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Are high-end nail polishes worth it?
Are high-end nail polishes worth it? If so, what makes them worth it? What brands are worth splurging on?
I think the color is most important – sometimes high-end brands do seem to put out interesting takes on color. I don’t get better or longer wear out of a high-end polish over something cheaper. Rescue Beauty Lounge and Butter London have really exceptional formulas.
Thanks to Neha for today’s question!
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Not to me. I won’t spend very much on nail polishes.
I think certain brands such as zoya especially when they are amazing to their customers or if it is a one in a kind color. I have seen brands with really high respect bash their fans but have these one in a kind color where I have had to buy. I think it depends on color and customer service.
I agree with Christine 100%
Color is absolutely the deal breaker for me. A run-of-the-mill color is going to be run-of-the-mill whether it’s made by RBL or Wet ‘n Wild.
I will occasionally splurge on a unique color, but having a better formula helps. I adore Chanel’s Black Pearl, but I alternate between longer-lasting manicures (4 days isn’t bad wear for me, I’m hard on my nails) and chippy ones – it makes me weary of buying them again. OTOH, I just checked out Victoriana by Butter London and I love the color AND the formula.
I won’t splurge for formula alone though. I can make almost anything work, I just don’t see the point in paying an extra $10/bottle for a slightly easier manicure.
Yes. They drive unique colors such as Chanels Iconic Vamp, Paradoxal and the new black pearl shade. Totally worth it.
If by high-end you mean OPI or Essie, then definitely. I get much better wear out of those brands than Sally Hansen. For colors I know I’ll wear once or twice though, then I’ll buy Sally Hansen or the like. If you work and/or tend to wear the same color, then it may be worth it for you. For me, though, I have never used up a bottle of nail polish in my life (top coats are the exception) and I’d feel horrible throwing away a Chanel polish. I change my nail polish so often and have so many colors and I don’t think I’d be able to do that if I only bought Chanel or Dior. But hey, if you can spare the cash, go for it. Just my two cents…
I agree, I normally go for the color. I don’t own any drug store polishes, I consider OPI my go-to brand. Every so often I’ll buy a MAC because the color is so unique, even though I’m not happy with the application. I was so excited to find butter london in Nordstroms a month ago. But I’m most impressed with the Chanel formula. Even though there’s so many cheaper dupes for Blue Satin, I had to get the Chanel one because it’s that good. And I’ll occasionally buy another one of theirs, just because the wear time is great! However, the colors that are my favs that I always use during the summers are the one from the OPI Australian collection back in 2007. I still have all 12. They’re my absolute favs!! The word play OPI does has gotten kinda old IMO.
I honestly think they are. I usually get about 5 days worth (no chipping or peeling) of wear from a revlon polish with my top coat and about 12 days wear (same top coat) from an Essie polish.
I think drugstore brands have a nice color selection but they add a duo-chrome and shimmer to everything and I like a nice cream finish and I think there are more colors like that in high end nail polish.
Point is, I like high end ones better but if I can find a nice shade with a decent formulation drugstore works fine for me.
I suppose. I never use polishes up, so if something is super expensive, it doesn’t REALLY matter, ’cause I’ll probably never run out anyway.
For the above reasons, I refuse to spend more than $10 on polish. I can wait for a dupe.
In general, yes. I’ve had horrific experiences with some drugstore brands that I don’t care to revisit. With that being said, some cheapo brands (like Sinful and Milani) are right up to par with the best of them. In general, however, I find that the high end brands do a better job of creating unique colors, longer lasting wear, and formulas with fewer toxic chemicals. Some drugstore and beauty supply store brands still have formaldehyde in them, for pete’s sake.
Sometimes..if the color is really unique then i can see spending more. I myself have never boughten a Chanel polish yet! I havent seen anything that really calls to me enough to dish out that kind of cash. I have bought Lippmann polishes though
Not to be grammar police, but ‘boughten’ is not a word. Its ‘bought’
this is so ironic because i bought my first Butter London yesterday! I love it, but I think in general OPI is the highest I’ll go for price
I LOVE SOME DRUG STORE AND SOME HIGH END I THINK MY ANSWER IS A TRUE WINNER HA
It depends. For me, application is the most important factor, and I will pay more money for it. My hands pretty much shake all the time, so I need something easy to control and self-leveling. Unique colors are the next thing I look for. Rescue Beauty Lounge and Illamasqua are almost always winners in my book, and Deborah Lippmann’s glitters are the best things ever. But if I’m just looking for a red, or a soft blue, or anything of that sort, I’ll stick with China Glaze, Orly, Zoya, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wears, and OPI.
Some are, like Rescue Beauty Lounge and Illamasqua.
But Chanel is positively one of the worst nail polishes, high end or not. Streaky, chippy, poor pigmentation and all for the ridiculous price of $25.
I’ve bough three Chanel polishes in my time. Never again…
To only if the color is unique or the finish likes if it’s duocrome or something
Yeap! High-end polishes come up with unique colors and that’s what mainly differentiates them. Also some of them are really easy to apply and dry fast.
No! but I don’t count professional high-end polishes like D. Lippmann and RBL in. I don’t get the whole hype about chanel polishes, ok the colors are beautiful sometimes, but that’s it, the formulation is ok, but nothing fancy, and dior polishes are one of the worst beauty relatd things I know. I did two times in the past make the mistake to buy them and though I always use a basecoat, both times my nails were stained yellow after that!!! btw. the first dior polish was a minty color, actually green jade seemed like a dupe for that 🙂
most of my polishes, are from inglot or OPI (french-pinks and reds)or cheap noname brands in tiny bottles. I don’t get why I should pay for something so much when I don’t evenn fiish it, as the bottels are large and a color or finish is out of style fast
Hm… they are worth it if the color is a must have! But not too often. Chanel tends to have a few very good colors, and i love Dobborah Lippmann glitters, those are must haves. Other than that, i mostly stick to good old china glaze and opi. and zoya. and color club. definitely color club 🙂
I ONLY buy high-end nail polishes. I figured I’d try Revlon just to get white nail polish to experiment with the OPI silver crackle, and maybe it’s how I applied my nail polish but the Revlon bubbled on me like crazy! I never had that issue with my high-end brands. That’s just my experience.
Sometimes the high-end brands bring out colours that are really beautiful and unique. To me, that’s the only reason to splurge on an expensive nail polish. I haven’t really notice a big difference in performance (i.e. application, staying power) between expensive brands and cheaper brands. My favourite nail polishes are by Rimmel and Barry M (a UK brand) and they last up to a week without chipping. There are some high-end brands which have formaldehyde-free formulas which may be worth spending more but I haven’t made up my mind if that’s the case.
I agree.it is all bout the color.for that reason essie is my least favourite brand because they always com up with very easy colors.But sometimes the quality matters too.I recently got 6-7 duochromes(like nubars) from a local/very cheap brand,after a week of trying them I decided that nothing can beat Nubar’s douchromes and they are definetely worth the money.
I’m not a nail girl but you Butter London review have made their effects on me ! xD
I’m trying to find them in France, And for those interested, you can purchase them on zalando. Took me ages to find.
Has anyone tried their Thames nail polish ? It looks stunning !
http://www.butterlondon.com/lacquers/choose/98
My Chanel nail polish was not worth the money, I hate it!
Interesting question. I think it honestly depends on how you define “higher end nail polishes”.
For example, OPI retails for about 10USD and you can get them for like 5.50USD at places like transdesign.com in the states, but in Hong Kong, its considered as a high end brand, and officially retails for at least 18USD. Cheap polishes like Azure (from beauty chain store SASA)could be bought for 5HKD (less than 1USD!), but formula varies, wear time sucks, and are often in boring colors (dries up very fast too and has extremely user-unfriendly brushes and design.) in that sense, I think price IS proportionate to value and good polishes are definitely worth more money.
Guess that’s not always the case tho. China glaze is one of my favourite nail polish brands and I think it has excellent quality polishes but it is still relatively cheap. If a brand wants to make me pay a lot for a nail polish, it’d better have a colour I’m obsessively IN LOVE with, and has is flawless, quailty wise.
oops, a small typo – “and is flawless, quality wise” (at the end of the comment)
OPI costs like $24 (150 SEK) in Sweden >_<
I think I've seen it cost like $20-21 (130 SEK) though.
Price is no guarantee one way or the other. One of the worst polishes I’ve ever had was from OPI (Catch the Garter, I think it was called) and one of my favourites is from Sally Hansen (Moccachino). But I do love both OPI and Zoya, for the most part.
Personally I think yes, even though you pay a high price compared to other nail polishes on the market, you get an excellent quality and long stay! but sometimes I just get a high end top coat and use drug store brands and just add an expensive sealing coat on that and it gives the same result as high end nail polishes
I have to admit, I ran into a Butter London display at Ulta a few days ago. For $14 each, I was too hesitant to splurge, but being so in love with the colors and now knowing that it’s a great formula, I might have to go buy some.
Depends on the color and pigmentation, mostly. Longevity is not really a factor as I use a base coat and a top coat. However if the brand also has a good quality “big-3 free” formula is still as good, it serves as a plus point. I think that with some brands (think Chanel, Dior, YSL), which are perceived as the benchmarks of style and fashion, you are mostly paying for the privilege of associating yourself with the trend setters. To put it in other words, by using their (definitely over-priced but indisputably recognisable) product, you are assured of being recognised as stylish and fashionable, irrespective of whether you have an instrinsic sense of style or not.
Depends on the color and pigmentation, mostly. Longevity is not really a factor as I use a base coat and a top coat. However if the brand also has a good quality “big-3 free” formula, it serves as a plus point. I think that with some brands (think Chanel, Dior, YSL), which are perceived as the benchmarks of style and fashion, you are mostly paying for the privilege of associating yourself with the trend setters. To put it in other words, by using their (definitely over-priced but indisputably recognisable) product, you are assured of being seen as
fashionably stylish, irrespective of whether you have an instrinsic sense of style or not.
I used to think that they weren’t, but lately Chanel has been coming out with these amazing colors, so I think my resolve will break. LOL
I totally agree, if the color’s something I’ve never seen before, it’s definitely worth buying.
Nope. In fact, nail polish is the one thing I refuse to buy high end. I have the entire Sally Hansen xtreme wear line and I have no complaints.
I agree that high end nail polishes do have some pretty amazing colors not available from cheaper brands. I really love the texture of Chanel polishes. On the lower price range though, American Apparel makes some beautiful shades and has an awesome formula.
BTW Have you tried AA polishes?
My experience is some are and some arent. Lippmann and Rbl polishes give me a week of wear but Butter London only stays chip free for 2 to 3 days. Opi chips fast for me and both Zoya and Essie last in the 2 to 3 day range.
Nope, not at all. I like my OPI
I think it totally depends on the colour and formula.
I’m obviously not gonna want to buy an ugly/uninteresting/boring polish with a bad formula wether it’s $5 or $50, but if I love the colour and the formula is decent then sure!
I find even the $3 sally hansen xtreme wear nail polish is better than some higher end ones. But I only buy HE polish for colour selection. 🙂
I personally think they’re worth it ONLY for unique colours. Like the Deborah Lippmann glitters. I’m a big fan of glitter and sparkle, and so for me those are WELL worth it. But I wouldn’t but a regular colour from that brand.
I tried on an Orly polish which cracked on the same day (after being applied by a professional!), and chipped after 3 days. I don’t really know if that’s considered high end but I know it’s a big name among nail polishes. I’ve had Korean brands work better for me and where I live they are equivalent to about US$2.50 so there’s no way I’m going to drop more than US$10 on nail color. Sure, luxury brand polishes have unique colors (as far as I know there’s no exact dupe to Chanel Particuliere) but if I’ve found my perfect red/pale pink/taupe/gray/coral in a more affordable brand, I won’t buy a bottle of the high end version. Anyway, I don’t make my polish last more than a week so I don’t really experience chipping a lot. 😛
Totally. Especially if you have natural nails it really does last longer and it doesn’t chip as soon as lower end brands. I use OPI for this reason. I think Essie is good too…If you don’t mind re-applying or have synthetic nails then go for lower end…plus I like that (some)hey are free of certain harsh chemicals 🙂
Personally I don’t care because I spend a lot of my time cooking so my color chips in three days regardless of the price. I am more about colors than whether it is a designer or high end brand. I will admit I have been lemming after Schiap by NARS.
Oh Christine you should really try some brazilian brands of nail polish! We have so many new, interesting colors! And a lot of cheaper dupes too! lol In terms of makeup I go for internacional brands, but nail polishes from Brazil are amazing!
No. I heard Chanel chips easily…all their polishes can be easily duped.I want to try a Butter London polish but I’ll probably just stick with China Glaze and OPI. I love all the colors Revlon has but they are way streaky. Sally Hansen has some decent polishes tho.
I think it depends on what you value personally. If it’s your personal treat to have that little Chanel polish peaking up at you from your drawer, then who am I to be all judgey and say “HOW MUCH?” For me, the manicure is such a small statement piece for a whole look that it’s not worth the investment to me (and I have short nails). You never hear red carpet reporters say “OMG, LOOKIT HER NAILS!” At the same time, I probably would throw down the $100-ish for Clarins 230 if my spousal equivalent wouldn’t scalp me. 😛
Also, my nail polish comfort zone would have to be <$15.
This question is a bit of yes/no for me.
Like MAC I don’t really like their polishes. But I would say I love OPI! The texture and the formula is great, stays for a week or even longer without chipping!
Colour is the most important point, but I think formula is the deal breaker for me. I love my Chanel Rose Confidentiel, but I have lots of problems keeping it on my nails, for a day even! I recently used Essie Raspberry and what a difference in aplication and longevity: 3 days later, dishes washed, jeans zipped, and not a chip. Don’t think I’ll buy another Chanel nail lacquer again, but I can’t wait to buy some more Essie colours.
I go for the color but i’ve noticed that most cheap nail polishes chip faster and easier that some high end ones, but if the color is cool i’ll buy it anyways :p
In site of any uniqueness in colour nothing grabs me so much as a nail polish that lasts and for me the best one is Zoya and then OPI. Zoya last for 5 days on me if I use Seche Vite as a top coat and has such a huge range of colours and finishes. For the amount they charge (under 10.00) it is better than a one time trip to a nail salon and I get longer lasting results. One bottle pays for itself in one use! But I won’t pay the Chanel prices no matter what.
I agree on this except I will buy chanel if I can get Vendetta… Zoya is fabulous and the wear is great! 🙂 If you can like them on facebook they give out free nail polish now and then. I won’t buy OPI because of them being bought by Coty but I will agree great polishes from them as well.
Maybe someone has asked you before, but I’ve always wanted to ask you why you don’t review OPI polishes? Maybe not all of them, but the collections? Please don’t take this in a negative way, I love your blog and your reviews!
And yes, I do go high-end. Most of my polish is OPI, but I do buy, wear and love Dior and Chanel polishes as well.
I didn’t care for the way OPI treated bloggers several months ago, and I didn’t appreciate them telling their fans they apologized to me when they’ve never spoken to me – the lying really did it for me. I see no reason to support a brand like that. I don’t ask or want anyone to boycott the brand, but I’m not going to promote them.
Thanks for the answer. I only started reading your blog about eight months ago, so I didn’t know. Of course a big brand like OPI should not be lying to customers and bloggers (let alone bloggers who are customers!). I absolutely understand your decision.
i have over 200 polishes. i like higher end polishes, because they dry quicker, harder and with fewer bubbles. no chunkiness, streaks or softness an hour later! they last exponentially longer [i can’t be bothered with topcoats or basecoats: i find they don’t really help longevity either]. i still have drugstore polishes, but for colors that are staples, such as black, sheer pink, deep red, sheer shimmer…i definitely have a chanel or an opi. the lower end of the higher end: opi, essie, china glaze, etc. are great and equal to chanel’s quality and still only a few bucks more than maybelline or revlon. i guess this is when color comes in: chanel’s black satin is subtle and remarkable, orly’s love each other is gorgeous, etc.
If i want it, like it and wear it, then its worth it. I dont care if i get it in a dollar store, a drug store, or at a chanel counter. If i like something then spending money on it is always worth it to me.
For me it’s definately the color. Recently, I’ve just bought so many nail polishes. I’ve never own so many in my life, and right now I think I’m like around 70 bottles! (that’s a lot for me) I did take a look a my collection and noticed I have a lot of OPI or Essie.
The before me never understood why people would pay $10 for nailpolish, and I at the time I bought Revlon or Maybelline. Now that I’ve tried the $10+ polishes, I can see why. The wear and the application is just so much better! There’s also a lot more choice for higher end nail polishes. I really tried not to get Chanel’s Black Pearl, it was a bit expensive for my range. I also realized if I’m not comfortable to wear it on my finger nails, I probably shouldn’t buy it.
I’d say most high end nail polish brands are over-rated. to me color doesn’t matter because I can always mix colors to make a new one. I often go for brands that dry faster, are pigmented enough that I won’t have to apply more than one coat, and last long. so far, i haven’t found my ideal brand at an affordable price. i m surprised that so many brands sell nail polishes at such high prices and horrible quality.
With a good top coat any cheap polish will do I once bought an expensive polish and I think it actually performed worse than my $2 ones!
Color, color, color. Formula is important, but I don’t get great wear with any line (at best 4 days)so the ultimat deciding factor is the color. I’m embarrased to admit it, but packaging and name also plays a part. I’m a sucker for a pretty polish in a beautiful bottle and if it has a great name, I’d probably drop an obscene amount of money on it-hanging head in shame!
Had you asked me a few yrs ago, I’d have said I don’t think any HE brands are worth it. But a sale at RBL a couple yrs in a row introduced me to some amazing np. Dead Calm for instance, I didn’t see the crazy over it, but once you apply & see this color, I was amazed! With some of their other cremes too. I tried a couple BL recently, not a great formula & colors were ok. Lippmann, Dior, Chanel – not really wowed by most of what they have. Thankfully, I find a lot of great polishes under $10, so I can do pretty well on a budget each yr. I wish I had access to more Misa np – they are great!
I agree with mostly everyone else. I like Sally Hansen for a quick polish job but China Glaze, OPI and Essie wear a long longer. For a better polish, I’ll buy Zoya. I usually only buy nail polish over ten dollars if it’s a color that I’ve never seen AND I need to see a swatch of it. I love nail polish!! 😀
It depends, I have alot of MAC polishes but that was before they jumped to $15. I have bought Deborah Lippman but mostly I stick to OPI, China Glaze and Orly. I try not to spend more than $10 on a nail polish. I will not buy a chanel polish at $25! I can get 4 or 5 polishes for that price! I just hate when I do buy an expensive polish and the product sucks!
I don;t think the $25-$30 polishes are worth it. But I will pop for an $8 one over say a Wet & Wild usually because I get longer wear out of the more expensive brands usually. However there is always a god now and then in a good brand when you get a watery application or a funky streaky finish. I think Zoya is a great brand. I like a lot of the OPI shades. A new fav of mine is London Butter but I need to see a wider range of shades in an ongoing collection from them here in the states.
I wont spend more than $10 on a bottle of nail polish…unless it is non-dupable? Name brand has nothing to do with it. And regarding the wear time…i change my polish every 3 days AT LEAST b/c i get bored so that isnt a factor for me.
I can’t bring myself to buy 99 cent polishes, nor $25 polishes – no matter how much I like the color. For cheaper polishes, I always question the wear. For more expensive ones, I feel I can find a similar color that’s cheaper. I typically buy OPI, Essie and China Glaze. I like Orly.
no way!!!!!!!!
For me, no. Im not really into nail polish like that. I have a hard time buying opi and essie for 8 bucks a bottle. I am much more comfortable w/ sinful colors price range
no way!!!
ABSOLUTELY! Like face care products and makeup, you get what you pay for! I’m a professional bass player, but still extremely vain when it comes to my nails, and I pride myself on having fabulous looking nails while playing just as well as a man that doesn’t have nails ;)! I LOVE QTICA nail strengthener and it is WORTH THE 20.00 A BOTTLE! I’ve tried Perfect Formula and Nailtique but they peeled. Lippmanns polishes are worth every penny as are Rescue Beauty polishes. I took your advice Christine and use the Zoya basecoat and Armour top coat. I play both upright bass and bass guitar and I get a weeks worth w/no chips (but my nail tips grow pretty fast with the QTICA so I do quick touchups on the tips with the Zoya Anchor then the color and seal with a top coat AND I still do dishes by hand, and the kitty litter box. To me, the cost is irrelevant because if you pay 4.00 for a bottle and you have to redo the nails 3 times a week vs paying 18.00 to 21.00 a bottle and only doing them once a week..the cost is pretty much the same! I also find RBL and Lippmann’s polishes and Zoyas don’t get tacky in the bottle like the cheapo brands. Again..you’re tossing a 4.00 bottle because its too thick to use and nope nail polish remover added isn’t the answer. I also like that RBL, Zoya and Lippmann are “green” polishes..and I love Zoyas promotion and pump nail polish remover! Thank you Christine for introducing me to these lines..because I USED TO BE A CHEAPO NAIL POLISH BUYER..BUT NO MORE! YOU GOT ME HOOKED! Another thing…customer service is always a HUGE bonus for me..and RBL…Ji is absolutely fabulous as is her staff with any email questions or concerns. That in itself is worth MORE THAN THE 18.00 A BOTTLE! I don’t think “wet n wild” gives a crap if the polish bubbles or would even answer an email about a discontinued color….
Generally, not for me. I love NP, but Zoya/SH is the majority of my collection. For an amazing color I would consider a $20 splurge, but that hasn’t happened yet.
I go low mid or high end, it all depends on the color
Only color really matters to me. I think the most I’ve spent on a bottle thus far is about $9-10 on an Orly Cosmix color. I have really iffy luck with keeping polish of any maker or formula on without chipping–sometimes I’ll get a new polish, and I’ll get one of my very rare 4+ no chip manicures, but the experience doesn’t repeat consistently with that same polish.
Or, take my current mani–I use SH Angel Wings over SH White On for an interesting french manicure. ONE finger chipped, the rest were gorgeous, so I did a little error correction on the chipped finger that I don’t like the looks of, so it’s coming off tomorrow night whether the other nine fingers are still perfect or not.
I think I agree with most people – I go for color. I don’t mind spending the $8 on an Essie polish but I won’t spend Chanel prices. No matter what – the polishes always chip.
Recently I got Gelish nails and they lasted for two weeks. I might have to start going in that direction. Hopefully they’ll be putting out more colors though.
Not relly!
But i do tend to buy OPI-Polishes because of the larger brush 😛
I dont buy Nailpolishes on the internet and OPI is the only brand i have found in stores that have large brushes in them. 🙂
Some are and some aren’t. I really like the quality of Rescue Beauty Lounge, Deborah Lippmann, and Butter London. I don’t feel that MAC or Chanel polishes are generally worth it. Chanel’s formula is my least favorite and I usually have a lot of trouble with the few Chanel polishes I have. For really basic colors, I will usually only splurge on a higher end formula if I know it’s a color I’ll wear often, so the cost-per-wear makes it more reasonable. I love RBL neutrals like Plie and Grunge, and since I’ll wear them often I don’t mind paying more. I’ll also splurge if a color is really unique and I love it and like the brand. These days I’m unlikely to buy a Chanel even if I absolutely love the color because I dislike the formula so much and feel it’s definitely not worth the higher price point. A name means nothing to me if the quality is poor.
I personally feel they aren’t worth it and feel the same about high-end mascaras.
And I have to clarify: I don’t consider OPI and China Glaze, for example, to be high-end. I’m associating that quality to Dior, MAC, Chanel, etc.
They definitely don’t -_-
Recently bought Mimosa from Chanel I’m underwhelmed :c
In my opinion,no. Unless it’s a color I really can’t find anywhere else, like OPI’s You Don’t Know Jacques. And even then, I find the formula and lasting power aren’t much different from low-end polishes. Are OPI and Essie considered high-end or no?
I think a lot of confusion in these responses is based off what people consider ‘high end’. OPI and Zoya are not high end folks, they just are not your drugstore brands.
What I will pay for a polish depends on color and formula. I paid $60 for Clarins 230 because it’s an AMAZING polish and there is NOTHING like it. A few months later I paid another $60 for a back up bottle. 120 for 2 bottles of polish, yeah, that’s a lot. It’s obviously not an everyday thing but the color is worth it.
I consider high end as anything more than 15.00 for a .5 fl oz bottle. *shrug* I have no issues paying that either. I have Deborah Lippmans that I tried to find dupes for and I could have SAVED MONEY just buying the original than all the so called ‘dupes’…
Not all, since I change up my polish frequently, longetivety doesn’t matter. As far as unique colors, the wide range that opi, china glaze and Essie offer is enough for me
I don’t think high end brand nail polish worth. I personally won’t spent a lot of money on nail polishes unless the color worth to have or unique