I haven’t had a professional manicure in forever – I used to get one every two weeks many years ago and loved it, but it became too expensive AND my manicure didn’t last any longer than it did when I did it at home. So I started trying out different polishes to see what I liked the best and did my nails at home. By FAR my favorite nail polish is Chanel – I have 4-5 shades, my favorites are Vamp for Winter color and Ballerina for Summer (I constantly have this on my toes).
But alas, I’m tiring of the strong odor of both the polish and the heavy-duty remover I need to get the Vamp off my nails, and am starting to try and replace my old polish with new, eco-friendlier, non-toxic polish – starting with a water-based polish by Sula. I was especially intrigued by this one because you’re supposed to be able to peel it off, and I was also a sucker for the cute packaging LOL:
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KEImatUXLA
(sorry that the video is a little blurry when I’m trying to get the close-ups, I was trying to do this by myself!) The only thing I would say about this is that I didn’t use a base coat (supposedly it’s not necessary with a water-based polish) and after peeling the polish off, my nails were extremely dry. I read on another website that if you don’t use a base coat, you should brush your nails with cuticle oil a few minutes before applying the polish. I actually do this every time, but only on my cuticles, using Solar Oil, but I didn’t use the oil on my nails. I would definitely suggest that you do that though…
I also did some research and came up with this list of non-toxic or water-based (or both) nail polish available online – if you know of any I missed, PLEASE let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!
Water-Based Nail Polish
WaterColors nail enamel
Suncoat
Acquarella
Honeybee Gardens
Sula
Toxic Free Boutique
Formaldehyde, Toluene & DBP-free Nail Polish
Orly
Butter London
Lippmann Collection
Rescue Beauty Lounge
NARS
Adoree
nubar
Peacekeeper
Zoya
Chanel, Revlon, OPI, Sally Hanson, Rimmel, Calvin Klein, M.A.C., Avon, and many other of the “big” brand nail polishes are also “three free.” But this is only for relatively recent formulations – some of the older versions probably still have the chemicals in them (my Chanel polishes are probably in the older formulation category…they’re pretty old!)
A good resource for everything nail polish related, including WHY it’s important to buy three-free or water-based nail polish: All Lacquered Up
{ 5 comments }
I remember years ago (probably 15?) I had this nail polish you can peel off and it didn’t have a toxic scent. I don’t even remember the name of it now!
When I get pedicures, our local shops (http://www.joinailspa.com/ and http://www.solematesnailspa.com/ ) uses Zoya
Carla’s last blog post..Save water, time and money in your yard
Hi!
I just came across this review and i thought i would share with you another nail polish brand that is water based and free from harsh chemicals.
It’s called toxicfreeBoutique nail polishes and I’ve been using it for a couple of months and i love it! I wear evening tide on my toes all the time and seems to stay on just as long as my old chanel . I swap coloours all the time on my fingernails for nights out when i really want to glam up, although i’ve found first blush is gorgeous for a french manicure kind of colour. The black is good too.
I would def recommend this brand – http://www.toxicfreeboutique.com
awesome! thanks for the recommendation! i love the color selection – especially all the reds.
Great piece! I use (and in full disclosure, am a retailer of..) Honeybee Gardens Watercolors Nail Polish. While it doesn’t peel like Sula’s your tip on oiling nails before applying polish is good advice for all lines of more natural based polishes. Since they don’t any of the questionable ingredients used by many other brands, they don’t all come off easily or leave nails dry as was your experience. Rubbing a bit of Olive Oil into nails about 1/2 hour – 1 hour before applying polish seems to make removal easier and nails remain in excellent condition.
Cheers
Valerie Reddemann
Founder / President
Greenfeet.com
thanks so much for your input Valerie! I will definitely try the olive oil thing next time – it sounds like it would work very well…i can’t wait to try more brands, there are a lot on my list to try….
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