OPI Jade Is The New Black vs. Bettina Mojito

I was always hesitant to get Mojito because I wasn't sure how similar it was to Jade Is The New Black. Turns out they are not dupes, but I thought I would do a comparison post anyway, just in case anyone else was wondering(:

Obviously, JitNB is a lot darker. Also, it has more of a blue/teal base rather than a yellow base like the Bettina polish. They are similar in the bottle though. Both have amazing formula's and dry time. This is two coats with one coat of Bettina top coat.

Thoughts??

(**Bettina product sent for review**)

Review: Pro-FX Quick Dry High Gloss Top Coat (+Comparisons)

Hi everyone!! So I recently bought a new topcoat(: I was cruising Twitter and Rie (Nails and Noms) mentioned that she got this new top coat, and it was fairly similar to Seche Vite. I have been needing a new bottle of TC, so after she said that it was like Seche, the very next day I went and bought it. I also ended up buying the 3 In One Base Coat, Top Coat, and Nail Strengthener, but I'll review that another day. Anyway, this is a super long review so better grab a snack or something.

Note From Me: I have 3 go-to topcoats. Seche Vite, NYC Quick Dry, and now Pro-FX Quick Dry Top Coat. Seche is basically my holy grail but it's really hard for me to find where I live. The NYC one was recommended by Sammie (The Nailasaurus) and that's really easy for me to get. I really like that top coat as well. Very nice brush (similar to OPI pro wide brush which I love).

Bottle/Price:  Ohmygawd the bottle is HUGE! I first saw this brand at my local Walmart about 4-5 months ago, and I have always wanted to try it because of the bottle. Apparently it's "salon size". It's 2.5 FL. OZ/ 75 ML. You can see in the second picture, how it compares to a regular bottle of Beauty Secrets Base Coat. This top coat was fairly cheap considering it's size, I only payed $4.95 +tax.

Bubbling:  Rie mentioned that this top coat bubbled on her friend really badly. (It didn't bubble on Rie though). I noticed that this top coat gets bubbles really easily which I absolutely hate! Even if it looks like there isn't any bubbles, move it even slightly stupid bubbles start popping up. And even when you paint it, as you dip the brush back into the bottle it slowly gets bubbles. But, the good thing is, is that if you let it sit for a while, the bubbles go away:) But still, be careful while applying and be sure to not shake it.

Brush/Wand:  The wand is super long and giant. It also touched the very bottom of the bottle which I think is great, it allows you to get every last bit of product. The brush is very soft and much like Seche. But a little bit bigger. If you have enough product on, and with a light touch, it doesn't smear your stamping! :) Also, if you don't let it drip on one side, you can do your whole hand without having to re-dip. Even though the brush/wand is very large, I had no problems what-so-ever(:

Formula/Smell:  The formula is a little thinner than Seche Vite. Formula wise, Pro-FX is closer to NYC. It smells just like Seche though. (It actually has the word "Seche" on the bottle)

Dry Time/Hardness:  Although dry time is quick, it isn't as quick as Seche. It also doesn't harden as fast. It's dry to the touch in about 5 min, fully dry in about 10-20 minutes, hard enough so you don't ding anything in about an hour, and fully hardened by the next day. Which I guess compared to Seche, that's a while, but it is very hard nonetheless. Nothing can really ding the surface and it lasts super long so yay!

Wear Time:  Ok, now for the good part! Wear time! Most top coats start peeling/chipping on me by the second day. This top coat, doesn't chip/peel or even have tip wear until the fourth day... which is usually when I start getting bored of the color and start picking at it. Seriously! Not even tip wear! The other day (I forget what color I was wearing... Zoya something rather), I didn't have anything until day four. I went to the beach twice, swimming twice, sand, dishes, showers, school, everything!! That's pretty awesome!

Shine:  Last but not least, shine. It does dry very shiny, and stays shiny for the most part. I have been out of Seche for a while so I can't really compare it to that... NYC dries shiny as well, but doesn't stay shiny.... for me at least.

Overall:  Overall, I really love this top coat. Even though Seche Vite will always be my favorite, it chips/peels way to fast for way and when using Pro-FX I know it will stay on. You get a lot of good
product for a fairly cheap price, dry time is fast, and I just overall love it! Even though it bubbles easily which really annoys me, the wear time/shine makes up for that.

If you have any questions feel free to ask(:

Zoya Remover+ vs. Sally Hansen Moisturizing Remover

Last week, when I got my Zoya order in, I also received a free mini bottle of Remover+. I couldn't wait to try it out! I have heard so many good things. I also wanted to see how it would compare to my Sally Hansen remover... which is like my holy grail. I have gone through like 6 bottles, I refuse to use anything else. Anyway, I asked you guys on Twitter and Facebook last night, if you would like to see a post comparing/reviewing the two removers, and I got a lot of responses saying yes!! So here it is(:

Note From Me:  Before I started I just wanted to say that I try to stay away from pure acetone. Where I live, everybody surfs, and acetone is used and is for removing resin. So I don't think it's healthy on your nails to use acetone. Now, I am not saying that you shouldn't have any acetone in your remover, because it doesn't work that well if you don't, but I just wouldn't recommend using pure acetone :)

Smell: The first thing I noticed about Remover+ was the smell. It's very different (and strong!) from the Sally Hansen one. SH has more of a... softer smell that I actually don't mind at all, while R+ has more of a strong menthol smell... which I don't really enjoy. The SH even seemed a little bit floral smelling in relation to the Zoya one. 

Removing:  Ok, moving on to what it's actually supposed to do... remove polish. Both of these removers work great! I honestly wouldn't choose one over the other. Both have enough acetone to make removal process super fast and easy. And all you have to do is rub your cotton round/ball a couple times around your finger and BAM! It's gone! (Both removers take me about 3 swipes/rubs to get all polish off. Excluding little bits near cuticle) But I think Remover+ removes shimmer/glitter a little better than SH.

Residue:  One thing I noticed after taking off the polish on the Zoya hand, is that my fingers felt a little bit sticky. Now, my SH remover leaves residue, but I don't think it was as bad as Remover+

Moisturizing:  Both say they moisturize but I can't really tell... I don't really care though if they do or not... I always put my Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream right after so that pretty much takes care of things as far as moisturizing. 

Overall:  Overall, both are great and they both remove nail polish really fast and easy, unlike some removers I know (I am looking at you Cutex!). I wouldn't really recommend one over the other. Both are great. I guess it just depends on what your nail type it.... oh, and the smell, lol... I don't really like the Zoya smell. But the great removal makes up for that(: 

Let me know what your thoughts are or what your favorite remover is! :)

Mermaid Tears Comparison Post

While I was applying Mermaid Tears the other day (HERE) I noticed that it looked similar to NOPI My Lifesaver and Revlon Minted. I thought it would be fun to do a comparison post so here it is(:

As you can see both My Lifesaver and Minted look similar to Mermaid Tears in the bottle, but on the nail, it's a whole different story...

 Index: Mermaid Tears, Middle: My Life Saver, Ring: Mermaid Tears, Pinky: Minted

  Index: Mermaid Tears, Middle: My Life Saver, Ring: Mermaid Tears

Ring: Mermaid Tears, Pinky: Minted

Please excuse my dinged nails lol... I was moving around a lot. Overall, My Lifesaver was closer to Mermaid Tears than Minted was, but it's still not a dupe. In the same color family, but there was just a hint of more blue in it. Not to mention more vibrant. Minted was a couple shade lighter than the OPI color, I was expecting that though. 

I also wanted to mention that My Lifesaver is a little less blue/vibrant in real life... it's more like the bottle picture.