Review | OPI Original Nail Envy & RapiDry Top Coat

My nails were really my first experimentation with beauty when I was younger, I remember when my grandma dug out a bottle of varnish in a pearly pink colour and painted my nails for me, I was amazed that I could wash my hands and the colour didn't come off!

However, they've never been particularly strong and with biting them when I was a teenager, they have a tendency towards growing to a certain length and then snapping. I have also been neglecting my nails quite a lot recently by just slapping on a couple of coats of colour with no base or top coat. This resulted in my nail varnish peeling and taking bits of my nail with it leaving them soft and damaged.

I had been on the hunt for a varnish that would strengthen my nails as well as keeping them looking nice so when I was offered the chance with QVC to try out OPI's famous Nail Envy Nail Strengthener* and RapiDry Top Coat*, I accepted eagerly.

I first experimented with Nail Envy on it's own and no other varnish. You apply two coats of it on the first day and then apply every other day for a week before removing it all and starting the process again. When I first applied it on my nails two weeks ago, literally ALL of my nails were peeling and not in good shape.
I kept up the recommended application religiously and now two weeks on have noticed a big improvement in my nails. They no longer feel so bendy when I press against them and all the signs of peeling from my nails had disappeared.

Nail Envy applies as a glossy clear coat on first application and it builds to an even glossier but still subtle and natural finish upon the second coat. This glossy finish is maintained as you apply throughout the week and doesn't feel thick and gloopy on the following applications. It does not chip or peel at all on my nails at all over the duration and there's no discolouration.

The drying time is reasonable; the first coat feels dry to the touch within ≈ minute and the second about 2/3 minutes. Each further application is about 2 minutes until it feels dry.

The only negative I have to say against it is that it has a really potent smell when you open the bottle and when you're applying it, it stings my nose a bit! It fades really quickly though and you can't smell it on your hands after a couple of minutes when it's dried.

After a couple of weeks of having bare nails, I decided it was time to test out the RapiDry Top Coat on top of my current favourite colour, Rimmel's Rose Libertine. I applied my usual two coats of Nail Envy before applying two coats of Rose Libertine and then a final top coat of RapiDry.

RapiDry's instructions are to apply two coats of your chosen polish and then wait 60-90 seconds before applying your top coat, then wait 5 minutes and you're good to go.
I found that RapiDry applied streak free and smoothly to each nail with no bubbling and didn't have any visible smearing effect on my previously applied polish.

In general, I found that my nails were dry to the touch without being able to dent them at all and feel comfortable going about tasks within about ten minutes rather than the stated 5 minutes. On a couple of nails I applied a slightly thicker coat and those nails seemed to take about 15 minutes. Not really what you'd call rapid but when I've left some varnishes to their own devices with no drying top coat, they can still be smearing even up to about an hour later!
I absolutely love the glossy finish that RapiDry gives my nails, they look much more manicured and put together.

Overall, I've been really pleased with the results of both Nail Envy and RapiDry. Although I have only owned them a couple of weeks so I can't say exactly how resourceful these bottles are, my other OPI polishes have lasted me well so far after almost a year and you do get 15ml worth of product, I don't think I've ever reached the bottom of a bottle!


*Thanks to Talented Talkers on behalf of QVC for sending me these products for review.