Saturday, March 23, 2013

How-to: Nail Whitening


Once in a while, I get a little crazy and I'll look at my nails and start thinking, "Hmm I feel like going naked today." But, of course, I never had the courage to do that because my nails are horribly stained from wearing polish almost everyday for more than a year! And that is the vicious cycle of polish: polish -> stained nails -> more polish to hide stains, etc.

So when I heard that Cuccio's nail whitening paste was available at a good deal at this year's BeautyAsia fair, I jumped at the chance to try it for myself. I didn't actually manage to go to the fair but the lovely Lauretta from A Lacquered Affair helped me grab a tube to try! Thank you, L!


The instructions are simple: (paraphrased below)

  1. Wet a nail brush thoroughly.
  2. Squeeze a generous amount of nail whitening paste on the brush.
  3. Scrub like nobody's business. (Official instruction says to scrub for 1 min. Longer if your nails are very stained.)

Of course, I had to do it my own way. Since I didn't have a nail brush, I used a small toothbrush instead. I've tried putting the paste on the brush but I realized that it is quite wasteful as the paste gets smooshed deep into the bristles so I dabbed a bit of paste on each nail instead. I did follow step 3 to the T though. 

I was a little disappointed on my first try but I stuck to it and diligently scrubbed my nails everyday for 6 days and I am extremely happy to say: YES, it works! Take a look:

Before:
nail-whitening-before

Yea... those orange tips make me cringe too. >.< Only the nails near the cuticles are "spared" because they are relatively new growths.

After:
nail-whitening-after

Gosh, my nails grow pretty quickly, don't they? But, no more orange stains! I grabbed my sister's hands for a quick comparison and my nails still look slightly yellowish next to hers but she did comment that they look much healthier.

I paraded around with my nails naked and it sure felt good... for two days. I couldn't take it any longer and slapped on some color after that. :P
I did vow to scrub my nails at least once a week though to keep them looking healthy so I can go naked whenever I feel like it.

Do you have stained nails too? How do you whiten them?

xoxo,
mich

14 comments:

  1. Oh, this is a useful product. My nails are also pretty badly stained, so I too am a victim of the vicious cycle! I wonder if I can get it in Indonesia.

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  2. I wonder if a bleaching toothpaste would have the same effect?

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  3. I need to try this!! Great results!

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  4. A Lacquered AffairMarch 23, 2013 at 9:23 PM

    Awesome!! So glad it works! Your nails still look like their in good shape regardless. Jennifer (lillgoddess) had a funny description of the smell, hehehe! Wonder if you feel the same.
    And, you're most welcome!!

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  5. I need to try this! I have a similar nail whitening paste and have always been disappointed after one use but clearly multiple uses are the way forward! Now just to brave no nail polish for a week! xx

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  6. I feel like I need to try this too.

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  7. That's a nice result! I just buff every once in a while, but I never feel the need to go naked as I always snag on things if I do.

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  8. i hope you can find it! I've heard that you can find it on eBay too! :)

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  9. Ohh I haven't tried that before! hmmm... Let me know if you find out! <3

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  10. I agree! I'm so pleasantly surprised! <3

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  11. Aw thank you babe! Hehhh I saw her description on twitter and I couldn't help sniggering :P It does have a rather.. distinctive... smell ;)

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  12. Yup! I am glad I stuck with the scrubbing. To be honest, I was all ready to give up but I went on trying to do a proper review :)
    But yikes, going around without nail polish is the harder bit. I keep wanting to polish my nails! lol!

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  13. I definitely recommend it if you want to whiten your nails ;)

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  14. Ahh.. I was tempted to buff my nails but I don't think I will have the patience to do all my nails. As it is, I dread filing my nails every week. I'm such a lazy bum. :P

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