistics homework... so I thought I would make a post about my favorite nail products. For the purpose of this post, I will be talking about things like basecoats, topcoats, hand cream. The nail related stuff that isn't actually nail polish.

First things first, my #1 must have:

Poshe Quick-Dry Topcoat!

This stuff dries within a minute on me, and I love it. It is thick enough that I usually only need one coat over a dense glitter to make it smooth, and it really helps extend the wear of my polish. I finally broke down and bought the 2oz + 0.5oz refil kit from victoriasnailsupply.com because paying $7 at Sally's was starting to feel a little ridiculous. And yes, you will have to use nail polish thinner to keep Poshe in its prime. But that's ok with me!

#2: Barielle Manicure Extender

AMAAZZZZINNGGG! First things first, I buy this at TJ Maxx or Marshalls for $3.99. Also it is a miracle worker, I still could never pay the outrageous prices on the Barielle website. Now, this stuff helps make polish last for days! I use it as a refresher on day two of a mani if I don't have time to change, and want to make sure my polish stays on. I have also started using it after I konad, if I used poshe to dry my polish before I started stamping. I get 3 days of wear out of any polish, even WnW!, when I use this stuff. Considering I can normally only gets 2 days without chips, that is excellent :)

#3: CND Stickey

Great basecoat for polishes that tend to chip. I find that it works really well with WnW, LA Girl and NYC.

#4: Sally Hansen Nail Quencher

Yeah.... we all know how awesome this stuff is. Since it has been discontinued, I won't go into how great it is. I may or may not have hoarded 3 backups of this...

#5: Barielle Nail Camouflage:

This is what I am using in place of SH NQ. It works really well for Sinful nail polish, which I know a lot of people have chipping issues with. Personally, Sinful wears the best on me out of all the nail polish brands I have. Again, I get this at TJ Maxx for $3.99.

#6: Barielle Professional Protective Hand Cream:

Another TJ Maxx find, this is the best hand cream I have tried. I apply this before I go to bed, and then put on a pair of gloves. After just one night, all the gross flaky skin around my cuticles was gone!

#7: Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Remover:

Love this stuff. I use the one in the pink bottle, but I have some of the pure acetone on hand too for glitter removal. It is not too drying for my hands/nails, and oddly enough it leaves behind a berry-ish scent that I strangely enjoy. Also cheap, and you can get it at Sallys.

#8: The Target Scrubby Tub

Cheap and awesome. My main method of removing glitters. It makes it so easy that sometimes I am tempted to use it to remove normal polish when I am feeling lazy...