I used to pay almost no attention to my nails. I’d occasionally trim and file them, but going beyond that to apply nail polish seemed like way too much hassle. It’s not that I didn’t love adding a little color to my tips, I just hated the application process: the chemical smell of the polish, the even worse smell of polish remover (and its incredibly irritating habit of drying out my skin) and the enormous amount of patience it seemed to take for everything to fully dry.
The wait, in fact, was probably the most aggravating part, and no matter how long I gave my nails to dry or what topcoat I used, I always seemed to smudge my manicure irreparably by doing something innocuous like opening the door, changing the channel, or even just going to bed (and thus ending up with what the nail polish community terms the dreaded “sheet marks”). But a new discovery of mine has had me happily painting my nails for the last month or two: Creative Nail Design Solar Speed Spray.
One mist, and my polish dries in a minute flat, and hardens into a ding-free shell in less than five. The other huge benefit of the spray (and the main reason I’m mentioning it here) is its fragrance: it has a lovely cherry-almond scent (fairly similar to Korres’ Bitter Almond products or Dragonfly Blue’s Vanilla Almond) that makes me forget all about the stench of acetone and leaves my nose happy and uplifted at the end of the manicure. On top of that, the product itself is incredibly moisturizing, and leaves a fine sheen of oil that sinks in by itself and revives cuticles from the horrors of nail polish remover.
If you have no need for a quick-dry spray and just want the smell and moisturizing benefits of the product, Creative also offers a straight cuticle oil: SolarOil Cuticle Oil. If you love the smell of almond, it can be addictive to apply. If you don't, I highly recommend Essie Cuticle Oil, which has the same benefits but with a lovely apricot fragrance. All three products have me combining a new love of nail polish with my long time addiction to beautiful fragrance.
Creative Nail Design Solar Speed Spray is $17.95 for 4 oz, and the SolarOil is $9 for .5 oz. Essie Cuticle Oil is $7 for .5 oz. Creative Nail Design and Essie products are widely available online, try amazon or beautyofasite.
I stopped using nail polish several years ago, when I realised that it was making my nails dry and brittle. I started caring for them instead – rubbing nail cream/oil into them as often as possible – and I now have the strongest, healthiest nails ever.
But, the other day, after admiring someone's lovely red nails, I bought a small bottle of red nail polish myself and right now my nails are rather neat and cheerful. I bought the cheapest polish I could lay my hands on b/c I know I'll only be using it a few times (I have no intention of having polished nails again on a regular basis) and it turned out to be very good indeed: quick drying and resistant. Nail polish has changed a lot in the intervening years. I used hilarious pink plastic contraptions to protect my nails after polishing them. They're Japanese. I'm glad I didn't chuck them out with the bottles of polish.
I would have been glad of a product like the one you describe, when I was polishing my nails all the time. It sounds great.
Ah yes, the dreaded “sheet marks”… I can never avoid them.
It's strange how manicures and pedicures have really gone from an occasional luxury to a near-requirement in many NYC workplaces. (Well, not a requirement, but part of the unofficial uniform, certainly. And I don't even work in a beauty or fashion field.) I feel like I should at least make the effort of a home manicure more often, so I'm going to check out this spray. Thanks!
J, I'm glad you treated yourself to a bottle of red polish. Your hands looked fabulous I'm sure
I know! Ever since I've started paying attention to my own nails, I've been noticing how nice others' usually look, and thinking what a mess I must have seemed before
Hope the spray helps you out some 
Thank you, A! My nails look nice. Unfortunately, there's nothing much one can do about ageing hands (I sometimes look at mine and don't recognize them).