Archived Post
What high-end polish was worth the splurge?
What high-end polish was worth the splurge? Share!
Illamasqua Raindrops!
Thanks to reader Selin for today’s question idea Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
Explore Temptalia
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
63 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Raindrops. I paid out the nose for it before it was reissued!
Argh..I did exactly the same thing
When it comes to nail polish… I regret nothing. Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light was worth the $ and believe it or not, so was Butter London Frilly Knickers. Even tho it is only a sparkly clear polish. I don’t think I have ever felt ripped off with nail polish before, but I tend to stick to brands that make nail polish their number one priority.
Urban Decay’s Mrs. Miss Wallace! I chew on my nails so I don’t often buy polish or paint my nails but when I saw the swatches I knew I had to have it. I splurged and bought it and I’ve been wearing it since! Such a pretty color. Red but also burgundy. Love it!
Definitely Illamasqua’s Fragile. I’d love to pick a couple more of their polishes
YSL Couture nail,
Chanel Taboo and Black Pearl. Some of my favorites 🙂
I second that! Two of my favorite polishes ever!
Chanel Frisson! 😀
Koh Blue Universe. (I don’t know if it’s exactly high-end, but it’s certainly the most I’ve ever spent on a single polish.)
YSL Bleu Celadon! Amazing formula and beautiful colour!
Chanel Belle Argus is probably the only “high-end” polish I’ve ever purchased and it’s simply stunning. I know there are other similar blue duochromes on the market that ape it, but there’s something really striking about it.
Butter London Lady Muck is one of my staple neutral polishes. Love how subtle the shimmer is.
I got Illamasqua Raindrops and Swarm in a polish secret santa last year and was so, so happy!
In terms of things I’ve actually purchased, I think Butter London Knackered is so unique and awesome.
And I don’t really go higher than that Illamasqua/Butter London/Urban Decay pricepoint for nail polish. There are so many fun, unique colors that I don’t really feel the need to buy Lippmann, Dior, or Chanel, personally.
Oh, so many!!!
Chanel Quartz, Guerlain Le Petit Robe Noir, Guerlain Rouge D’Enfer. These three are my HG polishes. But I can include also MAC Soiree, Chanel Alchemie… I could go on and on…
Nail polish really isn’t my thing, so I don’t buy expensive brands. Personally I would spend my money on high-end makeup.
*would rather spend*
I’d have to go with Dior and YSL 🙂
Chanel Pulsion. I used to buy a lot of chanel and I still purchase one every now and then, but that’s one I wear so often it’s worth it. Oh and jade, simply because it’s worth a small fortune now lol.
By paying 20 dollar (14,95 euro) for OPI polishes, can it be considered high-end? If so, Every Month is Oktoberfest was worth every cent.
I am very happy with Chanel’s Pink Tonic.
Illamasqua Harem and Collide, butter London All Hail the Queen.
I say Dior ones! Love the brush, the formula, and the lasting power is great on me. There are a lot of Chanel shades I adore. Unfortunately, the formula just doesn’t wear quite as well on my nails!
Deborah Lippmann Shake your money maker!
Illamasque Cameo. It is so beautiful and I love their formula.
Hands down CHANEL Taboo 🙂 i loveeeeeeeee it like crazy
The highest end I have gone with polish is OPI… But I did splurge on La Boheme, when I saw it on ebay at a big markup… I just had to have it, and it was worth it to me.
I love OPI polishes too.
I do not like to spend the moon for nail polish, but I will shell out for a good formula/unique colour. Most frequently, these ‘special’ polishes tend to be YSL or Chanel, but I won’t spend more than retail (see lesson learned below). Otherwise, it seems ultimately that someone comes up with a pretty close dupe which is far less expensive and I am happy to wait.
Lesson learned: I bought a bottle of Illamsqua raindrops for a stupid amount of money off of eBay..and then one of my dogs knocked into my bedside table sending the polish flying. Fortunately the bottle survived, but the plastic top was mostly shattered. Then..maybe a couple of months later…Illamasqua re-released raindrops…
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream 🙂 it is my favorite polish ever!
I NEVER wear nail polish, ever, but Deborah Lippman’s Mermaid’s Dream could probably convert me into being a nail polish afficionado. It’s such a gorgeous shade!
I will always shell out for Illamasqua, Deborah Lippmann, and Butter London. I’ve never been disappointed with any polishes from those brands, particularly Illamasqua Load and Deborah Lippman Lady Marmalade. I’m also a big fan of Nars polishes, but will only seek them out if they release a super unique color.
Deborah Lippmann’s Today Was a Fairytale, Ruby Red Slippers, and Across the Universe.
And RBL Locavore and Recycle.
Dior Vernis Gel Shine in Mirage and Junon. Both the formula and the brush are near perfect.
I agree…I love these two colors and when topped with the Gel Coat, absolutely Ah-mazing!!
The highest end polishes I use are from Zoya. Because I don’t often paint my fingernails, and polish lasts for ages on my toes, it and OPI and the few MAC polishes I have are more than good enough. I find the thing that really makes a difference with my fingernails is who does the polish. A professional manicure lasts about twice as long for me as a DIY job, even with the same products! I think it’s because the manicurist had a whole different angle for getting at my nails (same way my hair is always nicer when my stylist dries it than when I do it at home….our arms aren’t attached in the same way when it comes to doing our own hair vs. someone else doing it).
Illamasqua Hemlock. It’s the edgy version of the pearly white colors my grandmother wears because they really do make pale hands look lovely. The formula is so smooth, and the green shift makes me feel like an evil fairy!
None. Since I discovered indie nail polishes, I’ve not bought one single bottle of high end polish. There’s just so much more variety and the quality of most indie polishes is at least as good if not better than high end polishes. Chanel chips on me in a day and Dior isn’t better either, and the three Illamasqua polishes I own have been a big disappointment. For me now it’s indie and drugstore polishes all the way….
Illamasqua Throb. It is the perfect glossy pin-up red.
I’ve never gone higher-end than OPI. I don’t buy tons of nail color, as I have acrylic nails and usually get the polish done at the same time. Some of unique indie brands are unusual enough, though, that I may splurge on a few of those in the future.
Illamasqua: Wink
YSL : Rose Futuriste & Bleu Majorelle
Chanel :Emprise, just for the colour, as the formula for this one is quite painful
Chanel Malice, best color, love it!!!!
Clarins 230. Bought it for around $42 from a friend’s blog sale – worth every penny!
Chanel May!
Deborah Lippmann glitter polishes are gorgeous. Superstar, Ruby Red Slippers, and Shake Your Moneymaker are my favs.
I never found any of the high-end polishes anything to write home about. The most hardwearing I found were Rimmel’s Pro range. But I’ve just turned out about two dozen nail polishes to the charity collection as I have acrylic nails and always wear gel polish on top. Three weeks of chip-free nails. Can’t go wrong!
Butter London’s “Wallis”… SO beautiful for fall! Still love that gold/olive green combo!
rBL polishes,chanel & nars polishes, sadly i cannot find any of them after moving so bummed 🙁
Chanel Paradoxal and Particuliere.
Anything YSL Couture…amazing colors, amazing formula, extremely long-wearing.
My current favorites are Beige Leger (#22) for my manicure and Violine Surrealiste (#14) for my pedicure.
I really love Chanels nail polishes (I’m looking at you taboo!) and have recently acquired two of guerlains nail polishes (the brushes on which are the best hands down I’ve ever used!). I’m very impressed with the longevity on both these brands.
I’ve never done a nail polish splurge. I have always had great luck with OPI, Zoya, Essie & China Glaze, that I could never see the reason to spend the extra $$ on of all things…nail polish.
Befor I bought the Formula X base and top ccoat no nailpolish lasted more than two days on my nails. Now I get arond five to eight days wear with almost any brand, as long as I wear the Formula x’s. That said, I never regretted buying Chanel Rouge Noir when it first launced.
I bought a Deborah Lippman polish on sale this summer, Through the Fire. I haven’t tried it yet as it’s such an autumny colour.
Marc Jacobs Lux. It’s my all time favorite polish!
Dior Diorific Le Grand Bal in Diva. must say that the “getting” was probably more exciting than the “having”. It is a fabulous shade, to be sure – but it’s a pretty private party as the colors do not reveal themselves except under close observation in good lighting. I like it, but wouldn’t make “splurge” polishes my go to nail covering.
oh and how high end is it? right now you can pick up a bottle of it on amazon for $139.
I wish I could say my Chanel and Dior polishes but – even though the colors for both are stunning and unique – I find their wear is no better than my go-to brand, OPI. The Chanel polish, in particular, chips in a very short period of time.
HIPPxRGB Nail Foundation F3
I have several that I love and wear all the time:
– Chanel: Accessoire, Blue Satin, Black Satin, Rouge Noir, Taboo, Pink Tonic.
– Dior: Blue Label, Junon, Bloom, Galaxie, Sailor, Bar
I’m an OPI girl. My two favorites are Princesses Rule and Happy Anniversary. I’ve repurchased both of these several times. I also love Cha Ching Cherry for my toes. 😀 Butter London also makes great nail polish in unique shades. The only nail polish I’ve ever regretted purchasing was Chanel, believe it or not. It was a dark blue metallic and I used it on my toes, went to the beach the next day and by the end of the day, all of it had chipped off. I was surprised because Chanel makeup is fabulous….but the nail polish….not so much.
The one polish I never regretted buying was Saint George from A England, it’s such a beautiful green and it glows, it’s beautiful
Nothing from the brand ever disapointed my whatsoever.
Chanel Taboo!!
Greige