A bit naff really - Like this review headline. (Elegant Touch Moisture Balance Nail Polish Remover)

Member Name: fruityzo

Product:	Elegant Touch Moisture Balance Nail Polish Remover
Date:	12/06/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks nice on the shelf.

Disadvantages: Doesn't justify it's price tag.

The worst part about painting my nails (for me anyway), is the effort of removing the old nail varnish when I fancy a change of colour (either that or when the varnish has started to resemble the glaze of an old china teapot).

I hate the smell, and scrubbing at my nails to get the last of the colour off.
My nails also tend to be quite brittle, so when I saw this 'Moisture Balance' nail polish remover in Superdrug, I thought I'd give it a go and see if it was any better than a basic remover.

The Product: * * * * *

Each bottle is 200ml, and will set you back around £1.95.
It is fairly easy to spot on the shelf due to its "advanced Bi-Phasic formula" - which in real terms means it has 2 layers! This product is designed so you have to shake to bottle to mix them. The moisture balance version has a pale green top layer, and a darker blue/green bottom layer.

The bottle claims that:
"This advanced, dual phase remover has been especially formulated by the Hand and Nail Experts to help protect nails and maintain suppleness. The top phase removes polish quickly and effectively, whilst moisturising nutrients and Vitamin B5 in the bottom phase encourage healthy, supple nails and cuticles."

I do tend to think the layering of the 2 different colour liquids is more of a ploy to make it look nice and a bit more fancy than other brands, rather than serving any real purpose. I could be wrong; but surely it has the same effect, regardless of whether the chemicals are pre-mixed, or re-mixed everytime you decide to do your nails?!

As a brand, 'Elegant Touch' make a large number of manicure and nail-related products, including false nails; so I'm glad to see that the product is suitable for natural & artificial nails.

Usage: * * * * *

After shaking, the product goes a sort of bright green.
I pop some onto a cotton wool pad, but notice that there seems to be 2 different colours (a strange yellow-green) forming on the pad where the liquid is already trying to separate again!

I do my thang, and start removing a dark varnish that has tiny glittery flecks in it. The remover does seem to struggle with this a little, and I need to give each nail a good few goes over to get it all off.

For the sake of fairness, I've also tried this on other polishes, including smooth ones.

I found that this remover is adequate for removing colour (including a particularly horrendous bright red I was wearing at the time), but with any varnish, I did find that I needed to give the nails a bit of a scrub to get all of it off.

The smell with this one was quite strong too, which was a little disappointing. Obviously all removers are going to smell somewhat due to the nature of the chemicals they contain; but I've used (cheaper) ones in the past that don't smell nearly as strong as this.

Conclusion: * * * * *

Overall, I haven't been hugely impressed with this product. My biggest problem with it being marketed as a moisturising polish remover, when I have found that it actually dries out my nails, rather than make them feel 'healthy' and 'supple'!

After using this, my nails flake quite badly which is a big letdown for me. At just under the £2 mark, it is certainly not the cheapest remover you can find, so I would expect it to follow up on its moisturising claims (which for me, would justify the higher price-tag).
I also have gone through this product quite quickly, as I need to use quite a lot to make it effective, so again, this makes me question its value for money.

Having used shops' own brands of nail varnish remover before, for half the price, and giving better results means that I will not be buying this again!

Summary: Other products do the same job for half the price!