I love nail polishes, who doesn’t, so I am always looking for the next new best.
I, like everyone else, think OPI is a great brand and it’s usually what I purchase along with an occasional investment in a great Chanel polish. Lately, since I no longer do acrylics or gels, I have been looking for healthier polishes to go along with my healthy nails. I have tried Zoya numerous times, and it is “4 free” (it has no formaldehyde, toluene, DBP or camphor), but it has absolutely no staying power.
Next I found Julep, also “4 free”, and I joined their Julep Maven, a box of polishes mailed to you each month. Great colors and the bottle and brush were easy to use. I don’t always polish my fingernails, but I used the polishes for a couple of months on my toes and they looked great. I go to a salon for my pedicures and the nail tech did tell me the polish was a little thicker then she was used to working with. When I did decide to polish my fingernails, my experience was less then satisfactory. The polish was so thick that I found it very difficult to apply, but the real problem was that my nails took almost two hours to dry……. but they were actually still soft after all that time and as soon as I started to use my hands, the polish was a mess. I am thinking that the pedi took that long to dry as well, but I just didn’t realize as it is flip flop season.
I called Julep and canceled my subscription. I now have eight bottles of polish I will never use again.
Then I started reading about butter LONDON, http://www.butterlondon.com
butter LONDON was founded in 2005 by Sasha Muir and it developed a passionate cult following by transforming catwalk trends into custom nail lacquers. In addition to creating a range of bold, runway-ready hues, the London based brand was a pioneer in selling non-toxic nail formulas in the United States. All butter LONDON lacquers are “3-free” – meaning they are formulated without formaldehyde, toluene and DBP.
I found butter LONDON on QVC.com and at Sephora.com and every review was better then the last. (I should have read the reviews before purchasing Julep – usually I’m a little smarter then that.) I made my first purchase from QVC, http://www.qvc.com , as I knew that if I didn’t like it, used or not, I could return it. butter LONDON offered a starter kit of Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat, a choice of color and Hardwear PD Quick. Just an FYI, QVC is not selling individual colors at this time.
As I mentioned, most of the time I wear my nails without color, but I always have color on my toe nails. When I do feel in the mood for a little color, it would be nice to get a few days wear out of it. Three or four days would be perfect as by then I am bored and looking to change the color. That is exactly what I got with butter LONDON.
The bottle and brush are easy to use. The Nail Foundation, in the bottle it looks exactly like foundation for the face, is the base and gives the nail a smooth sueded look. I would even wear this on its own for a matte look. The polish I chose was Yummy Mummy, which is a neutral beige – something I never wear – but have now fallen in love with. It went on beautifully and each coat dried within two minutes to the touch. I then used the topcoat, Hardwear PD Quick, which gave the nails a shiny coat that was almost dry instantly. Within fifteen minutes of starting the mani, I was done and gently using my hands without damaging the polish.
I had this color on for almost five days before I took it off to try another color – no chips – and I used a 10X magnification mirror to check. I get about three days wear from OPI..
I cooked, cleaned, keyed on a computer, walked the dogs, did laundry, etc, etc and it lasted!
I have since tried Big Smoke which is a gorgeous midnight blue, Chancer which is a beautiful red, the limited edition Heavy Medal Metallic Trio which consists of gold, silver and bronze metallic polishes and Wallis, which is an olive khaki. These polishes all lasted four + days. I am awaiting The Black Knight which is a heavily glittered jet black polish.
This is The Old Bill which is a bronze metallic.
This is Wallis which is an olive metallic.
I am so pleased with the fact that this brand is “free” and durable. Not something that “free” polishes can usually claim. The colors are cutting edge and the ladies realize it is not OPI as I had friends and strangers ask me what brand of polish I was wearing. It is a stand out brand that I love, love, love.
Give your natural nails a healthy treat ( or use on your acrylics because the colors are great). I think you are going to be very surprised.
Peace
Sephora – $14.00
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