Is there anyone who actually enjoys having wet polish on their nails? You are tied up for 15-20 minutes from really doing anything and then for at least another hour you have to be careful. The worst is going to bed with partially dry nails ... your manicure takes on the texture of your sheets!

I came across Dazzle Dry's Quick Dry Nail Polish System and I decided to try it out on a warm afternoon last week. I took the kit out on to my porch, closed the door and ... click ... the door locks. Yes, locked out. Not a big deal really because I knew my boyfriend was due home in about 45 minutes and I figured it would take at least that long to paint my fingers and toes. Not so much. As this is fast drying nail polish, it was about 10-12 minutes from the time I started until the time I could touch my nails. They were not completely dry -e.g. not quite "reach into the pockets of my jeans" dry, but really close- definitely much faster than regular polish. I was really impressed (see my nails up there on the right) ... and, no, I am not writing you from my deck- I did eventually make it back in the house.

Fast drying nail polish
1. Start by wiping nail prep on your nails. This is a liquid that is designed to sanitize your nails and make them more adhesive to polish. This is the only part of the process that smelled at all like a manicure. This is noteworthy because the smell only lasts a few moments which is not bad at all. Also, the polishes themselves have little to no odor to them.
2. Next I used a Dazzle Dry base coat. This took about 1 minute to dry and was created to make your manicure last longer. I had the polish on for about a week before I started seeing chips.
3. I followed with 1 coat of polish. The directions said that was all I needed and it really was. I think this helps a lot with the quick-dry process as their polishes are designed to look great with just 1 coat ... maybe a max of 2.
4. Finally, the top coat. It is shiny and glossy and makes your nails look wet even when they are dry. You absolutely need this product if you are going to use this system. It makes your nails look so good.

All polishes, base, top and colors are nitrocellulose-free, toluene-free, phthalate-free and formaldehyde-free and all of them are free from animal testing. For more details on why this is so important, see my article on cosmetic safety.

The line has a full-range of seasonal colors in great names like Linen Lace, Evening Song and Spicey Date. The kit costs $54 and includes the prep, the basecoat, 3 polishes of your choice and the top coat.

Dr. Vivian Valenty is the chemist who founded the Abrioné line, which includes the Dazzle Dry collection. The quick dry products can be purchase here.

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