Nail polish is my favorite accessory. You can change your nail color to go with your outfit, mood, or the occasion. It refuses to stay on my nails by itself, so I actually do have to change it that often. After many years of collecting polishes, I have formed solid opinions on the brands and colors that work best for me.
What’s the Best Brand to Choose?
Just to touch on a few. There are so many wonderful brands out there, but these are some that I own/have owned and found successful.
Essie
Essie is my absolute favorite. For me, they have the longest shelf life; they last years without turning to goop. I can’t stand gooey polish. No amount of thinners and adding remover to the polish can fix that.
These nail polishes also last the longest on my nails. I have very oily nail beds, [let’s be honest, I have oily everything], and most nail polishes will have chipped by the end of the day. Essie polishes last me a few days, which might not sound that enticing, but that’s a win for me!
Essie’s makes my favorite range of nail polish colors, and they’re widely available. They’re sold at Walmart, Ulta, Target, etc., though I will warn you, some stores have better selection than others. This also makes them affordable!
OPI
Let’s not forget the OG OPI. I used to have a few OPI shades, but they have since been tossed due to age. Currently I own plenty of Essie shades for one person, so I haven’t repurchased any OPI. OPI easily has the largest range of nail polishes – there’s a color for everything. They even make most of their shades in a special gel formula, so you can easily find that color you can’t live without, even when you go to the nail salon. Consistency is OPI’s strongest selling point. No matter what color or formula (iridescent/opacity/glitter) this nail polish will always glide on smoothly.
Butter London
I also have a few polishes for Butter London. These are okay in the quality department. They’re “3 free” – no formaldehyde, no toluene, no DBP. [It’s scary the stuff that’s in some nail polishes. Carcinogens my friends. No bueno.] But Butter London tends to be thin in consistency and color pigmentation, and thus sometimes hard to get a solid, flawless nail. I love their selection of polish colors though. They’re soft, feminine, and very wearable.
10 Nail Polish Colors Every Woman Should Own
(I apologize now for all of them being Essie…this isn’t sponsored, I want to recommend my true favorites to my followers! If you don’t like the formula for some reason, I’d suggest trying to find a similar color from your personal favorite brand.)
- Essie – Mademoiselle. The perfect sheer light pink.
- Essie – Fiji. The perfect opaque light pink.
- Essie – Topless & Barefoot. This is MY perfect nude. I recommend you try before you buy, because it doesn’t work for everyone’s skin tone.
- Essie – Bare With Me. Another great nude.
- Essie – Sunday Funday. Clearly as the name suggests, this one is fun. It’s summer in a bottle. It’s a beautiful coral iridescent.
- Essie – Bikini So Teeny. I love this one for summer, it’s a lavender/light blue with a hint of sparkle. Not everyone is down for a blue polish, but it’s very wearable. Check it out!
- Essie – Turquoise & Caicos. The name says it all. Ocean blue.
- Essie – Angora Cardi. Such a beautiful shade of purple for fall.
- Essie – Wicked. This one is the perfect vampy fall color. Rich burgundy to the point of being almost black.
- Essie – Limited Addiction. Essie hit the nail on the head with this perfect blood red.
Looking for the perfect last minute outfit or gift for Valentine’s Day? Check out my post on Valentine’s Day Outfit Ideas and the post here on Valentine’s Day Gift Guide.
Chantelle says
Really lovely post! As I am into my nail polishes, I always love seeing what others love and what brands people recommend! I really need to get a few more Essie polishes to try as I really don’t have many Essie ones, the Sunday Funday and Bikini so teeny ones sound so lovely and think I will pick them up the next time I am in Boots 🙂 Thank you for the recommendations! If you fancy seeing some pretty nail art or other polishes I have plenty on my blog if you fancy taking a look 🙂 have a lovely weekend. take care, Chantelle x
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