Seeing as I've been asked many times before about how I keep my polish looking good while spending so much time in the water, I thought I'd write up a short post about the products I like to use :D
First off, I will say that personally chlorine doesn't seem to affect my polish at all. It is more a case of getting chips when hitting the walls or lane ropes or other swimmers! Maybe I'm lucky, but it must also help I change my polish very regularly... although I've worn China Glaze Blue Sparrow for 6 days straight before with only a few small chips! Anyways, here are some of the products I love using:
Base coat: I usually pick between Barielle Camo and Sally Hansen Nail Quencher Hydrating Base. I've used Nailtek II Foundation and Precision Base a few times and they were ok, but not my favorites. I've also recently received Seche Base but haven't tried yet.
Top coat: My favorite top coat remains Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. Other ones I sometimes use are Sally Hansen MegaShine and Oh So Wet, but I usually only use these after my Konad. I remember reading that Poshe is supposed to last longer in chlorine than some other t/cs, but I've never really like it personally. EDIT -- My new favourite is Out The Door, and it wears really well for me :D
So these are my personal favorites, and they seem to work really well for me at most times :D Let me know if you have any questions!
I still keep meaning to try the SH Nail Quencher base coat and you've reminded me again!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great base, but it's more like a gel so you need to apply a little differently to avoid bubbles... Like a little thicker maybe?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's the chlorine specifically, but your nails swelling in water and then drying that messes up polish, same as when you wash dishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this little post, I go swimming all the time and my polish always wears away.. I now have some new stuff to try on my nails to see if it works better! :)
ReplyDelete@Caitlan
ReplyDeleteYou might be right, but i still think the chlorine actually wears off some products chemically... But i'm lucky i guess, i don't have problems even when washing dishes :)
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog, and your nails look fabulous! I am a fan of the Sally Hansen base and top coats too, and have used them with various brands of polish to good effect. Thanks for confirming that I am not the only one who does :).
Hi Michelle
ReplyDeleteHow often do you change your mani? I find it interesting that you like SH insta-dri. I did not have much luck with it making my manis last longer.