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Apothecary: Zoya Remove +

Today I wanted to share my daily process occurring with my favorite polish remover: Zoya Remove +. My friend Lisa and I found a delightful bottle holder in the garden next to the Mutter Museum. It's a shame I can't transport the Remove + bearer to my apartment. Of course she must remain in the garden so that others can take her picture with their most treasured nail polish remover. It's essential to retain the sense of community, especially in city dwelling. Remove + is the first step of the Zoya Colorlock System. As a polish remover and nail prep, Remove + can be utilized as part of your current nail care procedure regardless of which treatment products you use. I believe it's the mark of a quality product when it can be separated from a line and still achieve excellent results.
I feel choosing a quality polish remover helps maintain nail length and reduces damage that can eventually lead to breakage. Even if I purchase drugstore polish, I will still take it off with Remove +. Using a polish remover that typically requires a scrubbing action to be effective can cause the nail to slightly twist at the sides. This motion ultimately weakens the nail and can form tiny cracks that grow into tears or splits.
I have to praise Zoya for creating, to my nose,  the best smelling polish remover on the market. I have a finite sense of smell. I love natural perfumery and for me to praise the scent of a polish remover is nothing short of miraculous! Zoya describes the scent as being lavender based. To me, it smells like a light floral expanse distracting from the effective ingredients. The list includes: 2-Propanone, water, glycerine, fragrance and D&C violet #2. The color is light purple and looks like it is a lavender scented product. That information doesn't relate to my olfactory senses. I smell a giant mixed bouquet tossed over 2-Propanone.
The method I use to remove polish begins with cutting up rectangles of white felt from the craft store. I size the pieces slightly larger than each nail.  I position the piece of felt over the holes under the flip cap and pump once. This should saturate the felt and leave a little extra remover that can be absorbed by the next piece. I gently press the piece of felt to make contact with the entire surface of the nail. I wait for about 20 seconds, then wipe. I use the same method with glitter polishes. Usually glitter will require a second pump of remover. I use one small piece of felt per nail. For regular polish, you can use cotton rounds if you prefer. I have found felt to be so economical I use it to remove every type of polish I wear. As a bonus, less product is required when working with felt.
The Big Flipper bottle seemed a little awkward to me the first couple times I tried it. You'll find the most comfortable pressure to dispense the amount of polish remover you require. A 32 oz. refill bottle is available. There is also a 2 oz. trial size. I would advise skipping that and moving to the 8 oz. Big Flipper.
Remove + also works beautifully as a nail prep. Directly before I polish, I take a felt square similar in size to a cotton round and go over all ten nails. This will take off any oils that can keep your base coat from throughly adhering to the nail plate. Touching your face, pushing back your hair, or petting your dog or cat can transfer imperceptible oils to the nail that will cause polish to chip. Base coat can't thoroughly adhere to oil. Giving my nails a final swipe with Remove + is the final step before I begin painting. It assures the nail plate is clean and ready for base coat.
One of the points necessary for maintaining nail length, to whatever degree suits your sense of aesthetics and lifestyle, is consistency. I use Remove + exclusively for nail prep. There are other removers I find work effectively to take off polish and I will be sharing those with you as part of the apothecary series.
Happy painting, removing, and painting again!
Posted by paintedladyfingers at 11:21 PM Labels: apothecary, polish remover, zoya

