Lacquer Lundi

Three months ago I started taking biotin, also known as vitamin H or B7, because I discovered that it was supposed to help strengthen nails and promote quicker growth. At that time I had two nails that would always split vertically as soon as the nail grew past the nail bed. Not only was this splitting unsightly, but it was also painful when the tear would rip into the living nail bed. Ouch!

Well, I'm happy to report that biotin has been heaven sent. Each day I take 2000-3000 mcg (it is essentially impossible to overdose on biotin as it is a water-soluble vitamin and any excess is expelled in the urine). The two split prone nails have now completely grown out and are super strong (yet flexible) and I have no issues with breakage, tearing, splitting or peeling any longer. I could not be happier with my results!

In the first three weeks, the only issue I had with taking the biotin was some minor nausea when I would take the pills on an empty stomach (I had no such problems if there was food in my stomach). I have also heard that some people have biotin-induced headaches and/or skin breakouts, but thankfully I was not plagued by either of these problems.

So, here is a hearty thumbs-up for biotin!


Now, on to the pretties:

New York Color Nail Glossies - Fusion Pink
- purchased at Rexall (local chain drug store) for $2.26 CDN

As faithful Lacquer Lundi readers know, I am not a pink girl. I don't do soft and sweet. However, I'm not adverse to fuchsia (it's like pink, but on cool-enhancing steroids). Enter NYC Fusion Pink. This polish is a shiny, hot cavalcade of summery goodness.

Fusion Pink went on smoothly and covered in two coats. I love the brush - it's nice and wide and lays on the polish well. The bottle is aesthetically pleasing too - I like the bold rectangular look. Note that the chunky black top slides off to reveal a more user friendly handle below. This polish dried quickly and wore very well for the two days I had it on - only minor tip wear.

All in all, a great polish at an excellent price.


China Glaze - Secret Peri-winkle
- purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $3.99 CDN

Secret Peri-winkle is a gorgeous periwinkle (obviously) creme polish from China Glaze's Fall 2008 Operation Colour Collection. I have always loved this shade of lavender-blue. This lovely grayed-out pastel shade just seems so fresh and springy to me.

This polish applied well, however three coats were required to ensure opacity and cover all streakiness.

I wore this polish for two days and only saw minor tip wear.



China Glaze - Flying Dragon
- purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $3.99 CDN

Flying Dragon has a reddish purple base with red, teal and silver glitter (click on the photos to see the glitter more clearly). As a neon polish it dries matte and thus needs a shiny top coat applied over top.

This polish was a bit difficult to apply as it dries quite quickly (like many of the other neon polishes that I own) and it is difficult to avoid unsightly clumping and dragging. However, due to the excellent pigmentation, only two coats were required to make the polish opaque.

Unfortunately this polish did not wear exceptionally well. At the one day mark, I already had appreciable tip wear and a few chips. Since the colour is so amazing I had higher hopes for this polish. Oh well.