Review: Caronia Nail Hardener & Base Coat + Caronia Solvent

Hi hi!

Back when I decided to venture into drugstore nail polishes, I saw that within a few uses of the polishes, when the polish chips off, chunks of my nails would chip off with it. This scared me so, I looked around for a good base coat, and I found these!

Rating:

5: Beyond Explanation

4: Awesome

3: Decent

2: Dislike

1: Hate

0: Abhor

CARONIA SOLVENT

1. Packaging: (2/5)

Starting off with the good points, I like the overall look of the bottle. I like the look of the cap and the fact that the bottle itself is made of glass. It doesn't look cheap. What I don't like about the packaging though is that it doesn't give you any means of transferring the solvent to your nail polish bottle. The mouth of the bottle is too small for you try pouring it into the nail polish bottle. I tried this and I wasted half the bottle. The best way they could have remedied this is that they could've had a dropper that was attached to the cap or they could've made a small pointed applicator (similar to the nozzle of squeeze out tubes) that you can tip into your nail polish bottle. Anyways, I had to purchase a separate medicine dropper to get proper use out of this solvent.

2. Application: (5/5)

The amount of application (which I didn't measure, sorry) is decent. You just drop a few drops and it'll work nicely. After dropping the product, you have to shake it so that it'll mix with the polish and afterwards, it's ready to use. I really like the application because it's simple and quick. Although, you will have to re-drop it once it gets goopy again but that won't happen until a long time.

OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

WOULD I RECOMMEND?: Yes. This is the only inexpensive nail polish thinner I have ever seen in the market.

Price: Php30 for 15mL

Availability: I've only ever seen it in certain Watson's branches.

*Before I had this, I used nail polish remover which apparently is bad for the polish because it changes the color of the polish and the polish will get goopy again after the nail polish remover evaporates.

CARONIA NAIL HARDENER & BASE COAT

1. Packaging: (5/5)

The packaging is decent. It's chic and the applicator is just like any other nail polish which is pretty convenient. Other than that, I don't really have any complaints with the packaging.

2. Application: (1/5)

The application is pretty easy, you just paint it on your nails just like any other nail polish. The drying is what I HATE about this. It literally takes over a day to dry. LITERALLY. I paint this on my nails and then it may seem dry. Thinking that it's dry, I painted my nail polish over it and I fell asleep, the next day, I found my nails to have lines on them brought about by the sheets. It's so annoying. So, when I use this, I put it on in the morning and I have to wait until the next morning to put on the actual nail polish color. You are seriously better off using a clear nail polish.

3. Nail Hardener: (4/5)

Aside from it taking eons to dry, it actually helps with the hardening of my nails. My nails don't chip off as easily anymore and it works really well in that aspect.

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

WOULD I RECOMMEND?: Yes (as a nail hardener) & No (as a base coat)

What I do with this is that when I don't feel like having polish on, I paint one coat of this on my nail just so it will help harden it.

Price: Php43 for 15mL

Availability: I have seen this in certain Watson's stores and also in Unimart, Greenhills.

OTHER THINGS

Is a base coat the same as clear nail polish?

Yes BUT if you use clear nail polish as your base coat, you will not get the benefits that some base coats offer. For example, if you have ridges in your nails, you are better off using a ridge filler base coat. If you have weak nails, you are better off using a nail hardener base coat. If you do not have issues with your nails, then it would be fine if you opt to use clear polish for a base coat.