TOMA Freeze It Quick Dry (and a NOTD)

While we'd all like to get to the salon every week for a manicure, sometimes life gets too busy and it's simply not possible.  It's also a considerable expense for a weekly manicure, so a home manicure is the perfect option.

The worst part of painting your nails at home is waiting for the varnish to dry and the unavoidable (and inevitable) smudges, no matter how hard you try to sit still, so any rapid dry top coat is worth a try.

I have my faves (which I will do separate reviews on later) but I was sent this new Quick Dry from Toma so I decided to give it a try.

After completing the manicure (base coat, two coats of colour and a top coat) you allow your top coat to set for a minute (and you HAVE to use a top coat first - this is NOT instead of one) before lightly brushing on the clear formulation.

There a slight icy sensation, which is actually quite pleasant, and within a minute or two the polish is almost "frozen".  (Reminded me of the old-fashioned method of plunging your fingers into a bowl of iced water to "freeze-dry' the nails).  I was slightly worried that it might dampen the high gloss of my carefully varnished nails, but they remained just as super-shiny and they felt really hard and smooth to the touch.  Some websites claim this can penetrate upto 7 layers of varnish (not that I can ever see myself wearing 7 coats of varnish at any one time!)

I would definitely use it again, and buy it when it runs out - it does exactly what it says on the bottle and is priced at a reasonable £9.95.  I'm not sure how many manicures this would cover you for, but I would imagine it would go a very long way, as I hardly used any for my talons.  And bear in mind it's worth shopping around.  I found it on a couple of websites for around £5 or £6.

The only thing I should mention is its smell.  There is a strong aroma on the nails akin to Deep Heat or Ralgex when you apply the product which dissipates completely after about five minutes.  It doesn't bother me, as I quite like that smell, but just so you know.

By the way, the nail colour is Embellish Me by Leighton Denny, which as ever, applies perfectly.