OPI Nail Envy Treatment

I had weak, peeling and dry nails and was desperate for something to strengthen them. I bought and used the OPI Nail Envy but unfortunately I didn't find it helped at all and just made my nails dryer and they looked slightly yellow when I removed it.

I am a children's entertainer and use my nails as tools on the job. I was using gels for about a year but removing them I ALWAYS peeled them off which was removing my natural nail a thin layer each time, which made me rely even more on the gels to give me some strength in my nail. Anyways it came to the point where I just had to stop wearing gels completely to grow out my nails. I had a bottle of nail envy that I had purchased a while back and didn't really use due to the gels. I have been using it for the last 3 months and I am able to grow my nails out a little longer now, still keeping them short for a few more months but I am just so happy with how they are recovering thanks to Nail Envy.

I did an order with Smellycat and received a mini bottle of this as a gwp. I was really happy to get to try this treatment since nail treatments are the first thing I use up out of my nail polish collection and the ones I reach for the most. The mini appears to be the same in packaging as the full sized bottle except everything's smaller including the brush. This means I have to do more strokes but since the product is thin and new at this point it smooths out and leaves my nails looking shiny, especially if I buffed out my nails before applying the treatment. It doesn't seem to take more than 20 minutes to dry so if I'm just going to repaint this on every couple of days as a nail treatment it's fairly convenient to at this point. The way this is suggested to be used is that you apply on two coats to bare clean nails after pushing back your cuticles and then paint on one more layer every other day. At the end of the week you remove it and start over. Now before I started my nails were in good condition already but I like to have that bare manicured shine and if I can treat my nails at the same time it's a bonus. I painted on one coat and then another coat a couple days later and then another if the first two start chipping off, that being said if it is chipping off it isn't very noticeable as it is a clear treatment. However, I don't recommend more than three coats because the treatment does have a yellow tinge and that can show on your nails if you have too many coats of it on, this is especially true if the product has thickened plus it will take longer to dry. If you are going to use this as a base coat you can paint on two and follow that with a color as that won't show. I can't comment on whether this works to strengthen nails since my nails are already in good condition so I haven't noticed them getting stronger, but this probably helps to fortify them and give them a bit of shine.

With using and removing many nail products, my nails lately have taken a real nose dive in strength and condition, so I decided to revisit OPI Nail Envy. Since I last used it I think they've updated the formula, as it said 'No Formaldehyde' which is awesome. It also comes in several colours now, so I made the most of a buy 2 get 1 free deal at Farmers and picked up 2 Nail Envy coloured polishes too.

As my nails were in quite a state I did a manicure before starting, including cutting my nails all back to one length. I've been using the product 10 days, following the instructions and already I'm noticing my nails are stronger and I've had no breakage since starting use. My weaker nails that still have some damage to grow off, seem strong enough to endure the growing period too. There's no discolouration with use either - which I use to experience with the clear version of this product. I'm really impressed. I've used other products in the past, but I keep returning to this one - it's great for weak nails and helping get some growth for those of us that struggle to grow our nails.