Review: Sensi-Touch Lavender Nail Polish Remover Touch Up Kit

Im terribly sorry for the long post title. But not to fret, the post itself is short and sweet!
This is because this nail polish remover wipe does it job well and is pretty sweet smelling too!

This is the 2nd time I used this Sensi Touch remover wipe, also in the Lavender scent. It isn't too overpowering but leaves its scent behind after you are done wiping the lacquer off your digits.

Here is a quick look at the packaging:

Contains Aloe Vera extract which I fully agree it does and does a great job moisturizing my nail plates (unlike pure acetone). 

The instructions deserve to be heeded for the sakes of ease of use and to avoid messiness. 

In one sachet, there is both a piece of wipe that is already folded and a Touch Up Swab. 

The pointed ends make them good for cleaning the sides of the nail plate, where the wipes might not be able to reach. Also, it is good for under the free edge, for people with longer nails like me. I use the flatter end to clean the nail plates once more after using the wipe. 

The wipe is a piece of fabric that has high absorbency as evident from the moment I took it out of the foil packaging. It is thick enough for you to rub off layers of glitters (I tried the first time) only leaving some lint coming out of the wipe. It does not tear apart, thank goodness! However, of course, being a non-acetone formula, it does take a bit of scrubbing to get the glitters bits out. And having them stay on the wipe, unfolding the wipe and maneuvering it takes a little effort. 

I use one wipe for only my fingernails and to me, that's very good. I wont use the same wipe for my toenails simply for the fact that I think it looks and feels soiled enough LOL.

You can see how the moisture transfers onto my cuticles as well! Pretty neat I would say. Well, neat. As it leaves a film of moisture, I feel the need to dehydrate my nail plate with pure acetone or remover before I embark on my next manicure. Seems like a waste as Im pretty sure the moisture would do some (longer-term) good to my nails and cuticles. 

One thing to note, it does feel a little oily after use, and for that I tend to want to wash my hands under running water to rid myself of that feeling as much as I can. Might not bother you as much though :) 

Overall, this product lives up to its claims as seen from the packaging and I will recommend this as a traveller's item more than a daily use item. 

You can get this from Mei Mei Signature's, at a box of SGD12 for 15 sachets. 

Disclaimer: I remember one of the sachets was provided by Mei Mei to me for sample, the other sachet I cant remember how I got it :P However, this doesn't affect my honest and complete review of this product. :) 

Any questions for me? Email me at squovalicious (at) hotmail.com. Thank you!

SpaRitual nail system wear test + Effects of pure acetone

One of the things I was most excited to try out from SpaRitual has to be the TruBond system. It consists of a primer for natural nails, base coat and top coat. All specially designed, as the name suggests, for polish to bond perfectly with your nails to achieve a long-lasting, chip-free manicure/pedicure.

However, I was unable to get my hands on the full set then, so I tried the TruBond primer, Lacquer Lock Colourstay Basecoat and the Impeccable Topcoat. This is not intended to be a full review of the TruBond system sorry...

If you remembered my finger swatches sometime back with SpaRitual and a variety of brands of lacquers... It was done on this SpaRitual nail system.

These photos are taken at the end of 5 days of wear. With excessive scratching every night :P My nails usually chip in 2 days with tip wear from scratching...

The bubbling occurred when I used the top coat. Impeccable topcoat is pretty thick and my bottle had a lot of bubbling which I did not notice until... :/ 

Left hand suffers less tipwear as I scratch with my right :P

This is Nfu Oh #59 over a SpaRitual red polish.

The chipping was due to my picking at cosmetics labels on haul stuff. And I attribute the frequent chipping to my use of pure acetone remover. About this later.

I cut some length off my index finger here because of the tear. The polish flaked off where the tear was. And boy, it hurt. I have very thick nails actually so for it to tear... my nail must have been through great distress and is very brittle. (unable to bend). This is the result of pure acetone usage once again, as I have never used so much pure acetone in such a short time...

You can see some tipwear as well... and slight chipping at the tips too. This is after 5 days of wear. 

Overall I am pretty impressed with the system, although I mismatched them. Topcoat was glossy and SpaRitual polishes dried fairly quickly as well! As you can tell, my nails grow out pretty quickly in just 5 days and going with the same polish for 5 days is also the maximum for me.

I might go try out the TruBond system and report back with the findings. What say you?

*Pure Acetone usage

I realised that using it for a few weeks consecutively, about 3 times a week, my nail plate gets very dehydrated after even just one swipe of the solvent. And having not been consistent with LUSH Lemony Flutter, my nails were in a bad shape. Except that with polish on it, I cant tell. And the breakage is simply evidence of that. 

Now I have switched to using SpaRitual Fluent Extra Strength (with plant-based acetone) Polish Remover. Smells great, it's Italian Red Mandarin essential oil... and removed fast. I have tried it with glitters as well! I still use my pure acetone occasionally, but to finish up the removal I swipe my nails with the SpaRitual. And there's a distinct difference, the nails with pure acetone are matte and dehydrated. *shudders at the thought of them* Use pure acetone with caution ladies! Some have added glycerin to achieve a Zoya Remove+. Which do you prefer?  

pow wow nail art with OPI Alphine Snow + all my Daiso nail art enamels!

I planned for a simple manicure. Not wanting it to take me more than an hour to complete.

I bought OPI Alphine Snow, pure white creme, after reading all your raves about it as the best simple white creme polish. It took me about 3 coats to get an even finish, but I'm sure the user factor came into play :P

I took out my Daiso nail art enamels and grouped them up. Then I started doodling....

The dense silver polish is Mei Mei Signature's SueSha in silver. :D Dries matte but I did a Seche Vite. 

Many of my friends liked the little finger. What about you?

Was in such a hurry to complete it under an hour, I smudged it with Seche Vite :'(

Broke my index finger here so.. It's strategically hidden by the big-ass thumb! :P

I love this thumb!

Nfu Oh #65 quick swatch is on my index. Quite disappointed with the holo-ness... not what I wanted...

My nail broke because I scratched myself too hard at night... :/ Will show the tear in my nail plate next post. Alongside my SpaRitual wear test!

Thank you for the lovely feedback on my previous post :D 

I (heart) Orly (for their brushes and their colours!)

Yes, I decided to show my love for Orly by dedicating a manicure to Orly, using their colours, Green with Envy, La Playa and Ole. These are cremes and they go well together I must say! For the white, I cheated with my Daiso nail art enamel :P

2 pairs of hands, 2 kinds of look.
Would love to hear your comments!

If you see a little shimmer on the green (index),  it is from a FaceShop sheer green shimmer polish :) 

And the shimmer on Ole is from a Daiso iridescent polish too :P Wow, thats a lot of cheating I did!

I love this look more than the other one actually. Was surprised at how I could make these little 'prints'. Reminded me of those prints on chiffon tops... hmmm. 

I'll be back with more!

Del Sol Trick or Treat + Burnt orange glitter with holo dust

I wore this look for almost a week mostly because I was dreading removal. 

I painted my nails with a clear base after base coat and stuck each finger into a pot of burnt orange and holo glitter. It came out nicely coated. I used a fan brush to brush off the excess glitter and to smoothen out the surface a little.

Then I applied 2 coats of Del Sol Trick or Treat (2010 Halloween polish). It is a orange glitter and holo glitter dust in a colourless base... (not under sunlight, that is).

The base colour turned into a charcoal smokey black jelly base in sunlight!

For more pizzazz, I added INM Northen Lights Silver Holographic topcoat :P 

I swear it is more stunning in real life! I had people asking if VIBE sold this polish instore as I wore it while I was working then. heh. The glitter pot costed me 90cents but I can no longer find it! :( sob.

It started chipping after 4-5 days of wear. So it was time to change! 

OPI My Private Jet (latebloomer version) + INM Northern Lights Silver Holographic Top Coat

Hola!
This is one of my back back dated posts and it is a look already spotted by many nail bloggers out there, attempting to re-create the lovely My Private Jet holographic version (newborn version, I'd call it).

I do not think mine looks good, though I did two coats of the silver holographic topcoat, wanting to add more pizzazz to the holographic factor. :S

Here's it:

Looks rather luxurious in real life, I was told. I like how the MPJ had a smokey feel to it, prior to the addition of INM. It is a charcoal brown, true to the colour seen on the bottle. 

Application was great, I did two thin coats to get a nice even finish. Was smooth, although there were little holographic particles in the lacquer. I topped of this manicure with Seche Vite.  

Nothing beats the newborn version of MPJ!!!

China Glaze Metro: Skyscraper + Barry M polish freebie

I got this China Glaze polish when I bought one of the sets from the Fall Metro collection.

It is a blue jelly base with silver glitter. Dont think I have anything like this in my stash but yet again, Im not saying that this is very pretty...? :P

It does feel a little gritty without topcoat on but I also like how the blue is build-able with layers. 

This is a Barry M polish I picked up as a freebie from a UK magazine some months earlier... 

Dark blue-grey base with silver round glitter of various sizes! Pretty gorgeous actually

Shiny as well. And in the above picture you can see how the glitter is being reflected in the bottle...

However, it is made in China and it stinks. Very much. And the bottle, the words come off easily... :/ 

The bottle feels a little lighter than the Barry M Lemon Ice Cream I have. The glass is obviously much thinner...

But the polish is gorgeous and unique to me! So... it makes up a little for me...

With China Glaze Midtown Magic...

Now... here comes the Matte...

Barry M looks good matte!!!! And Im still not too sure on the Skyscraper. Probably looks good as a gradient with TINS The Neptune...

Thank you all for the comments :) It makes me happy!

China Glaze Metro: Midtown Magic vs OPI Burlesque: Teasey Does It

Fall is here and so are dark, sultry shades. Here are two of my new favourites and Im breaking them out for this swatching post!

Left: Midtown Magic, Teasey Does It

Midtown Magic has gold, brown, reddish and green sparkles in a dark burgundy base.

Teasey Does It is a smokey looking polish with a classic wine coloured  and gold flecks of shimmer packed in a plum base.

See the gold speckled shimmer? Lovely...

The bottle shot shows a slight duochrome. For such duochrome to translate to your nails, you better pray they are curved nicely :P

The green sparkles so obvious in Midtown Magic's bottle.

It's a myriad of speckled shimmer really. Complex but not too much.

Now... how do they look matte?

Still as gorgeous! :D I love such finishes... And so after I was done swatching, I had on my OPI Here Today Aragon Tomorrow Suede polish :P

Which do u love?