Saturday, August 7, 2010

Best Drugstore Beauty: Nailene to Jazz Up Your Nails

Nailene sent me the nicest bag of goodies to try. I was so impressed by how they looked in their boxes - and intimidated. I am very hard on my nails (I work in the garden when I can), and I'm a bit of a klutz. I wanted to give the products a fair shake.

My thoughts turned to Jamika, a work colleague who wears faux nails all the time. Jamika is an expert, so I knew the goodies would be in extremely capable hands, so to speak.

I'll jump to the conclusion before I tell you more. Jamika loved the Nailene products! She and her mother have tested about half of them, so I'll have more news for you soon. For now, let me describe how well Nailene's "guaranteed chip-proof" nail enhancement products worked.

Jamika and her mother got right to work testing the nails on their hands. Jamika also used the French Tip Pen set on her toenails. It's a mistake-proof pen for perfect white tips in minutes. She was so happy with the results! She e-mailed me at work and said, "You've got to see how nice this looks!" I have to agree; her toes were pretty snazzy. I wish I had had my camera with me! She was also wearing the Nail Couture faux nails shown here below right. She said they were easy to apply and she particularly appreciated how thin they were. Some faux nails are thick and feel heavy on the hand. She said these were like her second skin (well, nails).

What she didn't know was that Nailene introduced their nails to fill a void. Women wanted a salon look without a salon price. Their nails were designed to be as light as air, feeling like your own. They have an ultra-natural appearance to enhance your hands and finish your look. Nailene's So Natural nails, created from a blended, patented plastic, are designed to look better than your own and feel so light, you will forget they aren't your own! They were also designed to fit no matter how your nails are shaped. At $5.99 for 24 nails, the price is definitely right.

Jamika's hands wearing the nails shown above are at right. I have to tell you, they looked very professional. I knew I could count on her, and Nailene came through with flying colors! Jamika liked the medium length; we decided it was perfect. We felt it looked very natural. These nails were easy to apply. What's incredible to me is that they lasted about seven days (that gets a wow from me). She was still able to do all normal daily activities (such as washing dishes and typing) and said she would definitely use them again.

The French Finish were my favorites because they looked so natural - and pretty. I have always loved the French manicure look. I may be conservative, but I think it's as pretty as it gets. For some reason, these nails stayed on for five days (one came off, but was easily re-applied with the adhesive Nailene had sent). It was Jamika's mom, though, so the difference may be in how they use their hands. Her mom also does daily typing and regular house duties (don't we all?). Check out the look of these at right. Very nice!

Next, they got really fancy and used the Nail Art, available in so many patterns - flowers, butterflies, you name it. I think the Nail Art looked amazing. See the photo at lower left. Jamika said the flower design application was extremely easy, and it lasted for five days of "normal life." There was no need to do any re-application.

Jamika said she would definitely recommend Nailene to anyone. After seeing the results, I had to make this a Best Drugstore Beauty pick. I was very impressed.

Here are Nailene's "Top 10 Reasons" for using their products, and Jamika and I decided they are all true - so true I may have to give them a whirl myself.
  1. For everyone
  2. Simple to use
  3. Quick and easy
  4. Convenient
  5. Fits any lifestyle
  6. Trendy nail designs
  7. No commitment - you're in control
  8. Nails look natural
  9. Comfortable to wear
  10. Trusted brand for quality
You can find Nailene's fab nail products at Ulta, CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart - literally 40,000 doors in drugstore, mass, and food retailers in the United States and in 39 other countries. Should be easy to give them a try!

Photos courtesy of Nailene and Jamika