Nails on Vacation

Whenever I’m making my to do list of vacation preparations a manicure and pedicure is always top of the list. There is just something about having bright, fresh nails for the trip especially since our annual vacation takes place during spring break and involves heading south to warm, sunny weather. Where there is sun and beaches there is inevitably flip flops and I would cringe to think of my unpolished toes going anywhere near it.

This year we were trying to be frugal with our vacation so my manicure and pedicure was not to be had while sitting in the leather massage chair, but rather it was left to my own hands while sitting on my bed . Thankfully though I had just received a couple new nail products that I was hoping to try so I had something to look forward too.

My mani and pedi began as I took off the little flecks of nail polish left from who-knows-when the last time I had painted them. Normally I despise using the polish remover because first of all it smells horrible and secondly it always seems to leave my nails super dry. This time though, I used dazzle dry Lemongrass Nail Polish Remover and boy what a difference. As soon as I started removing the old polish, I was amazed at how quickly and easily it came off. With just one cotton ball I was able to take off all the polish on my toes and fingers! Granted they were not freshly painted by any means, but it seemed to come off much easier than with regular polish. Thanks to the lemongrass and clove essential oils my nails also weren’t left dry, not to mention smelling horribly. The scent of acetone was still there although very faint compared to the fresh smell of the lemongrass and clove.

My next step was too apply some of the Key Lime lotion I found while on a trip to Key West. Sorry, I can’t find it anywhere on the web, but trust me when I say that it smells heavenly. Definitely a Caribbean beach in a lotion! Everytime I put it on I think vacation so it was perfect for my vacation mani/pedi.

Finally it was time for the polish, my favorite part because of the instant gratification I receive from having bright, colorful, beautiful nails as soon as I’m done. I had recently received two samples of nail lacquers from Nubar in vibrant colors of Amazon Coral and Caribbean Coral. They just sound perfect for vacation, don’t they? I had never heard of Nubar before so I was curious to see if I would notice a difference from my regular polish. The first things I noticed was how smooth it went on and that it covered on the first coat. Of course I had to add another coat because you just have to have two coats, but honestly I probably could have skipped it and they would have looked perfect. The best part of the nail lacquer though…I didn’t have to repaint the entire 10 days I was away on vacation!! I did use a Sally Hanson Top Coat that I already had after polishing and other than a little chip on the tip of my point finger, which I have a horrible habit of nibbling on (I know, I know, I’m too old to bite my nails!!), and a couple light scratches on the polish that wasn’t really noticeable except to me, the lacquer lasted as long as my vacation. Two brightly polished thumbs up for Nubar. Oh and I almost forgot to tell you about the ingredients found in Nubar nail laquer or perhaps more importantly the ingredients you won’t find. All Nubar’s collections are Formaldehyde, (DBP) Phthalate, and Toluene free so you can have a healthy alternative for beautiful nails.

Nothing says ready for vacation than brightly colored nails!! Now I guess I will have to go buy some darker Nubar colors that say, buh-bye vacation and welcome back to school.