This £9 nail ‘highlighter’ gets me more compliments than a professional mani
And it’s all thanks to the clever nail know-how of Nails Inc
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It was after the fifth compliment about my nails, in the space of 48 hours, that I knew this piece needed to be written. Those compliments were for Nails Inc Glowing Somewhere, £9, my go-to product for putting on my nails after I’ve removed a professional gel manicure. I say ‘removed’ – to be more honest, it’s the polish I reach for when I have ruined my natural nails by picking and hacking off said gel manicure, rather than removing them properly. Which shows just a great polish it is. If it garners that many compliments when my nails are at their worst, I can only imagine what would happen when I wear it when they’re in prime condition.
What is Nails Inc. Glowing Somewhere?
It isn’t an in-your-face on-trend bold colour. It’s a slightly pearly, shimmering, luminous, nothingy colour. If we’re going to be really ‘beauty’ about it, it’s a nail highlighter. There’s something about this polish that catches the eye (quite literally) of everyone who sees it.
It does to your nails what a makeup highlighter does to your face. It instantly adds luminosity and a sense of health to your nails – even when they are dry, cracked and scuffed. We are in Hailey Bieber glazed donut nail territory with this, but it’s more understated.
Even though it catches the light and reflects it, it doesn’t seem to make my gnarly nails look worse, which can often be the case with makeup highlighters – exacerbating skin flaws rather than concealing them – but instead glosses over ridges and bumps and cracks and unifies them under one state of glowiness.
How do you apply it?
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Well, the good news is that this is one of those products that you can just slap (or paint) on. If you have the time or inclination, you can apply a base coat first – I tend to use Sally Hansen Miracle Cure Nail Strengthener, £11, because my nails need all the TLC they can get after picking off the gel. The other good news is you don’t need the precision eye or steady hand of a nail pro with this. Thanks to its paleness, it’s very forgiving as you apply it. One coat looks great, and two are even better. A top coat is great, but another confession, I rarely bother with one because this is so glossy on its own. And when it starts to chip, again, thanks to its non-colour, it’s not that noticeable.
So, if, like me, you’re looking for something to make your nails look like the picture of health, or you’re looking for a gel mani alternative that doesn’t cost the earth and does zero damage to your nails, may I suggest that a nail highlighter, a la Nails Inc Glowing Somewhere, is the product you didn’t know you needed. Brace yourself for compliments from strangers.
