I have developed a love-hate relationship with Nivea. Love the Nivea Creme; Hate the self tanning products… and so it goes. Still, when confronted with a 3-for-2 sale, I cannot resist trying yet more of their products. I figure I have a 50-50 chance of being happy. This is exactly how I ended up with a bottle of the Nivea Sea Extract Manicure, a pastel nail polish and strengthener.
Now, you have to know that I am a little bit spoiled. I rarely do my own nails, preferring to go to the local nail salon and be pampered with a nice French Manicure. Still, I have dozens of bottles of nail polish and countless nail care products. Why? Because once in awhile I do like to sit in front of the TV and play with my nails. I figured this pastel Lavender would look good if I attempted to do my own French Manicure. It really is a pretty color.
The bottle is typical of nail polishes, only a little nicer than most in its frosted oval shape. It looks expensive sitting on the dresser next to the Dior polishes, Sally Hansen, Revlon, Make It, Esse, and all the rest. This is my favorite nail polish as far as the bottle goes.
Now, my nails grow really fast. They always have. They usually grow strong, also, but they tend to get brittle in the Swedish weather and begin snapping off at a certain length. This annoys me. Because of that, the fact that this is a strengthener along with a pretty color help sell me on the 80SEK price tag. That is about 11 bucks US. Bit pricey for nail polish, that. It would be worth it if it worked. I shook the bottle gently, then unscrewed the cap.
Nivea says This is “a light, pastel coloured lacquer and strong, nail-hardener in one. Strong & Pastel is available in three shades, Vanilla (5), Rose (6) and Lavender (7) and contains coral seaweed extracts to ensure strong, glossy looking nails.”
I put on the first coat. Very thin and kinda see-through. The polish itself is of a bit thinner consistency than most in my nail care array. Not one to give up quickly, though, I reasoned that this is exactly what I would need to do a French style manicure; with the opaque white at the top you need a sort of clear color to coat the whole nail. Right? but I wasn’t in the mood to spend that much time on my nails. I just wanted a little color on them normal style for now.
The polish dried faster than most, which is a big plus, then I applied a second coat. I realized I had some flaws in my nails that I should have used ridge filler on first. This Sea Extract Manicure polish really shows those flaws if you don’t address them prior to using this. Damn. Off came the polish. On went the ridge filler, a bit of shaping and buffing, and back on went the Nivea polish.
This time, folks, we have satisfaction. Once I had laid the groundwork properly, the Sea Extract Manicure polish went on very smooth. The color ended up a very pale pastel lavender, perfect for Spring. I like it enough that I am going to go back while the sale is still on and get the other two colors, along with the rest of Nivea’s Sea Extract Manicure line.
As far as special ingredients go, this polish boasts:
Coral seaweed to improve the adherence of the film on the nails and to protect the nails against external influences. – Bingo. I could rapidly see an improvement in my nails after using this a few times.
A thickener, of mineral origin, combined with a thin solvent to achieve the ideal fluidity for easy application and faster drying time. – I already went over that. It does indeed dry much quicker than other polishes.
A balanced quantity of pigments and mica to give a natural hint of colour. – Right on, that. Love the pale, subtle pastel hue.
Special film formers to build a glossy resistant film on the nail that lasts for several days. – Several meaning about 4 days. You can buy products to lengthen that time, but I haven’t tried them with this Nivea Sea Extract polish yet.
Vitamin E that has anti-ageing properties and helps keep the nails flexible to prevent brittleness. – My nails are indeed less brittle now, which was got me to spring for this product to begin with.
Yes folks, in spite of my recent spate of bad luck with Nivea’s self-tanners, the Sea Extract Manicure Strong & Pastel polish has renewed my faith in the company once again. Nivea, you have a winner. Worth every last kronor.
