Essie Hard to Resist Strengthener

So I just want to start by saying I wish I had a bit longer to trial. The product claims results in three days though so after a week of using here we go!

I’ll begin with the packaging, a typical Essie style bottle, perfectly pretty. The pink formula looks really pretty in the bottle too, it’s quite bright in there! I love the Essie polish brushes and this one stays true to their style. Nice and thick, slightly flat, super easy to use for application.

The polish formula itself is nowhere near as pigmented as it looks in the bottle, it’s very natural looking and mainly just a gloss. It goes on smoothly with a pretty normal consistency. It did take a little longer to dry than I would like, but I am very impatient!

As for the results - the product claims your nails will feel stronger instantly and after three days will be less brittle, healthier and smoother. I can’t claim to have noticed an instant difference but I would say that after three days my nails did feel stronger. I haven’t noticed them being smoother but that wasn’t a primary issue for me. My nails split, that is my biggest concern. So I have decided to cut them back short and use this product while they grow. I do have high hopes that as a longer term product this will be a useful tool, but I will have to come back to update on that one!

Let me say that this is a fab little product!

I normally have pretty weak nails and was really impressed with how strong my nails were with this product on...after doing the bend-y nail test of course. I used HTR with coloured nail polish as a base and top coat and was impressed that my nails lasted couple of days without chipping. Normally they wouldn't last past a day or night.

The polish on its own also adds a nice natural sheen to your nail if you wear alone. Definitely recommended!

I like this product. Initially I was mostly interested with the idea of covering yellowed nails which I sometimes get after wearing deep coloured polish. The purple tint did seem to help. I actually used it as a base coat (which it isn’t) and it sat well under other polish but when removing left more colour than a good base coat. Nails haven’t broken since using and look good. I’ll keep using this.

For this review, I used 00 Glow & Shine. It came in a generic white box, with instructions that said to apply two coats, with no instructions on how often to reapply, so I thought I'd reapply weekly. Apparently nails would be strengthened in three days.

The formula itself is quite a nice red, in a signature Essie bottle with a cool holograph label. It's quite watery, and has a really strong polish smell. Luckily, the smell doesn't last long on the nails. You do have to be very careful when applying it, and wipe excess off in the bottle, or it will drip.

Coverage on the nails is pretty good, because it is so watery and thin, you don't need a lot on the nails. It dries super fast, and leaves a nice pink sheen.

However, I did find the formula chipped and peeled off easily just doing normal day to day things which was quite annoying. I had to flag my thoughts of applying it once a week to every couple of days because it could literally start peeling within a matter of hours.

But, does it work? I haven't noticed my nails being stronger, they're just as bendy as ever. So I can't comment on the 3 day thing. But a huge problem for me was my nails breaking really high up, horizontally, which could be both painful as well as extremely annoying. I've used the formula for a couple of weeks, and this hasn't continued. So in my personal experience, I have noticed a difference. However, just because it chips and peels so quickly, I don't think I'd repurchase.

I received 01 neutralize & brighten (the purple) it has claims of instantly makes nails feel stronger & neutralises yellow tones. I do t have much yellow tones but I found a little area and I disagree with that claim. Nails did not feel stronger instantly. But I have noticed there is cannabis sativa oil in this which is hydrating and some really like it as a beauty treatment for hair scalp and skin. I'm not sure what it does for nails though. The brush applicator is a bit thick it fans out in the bottle bit it's not difficult to use. I can't really agree that my nails were stronger in 3 days as claimed as it might be a placebo. They did look shiny but I'm not sure if it was a natural shine from healthy nails or just the polish shine. When you paint on the stuff it looks like a shiny top coat after a few days the shine is more muted.They feel smoother but that could be the texture of the paint. Aside from the possibility of the cannabis oil I don't really get how this "works" one could argue it's just a slightly better alternative to a regular clear nail polish or base coat. It smells slightly better than your average nail varnish. I can't say I would buy this because I feel like I could just oil my nails. I am not convinced it makes nails less brittle. To me this is something that is nice to have but it's not a product that has made me excited. The claim of 96 percent agree that nails felt protected makes sense because I think the act of putting something on your nails that looks shiny and that your told is good for your nails could easily persuade someone. The ml is 13.5 and it's a vegan formula. I will use this up but I'm still sceptical.

I had gels on prior to using it and it helped strengthen my nails after the removal and not feeling brittle or fragile straight away. It definitely helped protect the nails and have had no breakages. It gives a nice shine to the nails with a slight pink tint. The nails look healthy and have been able to help them grow without any breaking. Will continue to use and recommend to others too.

I was so excited to try this nail strengthening polish as I used to bite my nails as a young child right through to my early 20’s, and after that I used to frequent nail salons to cover up my thin, damaged, not so glamorous nails. After realising that the fake nails were indeed damaging my own nails further, I looked into nail polish style treatments that would help me get reasonably long enough nails that allowed me actually feel better about myself. It’s been many years and although my nails will grow, they’re still thin and will chip, peel or tear and break at the edges. The Essie Hard to Resist Nail Strengthener has helped to keep my nails from any damage for far longer than all other products I have previously tried. I love the subtle pink tint this polish gives, and the shine is just gorgeous. I still found the edges of the polish chipped off on occasion however I didn’t feel it was overly noticeable, and the polish still did the job of protecting my nails. I also tend to wash my hands ALOT, which has the annoying side effect of drying my nails out plus giving them a dull appearance, this polish has helped immensely in preventing this occurring. The only issue I had was the lack of instructions by Essie. Apply 2 coats and that’s it, no mention of how long to keep it on, whether it’s reapply every so often, you get my drift. That being said, I do like this product and would recommend it to anyone who thinks their nails need that extra help, or even if they just want that sheer hint of colour with beautiful shine.

I tried the Essie Hard to Resist Strengthener, (neutralize & brighten (the purple) i noticed within a couple of days that my nails were looking better but were feeling stronger. Since i was a child my thumb nail has aways spilt down the middle. I have tried all sorts of strengthing products to fix it, with no luck. But looking at my thumb nails now there is no spilt. They are looking healthy. So would highly reccomend the Essie Hard to Resist Strengthener.

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