Hello my lovelies!!! I know I've been an awfully negligent person and have been MIA for like the past 6 or so months but I'm baaaack!!! So much has happened over the previous year but that's another post for another day. So let's get down to business.

I once wrote a review for Sally Hansen's No More Breaks nail polish, which was supposed to make my nails as hard as a rock...BUT it failed me dismally and I wasted R50 when I could have bought myself a Street Wise Two and a Krusher and still had change for a spaza shopping spree. So after a 3 week hiatus I rebooted my search for the ultimate nail strengthener and I am PROUD to announce that I have finally found the product!! It came down to a Royal Rumble between Essence Ultra Strong Nail Hardener and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails (keeping in mind that I had already been bitten once in the proverbial buttocks by this brand). In the end I found myself at the till still trying to decide which one wouldn't leave me deflated after just 30 minutes of use...Sally Hansen won. Until I realised I was choosing a product that was a WHOLE R20 more than its competitor, I immediately went with Essence and boy am I glad!!!

Let me explain. I have nails that are weak and dry, so they tend to grow a bit and then the upper layer starts PEELING off, making it easy for them to break and making my hands look like they've gone through the struggle. When I bought the Essence Nail Hardener my nails were barely anywhere near exceeding the tips of my fingers. After a week of using Essence, my nails had improved in terms of strength. After 2 weeks of use my nails were about a millimetre over my tips and within just a month of using this miracle product my nails were amazingly long and pretty (no seriously. Most people thought they were acrylics/gels). So you can see this stuff was the real deal when it came to enhancing nail strength.

I wouldn't go and braai you and say this nifty little guy accelerates nail growth, NO! But I believe the fact that it strengthens your nails is the first step in a chain reaction that leads to your nails being able to grow long over a period of time. Because I had weak nails, they kept chipping and peeling and therefore I had to keep them short in order to have presentable nails. Essence Ultra Strong Nail Hardener made my nails hard...harder than Chris Evans' arms dear Lord!!! which in turn meant NO chipping, NO peeling and NO filing, hence the reason my nails got given enough breathing space to grow. The best way to wear this product is as a base coat for another nail colour you plan to put over it (helped keep my mind off of whether my nails were recovering or not) and it makes a killer top coat as well...if you aren't really high maintenance over things like top coats.

I give this product an A++ for sticking to its guns and doing what it's supposed to do and at only R30 it is unbelievable just how well it works!! I will definitely consider not only repurchasing this product but also buying Essence products from now on - including makeup - because I was really impressed!!

Eat your heart out Sally Hansen...