Stiletto to Square

WAHHH. Okay so if you know me you know I'm totally obsessed with my nail shape. I used to call it almond, some people call it stiletto, but I now think it's a hybrid of oval and stiletto. Actually they're a little flatter and less pointy than I like them in the pictures below but if you look at my previous posts or follow me on instagram you can see slight variations in the shape. 

Tomorrow I'm starting a new (sort of) job at McDonald's. I worked there for two years before but it's been a year since I last worked there. The length of my nails wasn't a problem, and I'm sort of okay with the no nail polish rule. I mean it sucks of course, but I'll be making money so it was fine. I'm only allowed one piercing per ear though, and I have six on each ear. Taking out my lobe piercings, three on each ear, is easy but the others are a little more fiddly. If I'm gonna be constantly switching earrings around, it's gonna take around an hour each time with the length of my nails. SO I decided to chop them off :( They also were a little unhealthy from lack of care the past few days. 

I also needed a change. I love love love my nail shape but actually shaping them was getting a bit annoying. When I first got into nails the square shape was my favourite but it never lasted long because the "wings" always broke off. I decided to try square nubs again and then as they grow out file them round, then finally back to my original shape. 

I know my nails are going to be so much healthier like this and while it kills me that I have nubs (I think they make my hands look like man hands) I'm excited to, once again, watch them grow out. I'm also looking forward to trying some nail art that's more suited towards square nails and that would have looked odd and out of place on my original shape. 

I soaked my nails in warm water for a few minutes then used a pair of straight nail clippers to cut my nails. I cut them a bit longer so I could file the rest. When you use clippers you risk damage to your nails so I recommend cutting them longer so you can file down to the length you want. Then I used a finer file to smooth out the edges and finished by doing my cuticles. Sorry there's some cuticle messiness in the pictures above, I was too keen on taking pictures haha. 

XO Natasha 

Pro FX Product Reviews

Ever since I decided to take a risk and try Pro FX products I fell in love with them, and I haven't been disappointed yet! These babies are a whole 75ml/2.5oz... MASSIVE! You'll never run out. Here's a bottle. I feel like it looks smaller in my hand than they look in real life, but maybe I'm just used to them! 

Pro FX has 9 products, but I believe only 8 are available in Canada. I've only heard of the 9th on a blog I came across while trying to search for a Pro FX website, sadly, this does not exist :( 

The Pro FX products are: Long Lasting UV Top Coat, Quick Dry Top Coat, Complete 3, Mineral Botanical Strengthener, Protein Enriched Base Coat, Epoxy Bond Base Coat, Fiberized Ridge Filler, Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Quick Dry Drops. This last one I have never seen in stores but I really really want it so if anyone in the USA is willing to get it for me I will graciously pay for it as well as shipping, and even send you some goodies! 

There are 3 amazing things about Pro FX which in fact cover the entire polish. What I mean is that the bottles are huge, the price is great, and the quality of the product is amazing so you are literally (at least in my opinion) getting a PERFECT product! I've already told you the bottles are 75ml/2.5oz, so let me just tell you how much they are and I'm sure you will all be jumping up to go grab them asap! Drumroll please... Pro FX products are ONLY $5!!! Based on price to volume, you won't find another product with this amazing value. On top of great value, the products do exactly what they are meant to do and they give long lasting results. Like I said, this is the perfect product! Let me put this into perspective... a 15ml bottle of seche vite top coat sells for around $10 USD, meaning a price of $66.67/100ml. Pro FX 75ml bottles sell for $5 USD, meaning a price of $6.67/100ml... Pro FX is a TENTH of the price of Seche and I've actually heard of some ladies who prefer Pro FX over Seche! 

*** The only downside to Pro FX is they aren't big 3 free :( Sorry to the ladies who don't use products that aren't, or who are allergic! 

Long Lasting UV Top Coat 

This is the last Pro FX I added to complete my collection. Initially I would have bought this one first but then I saw Complete 3 so I figured I would just get that since it's an all in one - more on that in a bit. I heard excellent reviews about the top coat before I finally got to use it, so you can imagine how excited I was to use it with epoxy bond... the result would be a mani lasting longer than 2 weeks! There's nothing else to really say, this top coat is wonderful, quality top coat, and a top coat is perhaps the most important part of a mani. 

Quick Dry Top Coat 

Like the name suggests, this top coat dries really fast! I didn't time it or anything but it is significantly faster than any normal top coat. The thing is though, after a few uses this one gets thicker, as is the case with most quick dries. I find this top coat doesn't smear designs underneath as much so I'll use a coat of this, then put my UV top coat on. I do typically like to do a couple top coats, I just find it seals the mani in better, makes for a smoother finish, and makes it extra shiny! I also use it when I'm in a rush because if the polish underneath is still a bit tacky, I can put this on, cure it for 2 minutes in my UV lamp and I'm good to go. 

Complete 3 

This is the first Pro FX product I ever purchased! It was great for me at the time because I could use the same product as a top coat, base coat, and strengthener. Although this polish isn't exclusively a strengthener, I did notice a difference in the strength of my nails after one use. My mom also owns this because I recommended it for her and she loves it! 

Mineral Botanical Strengthener 

Other than my Sally Hansen strengtheners, this is my only other strengthener. As the name suggests, it's got minerals, and botanical just means that it's natural and comes from plants so it's not like this is going to hurt your nails at all. Trust me, this strengthener is amazing. Again, my mom bought it after I recommended it to her and she's very happy with it because being a mom her hands are constantly in water and she just has really weak nails. This helps her and she loves her now strong nails. 

Protein Enriched Base Coat 

Half the reason I bought this was to complete my Pro FX collection. I obviously knew I would use it but I wasn't 100% sure what exactly it would do for me. Its full name is Protein Enriched Base Coat & Revitalizer. Pretty much, it's similar to a strengthener so it's for sort of weak nails that need a little bit more protein. Strengthener is for weak, thin nails. Protein is for nails that are prone to actual breaking or splitting. The first time I used this I instantly loved it. My nails were a tad yellow from having so much polish on, so when I took my mani off after having used this base coat, almost all the yellow was gone! I noticed a significant difference and I rotate between this, strengthener, and my epoxy bond for base coats and the result is unbelievable. My natural nails are beautiful. Yes, they're a bit brittle and prone to splitting, but that aside, they're not weak or yellow at all! This protein enriched base coat will make your nails healthier. 

Epoxy Bond Base Coat 

I came across this beauty of a base coat when searching for Pro FX reviews. At the time I only had complete 3 and strengthener so I wanted to know what other people thought of it. So many girls were going on and on about how amazing this was and how their manicure lasted forever! So I got it as soon as I could and I gave it a try right away! I left my polish on for a week with this base coat and there was very minimal chipping - only because of washing dishes all the time. 

Here's a picture from my Instagram. These are my nails after a week of heavy wear. All you ladies who regularly wash dishes you know what the water does to our handsi and nails! 

 I use this on my friends a lot, and if they don't get their polish changed this base coat EASILY makes a mani last two weeks! If you're looking for extremely long lasting manis, I suggest epoxy bond and the uv top coat, I promise you'll see amazing results! 

Fiberized Ridge Filler 

Like the protein enriched base coat, I pretty much only bought this to complete my Pro FX collection. I don't have big ridges, at least not big enough that a base coat + 2 coats of polish + 1-2 top coats won't cover so I didn't think I would actually be using this. I wanted to test it out one day so I put the protein base coat on, and this overtop because I had some craters in my nails from splitting. Let me tell you, this works wonderfully! Even if you don't have ridges I recommend this because it just makes your nail so much smoother to paint on. The only downside is it takes a while to dry, but it's totally worth it. If you're like me and your nails split a lot, just put a little bit thicker of a blob where the "crater" is and wait for it to completely dry and your nail will be smooth to perfection :) I find my toes have big ridges so I love using this on them because it covers all imperfections! 

Apricot Cuticle Oil 

This isn't the first cuticle oil I've used and it's not my favourite but I wanted to try it out and again, I got it to complete my collection. My favourite cuticle oil is Sally Hansen's Vitamin E cuticle oil. The reason I prefer that over the apricot is because it's vitamin e. My cuticles are constantly dry and it seems the only thing that can keep them moisturized and soft is vitamin e. I use the apricot cuticle oil on my friends and they love it! Like all Pro FX products it's a great value for a great price so I can't complain too much and when it's summer again I'll be using this as I won't need to moisturize as much. 

Here is my whole Pro FX army! They're lined up like this in my Helmer and I love seeing them all when I go to paint my nails! When I show people they ask what they are because I guess so many oversized bottles looks a little intimidating!

I recommend these products to anyone and everyone because they've given me such amazing results. For top coats, I still do want to try Seche Vite but I'm in no rush because I'm completely satisfied with the top coats I have. I haven't used my OPI top coat since I got Complete 3 about 8 months ago (Maybe I should!) As far as base coats go, I will never go back to anything else! I love the strengthener, protein base coat, and epoxy bond. I also like the ridge filler as a substitute to Orly's nail rescue and who could live without some cuticle oil in a massive bottle like that! This whole set only costed $40+tax and as a broke university student I really do love finding products that have a great value with reasonable prices!

Nail Care

Our nails can be extremely tricky to work with. Some people are blessed with amazing nails, however I am not one of those people (so sad). My "claws" if you will, require a great deal of care and attention. I cannot stress enough the importance of caring for your nails properly! Every little thing you do affects your hands, simply because they are the most frequently used part of our body. 

The very first thing I will say about nail care is DO NOT BITE THEM! Seriously. I probably say this once a day, at least. Biting your nails is is an awful habit, and I'm glad I broke it many years ago. Not only is it terrible for your teeth (mine are all bumpy along the bottom because of biting) but it's terrible for your nails! It causes them to split and just in general makes them extremely weak. 

Plus, biting your nails to excess can cause pain because of how deep you bite them, and that's not pleasant for anyone. It also makes your nails way harder to paint, and they don't look as pretty :( I know everyone would prefer pretty nails over ugly ones! 

DO NOT BITE YOUR NAILS! I have a rule with my friends... I don't paint their nails if they've bitten them :) Seems to work pretty well! I should buy them all nail clippers and files hmm... 

Another major part of nail care is fixing weak nails. This is probably the most common flaw of nails. Weak nails can happen for numerous reasons. You may be lacking something in your diet, your body chemicals may just give you weak nails, or it's just part of your DNA. Not to fear though, this can be easily fixed! In fact, strengthening weak nails is the easiest thing to fix when it concerns nails. 

To fix your weak nails, first go out and buy a decent strengthener. I recommend Pro FX Mineral Botanical Strengthener - you can get this massive bottle (I'm talking 75ml/2.5oz) from Walmart for just $5 - what a deal! See my post on all Pro FX products here. It looks milky in the bottle but dries clear - a little textured though. 

If you don't want the Pro FX strengthener, I'd suggest Sally Hansen. Now, I'm all for finding bargain polishes, and some extremely cheap drugstore brands are still great quality. But when it comes to strengthener, don't cheap out. Spending the extra money is what will get you BEST results. (But like I said, Pro FX is super cheap and you get a ton so it's the best value for your money and I find it works just as well as Sally Hansen or other top brands.) 

To use strengthener, apply two thin coats. Then apply another thin coat every other day. Do this for about a week, until you've got about 5 coats in total (two the first day, plus 3 more from the other days). Once the week is over, take it all off and start again. This is if your nails are extremely weak and need a major intervention. Otherwise only apply a couple coats of strengthener every few days - in between polish paintings, or even as a basecoat. Strengthener is one of my favourite base coats, because it strengthens your nails while you still have a beautiful colour/design on top! 

Other problems with nails include: splitting and cracking/breaking/chipping. I grouped these last 3 together since they're so similar. There are many causes for splitting, cracking, breaking and chipping. Some of it may be due to genetics, or because of improper use of tools. My main problem with nails is splitting. Your nail is made up of several layers, and when your nails split, these layers are separating, causing your nails to become extremely thin, and unfortunately strengthener can't fix this as it's at the tip of your nail. 

Splitting makes nails look extremely ugly (at least in my opinion) because it creates a crater at the tip of your nail. There are a number of different things you can do to fix this. First of all, do NOT pick at your splitting nails! I know I'm guilty of this, and I really need to stop but I just hate that they always get caught on things! Try to file the split down so it's level with the rest of your nail and apply a base coat before applying any polish. 

• What I do for my splitting nails is apply a base coat of strengthener, then apply a coat of ridge filler that's just a bit thicker in the area where the split was so the whole nail surface is smooth and even. The strengthener will protect your nail in the meantime as you let your nails grow so you can slowly file down and remove the split area. 

Another solution is to just cut off all your nails so you remove the split tips altogether. This is extremely annoying though because I absolutely hate waiting for my nails to grow out again, but sometimes it's the only option. 

If you are completely against trimming the claws, you can invest in Orly's Nail Rescue kit. Or, if you already have the materials you can make your own "kit." The materials are: nail glue, acrylic powder, and a fine file. To use, put the glue on the split part of your nail (this also works for ripped nails!) and immediately dip in acrylic powder. Wait for the powder to dry, then file to blend in with the rest of your nail. 

Cracked, prone to breakage and chipping nails exist because the nails are too weak and dry. We've already discussed how to strengthen them, so onto how to make them less dry. First of all, you need to drink lots of water! Your nails are dry because your whole body is dry, lots of water every day will help this. Secondly, the frequency of your hands being in water dries out your skin and nails. Anyone who consistently washes dishes will be all too familiar with this, so the key is to moisturize after you've been in water for a long time. Actually, just moisturize a lot in general. Remember we're trying to make your nails/hands less dry. 

There are some products/tools that greatly affect the brittleness (is that a word?) of your nails. The first and most dangerous is acetone. Most nail polish removers are acetone based, because this is the ingredient that removes your polish quickly. If you use an improper technique to remove your nail polish, this can be the main cause of splitting. The proper technique is to stroke the cotton ball in only one direction: from your cuticle to the tip of your nail. If your nails are extremely prone to splitting and you're using the proper technique, you may want to switch to a non-acetone polish remover. This is what I've done because the use of so much acetone makes my nails extremely dry. 

Another thing that contributes to splitting/breaking is improper filing. By this I mean using a file with a very coarse grit. Finer grits are much better for your nails. Also, when cutting your nails, whether you use a clipper or nail scissors, make sure your nails aren't going to chip/rip. By this I mean you may want to soak your nails in water first so they're softer and aren't dry/brittle when you clip, causing chipping, breakage, or splitting. 

The last and maybe most important thing to help your nails (as well as not bite if you are a biter) is let them breathe. Give your nails a break every once in a while! I'm sure you all know lots of polish will make your nails yellow. They turn yellow because they don't have the proper nutrients since they're constantly suffocated by polish. Let your nails be completely free of anything - even strengthener - for at least one day out of the week. This is the best thing you can do for your nails since (believe it or not) they aren't meant to be painted! 

Hope this helps those who weren't sure why certain things were happening to their nails despite their best efforts to make them healthy. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below!