Nail Polish Overview: 4 Brands *Updated*

I've recently tried four new brands of nail polish that I've never had before and here's what I think. Although I hardly ever wear colored nail polish on my fingernails anymore, way back in the day I used to and I kind of miss it so now I'm experimenting with new brands other than my usual Revlon.

Rimmel Play Fast nail polish in STREET WEAR ($3.99) was 50% at Long's Drug so I got it for only $1.98. This is a greyish-mauve with the most gorgeous rosy-bronze pearl within it that reflects in the light and especially in sunlight. I wish I had a picture of it in sunlight because it's so damn beautiful! This may be getting discontinued because I don't see the Play Fast nail polishes on their website. This is kind of similar to Metro Chic by Sephora O.P.I., kinda.

Finger Paints ($4.99) can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply (discount with a Sally's card) and I picked up BLANK CANVAS, which is a muted dusty pink that's a perfect neutral tone for your hands. This one is creme with no shimmer.


China Glaze HEAVEN ($5.99, discount with Sally's card), can also be found at Sally's Beauty Supply. This color is a sheer white pearl for you natural girls. This is a versatile color because it can be layered over other colors. (See 3rd picture below)
China Glaze's GOLDEN MERINGUE is another sheer peachy-gold pearl color that is good for layering over another color. (See 2nd picture below) Yikes! An eyelash on my pinky nail. I hate when that happens.

The last China Glaze color I bought was YOUR TOUCH, which is not red to me but in different lighting it can be a burnt sienna or a dark-pinkish-reddish-brown that's full of shimmer. This one is hard to describe but it's one of my faves despite the brushstrokes and don't mind the unfixed cuticles.


My new favorite brand because of it's awesome packaging, fun colors and witty New York names is Carolyn New York ($7.99), which is currently having a 50% off special with free shipping and you also get a free base coat and top coat by using the code "happynewyear" until January 10.
EASTSIDE BROWNSTONE is not as brown as the swatches I've seen but more of a creme reddish-orangey brown. I'm lovin' this one and please ignore the polish on the cuticles.

Finally, I was searching high and low for a true grey and I love HANGIN' ON THE STOOP. This one is darker than Handball Courts, which I plan on getting but sometimes in certain lighting it can look like a slighty blueish-grey. This one is also a creme color that's very trendy and sophisticated.

REVIEW

My description of "chip factor": After one day of daily activities including typing on the computer, using a mouse, several hand washings, dishwashing, a hot shower, shampooing hair and maybe ripping open a few things, I will list a ratio that tells how many of my ten fingernails chipped or peeled away from the tips. Of course, this isn't a very accurate way to do this and despite a high ratio, I may still like that brand of nail polish but I'll just do this for fun anyway. LoL. =P I used the same random Revlon top coat as a base coat and top coat for all brands.

RIMMEL PLAY FAST (0.4 fl. oz.)
Pros: Dries fast, cheap, small packaging
Cons: being discontinued???
Chip Factor: 2/10
Ingredients: not listed on bottle

FINGER PAINTS (0.5 fl. oz.)
Pros: wide range of colors
Cons: a little watery on the first coat but better on the second. (Do 2 thick coats) Contains FORMALDEHYDE RESIN
Chip Factor: 1/10
Ingredients: the exact same as China Glaze except CG has Kaolin (china clay) as it's last ingredient before the colorants and this doesn't (which can be a pro because the China Glaze chipped more than Finger Paints. The hardeners might be making the polish too brittle with the China Glaze. Contains FORMALDEHYDE RESIN (see complete list below)


CHINA GLAZE (0.5 fl. oz.)
Pros: wide range of colors, bright colors
Cons: contains FORMALDEHYDE RESIN, not impressed with all the hype because it chipped
Chip Factor: 5/10
Ingredients: see ingredients description for Finger Paints and see complete list below

CAROLYN NEW YORK (0.5 fl. oz.)
Pros: pretty colors, small compact packaging, rubber non-slip handle for easy opening and closing (love it!), flat-type brush instead of round, DIBUTYL PHTHALATE (DBP) free [DBP can cause birth defects in male fetuses] Click here to read more about this
Cons: nothing significant
Chip Factor: 5/10
Ingredients: DBP free

*NOTE* REVLON nail polish is formaldehyde and toluene free. (These are carcinogens)


Ingredients list for China Glaze & Finger Paints (REMEMBER! The only difference is that CHINA GLAZE has KAOLIN near the end of the list and Finger Paints doesn't but I'll include the whole list below): ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, propyl acetate, tosylamide/formaldehyde resin, isopropyl alcohol, trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate, triphenyl phosphate, ethyl tosylamide, camphor, stearalkonium bentonite, diacetone alcohol, stearalkonium hectorite, benzophenone-1, citric acid, dimethicone, kaolin (china clay), (colorants...)

Whew, I had to bust out with a magnifying glass and squint. Could they have made the text on their labels even smaller?!

FINAL WORDS: By the second day, more chipping and peeling occurred for all four brands so there really wasn't a brand that was longer-lasting than another.

I hope this helps in some way and try to pay attention to the ingredients in everything, not just makeup. Thanks for reading! =)




*UPDATE*

I decided to add a couple swatches of Revlon nail colors, which are readily available just about anywhere for $3.99 (0.5 fl. oz.) and they are toluene, formaldehyde and DBP free. To read up more on harmful ingredients in nail polish and toxic-free brands, click here.

ICED MAUVE is a shimmery purplish berry pink.

ICED SPICE is my favorite Revlon color and it's a lovely shimmery nudish-peach.
(Ignore the brushstrokes. My right hand gets shaky!)

I didn't add a "chip factor" number for Revlon because I didn't use the same base and top coat as with the other brands so it wouldn't be fair.