Everyone has one or two products that they just can't get by without. These are my two ultimate must-haves... those two products that I HAVE to have, and use all the time, with every manicure.

1. Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment




This is something I'd never paid much attention to until my boyfriend's mom sent me a couple bottles. She is a polish addict too, so when she recommends something I know it's worth trying. Ever since she sent me this stuff I simply can't be without it. I want to try the extra moisturizing formula too but for now I'm really happy with the original.

What is it? 4 products in one bottle, as the name implies. It has properties to help 1. strengthen and 2. promote nail growth, and it is ideal as 3. a smoothing base coat as well as 4. an ulta-glossy, anti-chip top coat.

I've always kind of shied away from 'multi-use' products for my nails... I've always thought, if they are supposed to do completely different jobs how can they be combined into one product and still work effectively? But this one surprised me, because it does in fact do all four jobs perfectly.


2. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat



This is my best friend in the nail polish world! What's funny is the first time I tried it, I didn't care for it. But I decided to try it again, and it was then that the love affair began.

What is it? A top coat the protects against chipping for a long lasting manicure, but it also helps your nail polish to dry super fast!

When I first tried it, I would apply base coat, a coat or two of color, and then the Insta-Dri. It never seemed to really help my polish dry any faster. But when I decided to give it another go, I decided to try base coat, color, a regular top coat and then the Insta-Dri. And that works wonders! Nail polish is "dry to the touch" in 30 seconds, which honestly doesn't mean much of anything. It just means that if you ever-so-lightly barely touch your nails, chances of smudging are slim.

I'm not going to lie and say that your nails will be dry in a set period of time, or that the time frame is always the same. Because it's not. How long it will take your nails to dry depends on a couple different factors: how many coats of color you applied, how thick the coats of color were and the weather. That's right, the weather. Humid days mean more moisture in the air, and that means increased wait time for your nails to dry. But regardless of all those factors, Insta-Dri will always help your polish to dry significantly faster than if you didn't use it. On average my nails are completely dry in 15 minutes. No, maybe not the fastest out there... but as compared to having to wait an hour or even more, 15 minutes is excellent. There have been times when it has taken longer for my nails to dry though; 30-40 minutes on super humid days or when I've applied several (like 5 or 6) coats of color.

Another thing to note about the Insta-Dri is that the instructions state to apply it 2 minutes after applying your nail color (again, I found using a regular top coat first really makes a huge difference, so it'd be 2 minutes after that initial top coat) but I've experimented and found it also works better if applied immediately instead of giving it that two minutes.



What are your ultimate must-haves for your manicures?