HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm writing this on the first snow day of the year and my kids running around me with all the excitement that the first snow brings. <3 On to nails! If you know me, you know I love having my nails done and making them an expression of my creativity! What I don't love is being at the nail salon for 2+ hours! Honestly,
Nail Boo is the newest at home do-it-yourself salon nail quality kits. Nailboo is a powder and liquid layer system that does not need lights or long waiting times. On their website it says that their powders are cruelty free and vegan friendly (Ingredients via Nailboo PNOC 60-100%, Residual Monomers 0.5-5.0%, Titanium Dioxide ( CAS NO. 13463-67-7) 0.5-1.5%, Pigment 0.5-1.5%). With the backing of Paris Hilton and a simple way to keep me out of the salons and still having sparkly and amazing nails, I was willing to at least give it a try. So how did it go?
The first thing to know is you have to buy the KIT. The beginner kit start at $55 before tax and shipping. The basic kit is what I got and it involves 4 liquids - base, activator, top and cleaner. I did add on extra colors (4) but you get to choose the powder of your choice. It also comes with a soft brush to wipe off the access powder when dipping.
The color that chose for my first Nailboo experience is Gala Gal for some NY sparkle! I watched a couple tutorials on the Nailboo website and I just dove in! I have naturally very thin nails. One of my goals this year is to take better care of my nails and hair (but that's for a different Blog entry). I tell you this because I put extensions on my nails. I pick up some clear medium length nails from my fav Kiss Nails. I glued them on, cut them down to a manageable length and prepped them for the first coat.
Here is what happened when I opened the bottles.
The packaging right off the bat are disappointing. The Top coat applicator fell apart. The Activator and Base were better. Let's hope that Nailboo gets the reviews on this because I know I am not the only one!
Once I started the application progress it was pretty easy. It takes about 5 minutes per finger (you can do multiple nails at a time) due to the 2 minute drying time for the activator steps. Here are the steps;
Step 1: Base Coat +Build
Apply the base coat to a nail then immediately dip it into the build powder. Then, lightly brush off the excess powder and repeat the process with the rest of your nails. Now add color—apply another base coat onto a nail, and this time, dip it into your colored powder of choice. Lightly brush off the excess and repeat the process with the rest of your nails. If you want the color to be more pigmented, simply repeat by applying a base coat and dipping it into the colored powder.
Step 2: Activator Coat
Next, apply a thin layer of the activator and let it dry for two minutes. After the two minutes are up, buff your nails. Repeat this step. Apply another activator coat and wait another two minutes for it to dry.
Step 3: Top Coat
Last step is to apply the topcoat. Allow it to dry like you would a normal polish manicure!
Then you are finished!
I will say that the whole process is really simple. The finish product look pretty good from a few feet away. When you come a little closer, you can see some bumps that are fine but a bit annoying to me. I think next time I will use a color and not glitter as the glitter may be the reason for the bumps or maybe I need to buff a little more.
Over all, for a fraction of the price & time that I would have been at the salon, I'm going to keep this as a new step in my beauty self care! The bottle breaking is annoying, but the product itself is great. I also hope this will help me build back up the strength and health of my nails.
Here is one hand completely done against the new fallen snow. What do you think? Will you give NailBoo a try?
Till next time xo
XM