Nasty Habits and Nail Polish

Let’s face it, we’ve all got one habit we wish we could stop cold turkey. For me it’s always been biting my nails. I've been a chronic nail biter since my childhood. I am not exactly sure if it had to do with nerves or just something to keep my hands busy, but eventually I bit my nails on a daily basis. (Not pretty)

This year in May, I decided to go cold turkey and attempt to grow my nails out again. I’ve done this process more times than I can count and I’ve failed every single time- until now. It’s now almost the middle of July and I haven’t bitten a single nail. And the secret to my success has been one thing: nail polish.

I've decided to share with you some of my favorite and not so favorite polishes, each promising beautiful, hard, shiny nails. These are my top five nail polishes since I quit biting my nails. Feel free to leave your favorite polish in the comments. (Each polish was between $3-7 per bottle and purchased at Walgreens, Five and Below, and County Market with the exception of L.A. Nail Lacque and that was a borrow from my Mother)

1. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme wear: ***** This is my favorite polish. Even though it takes the longest to dry out of all of the polishes, I love that this polish lives up to its name. I can go over a week without having to do a touch up and that’s pretty impressive since I wash my hands and do dishes a zillion times a day. Plus, Pink Punk is my favorite shade.
2. Sinful Colors Professional: **** This was the first color I painted my nails with because it was actually the only color in my medicine cabinet. I have to say I really like how it wears and the color was really pretty for spring/summer. It was pretty fast drying but chipped off a bit sooner than I wanted. This color is called Outrageous. 

   

   The first day I painted my nails. Look how short they were. Gotta start somewhere!

3. L.A. Colors Nail Lacque: **** I gave this one a four stars because I could use it alone or create an American manicured look with it. It came in the color Pink Pearl and it dried really fast. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was how it didn’t really “thicken” with each coat so my nails still looked a bit transparent.
4. Funky Fingers: *** I loved this glitter based nail polish because it changed colors when you were outside. I loved that it was quick drying but was not a fan of how hard it was to come off of the nail. I even used a specific nail remover designed for glitter polish and it still took a long time to get off of the nail. I also felt like it left my nails in poorer condition that before painting them. (nail peeling and minor scratches to the nail.) Nail color is called Bling Dipper  

   

   This picture is a combination of  L.A. Nail Lacque and Funky Fingers 

5. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri: ** It did not hold up to the name. I felt like it dried quicker but not quick, if that makes any sense. I picked the color Snappy Sorbet to get an orangey type of polish but I felt it bled onto my cuticles and skin too easily and was hard to clean around the edges of the nail for a nicer finish. If I purchased this nail polish again, I would definitely try a non-matte looking polish color. (after discussing this polish with Misty, she agrees that it isn't the best nail polish but it makes a terrific toe polish!) 

So there ya have it. I hope this helps with your choice of nail polish and I would love recommendations on good polish and colors that are under a $10 budget. Please leave us a comment! Happy Monday!!!!