Hit List: Most Long-Wearing Nail Polish Formula
What’s the Most Long-Wearing Nail Polish Formula that you’ve tried?
Share your pick! And don’t forget to share why 🙂
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Deborah Lippmann! All of my Deborah Lippmanns wear like Teflon on me. I do a lot of work with my hands as an in-home caregiver & my polish lasts and lasts when it’s a Lippmann. I own a crazy amount of nail polish from brands all around; high-end/low-end & ones from other countires, indies & all. But Lippmann remains my tried & true favorote. They last & last.
Essie, OPI, Dior, Zoya, Guerlain, M.A.C Carine Roitfeld Underfire Red ( I only own 1 MAC nail polish and this one is fab ), Orly, Nars ( definitely a great bottle and a great formula ).
Not so good : Chanel ( even if they wear quite well ) and China Glaze ( they don’t wear long on my nails ), Estee Lauder ( I don’t like the formula, thin in my opinion ).
Zoya and Pop Beauty Nail Glams for are my top two. Some of the newer maybelline color show polishes have great wear as well.
Illamasqua always lasts for a RIDICULOUSLY long time on me!
Same, Illamasqua has amazing wear !
I’ve ALWAYS had a problem with nail polish wear. Even the high end brands don’t work for me. I don’t get chipping or tip wear, instead, the polish pops off in full, nail-shaped sheets. I’ve tried various base coat/top coat variations and application tricks, I think it’s just my nails.
BUT OPI’s Liquid Sand formula wears like iron on me.
The *exact* same thing happens to me. I certainly save on nail polish remover, but most nail polishes last about 12 hours before whole or part sheets of come off. I had gels done, and they were what I’d call extremely long lasting, popping off at about 1 week!
The only way I’ve found to get long-wearing nail polish (as in: two days, not 12 hours) is to use Chanel (wallet = *gulp*) or, as you say, OPI’s Liquid Sands.
To be fair, living in NZ, my brand options are limited somewhat by price and availability, so there are many I’ve never tried!
Sometimes I go to sleep with my nails painted, and when I wake up, there are ten perfectly shaped nail polish flakes all in my sheets. It’s so bizarre.
That means that your nail are too oily, people with oily skin tend to have trouble with nail polish, you should try cleaning your nails with rubbing alcohol just before you put nail polish on, that will get rid of the oil. Or you could use a base coat specially designed for oily nails.
Someone did mention this to me, and I tried it a couple of times, but it didn’t work! I think part of my problem is that I have super fast growing nails – maybe something about the surface of a rapidly growing nail? When I had the gels done, They started perfectly close to my cuticles – after a week, I had almost 3mm of new nail between the bottom of the gel and my cuticle!
I have pretty oily nails too, and I have found Seche Vite’s crystal clear basecoat and topcoat make seriously any polish last super long on my nails. I also use a 100% acetone remover which dries out my nail bids quite a bit.. I wear polish basically always though.
It sounds like you might be applying on oily nail beds, Ashley! Have you tried going over your nails & cuticles with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover RIGHT before applying polish? (Both should take off any oils, which are usually left oh your nails by cuticle oils or hand creams.) 🙂
I’ve been doing my own nails every week for 20 years now and the best polish I have found for long-lasting results is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Just started using it nine months ago and absolutely love it. And the best part is the brush, it lets you get so close to the cuticle without touching it. They call it a ‘precision brush’ and it definitely gives precision. I just wish they had a bigger color selection like Essie does.
Nail polishes chip ridiculously fast on me for some reason, even Illamasqua and Zoya chips within two or three days, but the two formulas that I’ve found last the longest are L’Oreal’s Color Riche line and Maybelline’s Color Show line. I’ve had a L’Oreal manicure last me TWO WEEKS once, which is extremely rare for me.
I am the LAST person to be talking about long-lasting polish. The wirework and forging work I do usually mean that I have to change my polish every three days if I don’t want to look like a Dickensian orphan. But when I have to have pretty nails for a long vacation or somesuch, I really like Zoya.
Probably an overstated response by OPI. Though I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t tried Essie yet and I hear great things about them a lot so . . . *fingers crossed*
Zoya glitters like Tinsely and FieFie are amazing for wear times. But i have had great luck with all my Zoyas
Revlon’s Brilliant Strength nail polish is astounding. I’ve tried nearly every brand out there, but anytime I need a manicure to really last I turn to these.
I’ve gotten up to two weeks from these polishes! Once I had to remove it because of nail growth was showing, and not because of any wear.
Me too! Essie, Butter London, and Revlon wear like armor. And I’m a studio potter, who spends 8+hours in the studio working with mud and water, but I can walk away with nail polish still in tact witht these!
Anyone else around here have hyperhidrosis (causes hands and/or various other body parts to be obnoxiously sweaty)? The constant exposure to moisture means my manicures never last in pristine condition for longer than 36 hours or so. 🙁 Suggestions for ways around this are welcome!
maybe inglot o2m?
its supposed to let moisture in. so, why not let it out?
I have super sweaty hands/feet (and head…my body doesn’t sweat as much), but I don’t have problems with my manicures lasting. I be sure to use nail polish remover right before application (I usually have to take off polish anyway) and use a quick dry top coat. I stick to my favorite brands, but I can’t say I’ve had a lot of trouble.
I guess it’s my palms that are sweaty, not the area around my nail beds? Do you have sweating issues around your nail beds?
Sadly, Sephora by OPI always lasted longest on me. Not even regular OPI lasted as long. But OPI does come in second.
I love the Sephora Opi brand. So disappointed that their contract is up and that it is being discontinued. It usually lasted twice as long as the other brands.
Essie…no competition!!
Jinsoon and Deborah Lippmann
Barry M and it’s so cheap. It lasts and puts all the high enders to shame.
COVERGIRL OUTLAST, IT DID NOT CHIP FOR TWO WEEKS:)
OPI-mani 9 days, pedi up to 1 month
essie mani 7 days, pedi up to 3 weeks
+seche vite top, and basically any base
shortest wearing are tom ford and chanel average 1-2 days, maximum 3 days mani, pedi 2 weeks tops
I’m not sure if it’s my body chemistry, or my nails themselves, but no matter how I apply the polish (with or without base/top coat, extra drying time between coats, etc.) I could never get nail polish to last longer than three days without peeling or chipping off, or getting extensive tip wear. I think I’ve tried every brand in existence, and I stopped buying expensive brands years ago because I couldn’t justify paying a premium price for something that only last a few days. I usually just stuck with OPI’s Nail Envy, reapplied every three days.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine tried gel polish, and she got six weeks of wear from it. There was a huge growth line, but I was amazed that there was no chipping or peeling, and that it was still shiny after all that time. I broke down and bought an entire kit, and finally had success. I can get two weeks of wear without any peeling or chipping, and my nails are stronger. I love the fact that you can take all the time you need to apply the gel polish without having it dry, clump or get goopy, and I think that makes a difference, for me.
Some of the gel colors are hit and miss (what the bottle indicates isn’t necessarily identical to what’s inside), but I’ve found a few I like. I don’t think I’d ever go back to wearing regular polish, unless there was a really unique color I fell in love with, and only had to wear it for one evening.
Textured nail polish in general tends to last the longest on me. I’ve worn it for a week with no chips just tip wear.
Other than that I’d have to say OPI in general lasts the longest without chipping on me. China Glaze and Essie are tied for second. And though it pains me to say because I love their colors more than these other brands, Zoya chips the easiest on me.
CND came out with a new kind of polish called Vinyllux that claims to wear for a week without chipping. I just bought a couple today so we’ll see if they live up to their claim.
I agree with cnd vinylux. very minor chipping on the tips after 4 days. I love how you can get it off with a regular nail polish remover. a bit pricey 11.50 cad.
Illamasqua!
Zoya (with CND Stickey base and Seche Vite top coat). My self-pedicures usually last like 2 days but with the Zoya shades I’ve tried, I’ve had them last as long 1.5 weeks. It actually surprised me.
And I’ve used Illamasqua, Essie, OPI, L’Oreal, and Chanel.
Illamasqua no doubt… at least on me.
By far Lancome. Nothing can come even close
ZOYA!
Surprisingly also L’oreal Color Riche (I think thats what its called). But I must also credit my great top coat “Out the door”..its the bomb dot com!
Illamasqua lasts sooooo long!!!!
I always have chipping like crazy, but if a color is good and thin, it’ll wear better on me. So anything that goes on in 2-3 nice, thin coats wears better on me. Stuff like Zoya Zara, OPI Significant Other Color, the Sally Hansen HDs…
***DEBORAH LIPMAN***
NARS polishes are also in long-wearing formula, but I hate the bottle top.
Tom Ford lasts ridiculously long on me! Essie and some Chanel, as well s Butter London are my top picks.
nails inc, occ, and zoya wear really well on my nails. i work in a bookstore which is hell on the nails and they last unbelievably well.
For me, it’s all about the base coat and top coat for making polish “long lasting.” I start with a coat of Essie “Millionails”, then any polish (though I usually go with Zoya, China Glaze, or Nicole by OPI), then a coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps, and finally a coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Fast Dry Top Coat. I always get 10 days with no chipping or wear, and I wash my hands a LOT.
Jin Soon, Dior, and YSL are the longest wearing for me, which is around 5 days. I also like the Julep topcoat for amazing shine and added durability. I’m pretty hard on my hands at work, constantly banging them and washing them, and I cook a lot and type. Basically, I am the enemy of nail polish, I used to not even bother painting my nails as there would be almost immediate tip wear and chipping. I also recently tried the Sally Hansen Complete Manicure which is surprisingly good, it even has the awesome tapered brush that Dior and YSL have, I’m just not that excited by the color choices.
Same here for the Jin Soon and YSL. The only slightly disappointing shade I have gotten from Jin Soon is Voile, which is really beautiful at first but the color seems to fade after a few days from a bright violet to a softer one. I have a couple of Dior polishes but do not like how they have a bit of mineral oil in them.
China Glaze, theBalm, Guerlain, O.P.I. and Nails INC.
I have to say I’m very disappoint on YSL and I always heard good things about them. It barely last 3 days on my nails without chipping.
I have a vitamin D deficiency, and thus have really soft, weak, ridge-y nails that are so flexible, it’s hard to keep polish from cracking or flaking. Butter, if I keep up on the top coat, will last up to a week. Which is some kind of miracle on my nails.
My dr. Just told me I have vit d deficiency also, I’m kinda relieved to have a reason why polish never lasted on me, and to get treatment!
OPI + Seche Vite top – pedicure up to 1 month (didn’t try longer), manicure up to 10 days looks like freshly made!
Surprised that I don’t think I’ve seen anyone say this yet but Rescue Beauty Lounge! You all must try! It is tough to drop $20 on a bottle but it’s totally worth it, especially if you’re a nail polish addict like me! Other than that I like OPI, Essie, Revlon (mostly those for the sheer range of colors!) Loreal and Covergirls new formulas are alright too!
Essie and Zoya are the brands that last the longest on me for sure. OPI and butterLONDON are the runners up. The rest only last 2-3 days. I use base and top coat as well as buffing my nails before application.
OPI wear the longest and apply the best on me if I don’t use Seche Vite topcoat. Nothing lasts long when I use Sech Vite, but I am a person who loves to change my nail polish every two to three days.
OPI and Essie last the longest. I can get about 4-5 days without noticeable chipping. Zoya has lovely colors but doesn’t last as long.
Zoya, hands down! I use their system of base and top coat and their polishes last on my toes for two weeks or until I change it out. This is amazing to me considering that I live in a year round warm climate (So Cal) and usually wear sandals or go barefoot around the house.
Sensationail! Wait, is that cheating because it’s a gel?
Illamasqua, Deborah Lippman, OPI and CoverGirl Outlast are the best in my opinion. Of course, there are some OPI shades I don’t recommend, and the same with Deborah Lippman but I have never been disappointed with an Illamasqua polish. My newest fave is the CoverGirl Outlast because you never expect a drugstore polish to be so great but the CoverGirl lasts a really long time and it’s cheap!!
Illamasqua, for sure. Some Chanel polishes (depends on the individual one). Most China Glaze. Some Essie.
I don’t care for Zoya polishes, generally. They don’t tend to last. And I don’t like gel manicures. My nails grow out pretty fast, so they’re not worth it, unfortunately.
If you all have not already tried it, I highly recommend CND’s Vinylux. It promises not to chip for seven days. It is a step down from Shellac. Good colors!
Definitely Butter London. It wears the longest on me- one week.
Dolce and Gabbana, especially the solid colors. Remarkable wear!!!! I’m so dang pleased with these!
And also Deborah Lippman’s gel polish base and topcoat over nearly anything extends the wear of whatever’s sandwiched between something fierce!!!
I am a mother with kids and always do tough work with hands. So I can’t find polish that stays long enough on my nails. Even the newest CND Vinylux chips within 3 days. But with glitter polish, it stay longer. Perhaps I need to try gel manicure.
Zoya and Chanel but even those chip after a day or two. But I love the many colors and textures of Zoya. I have a serious thing going with the pixie polishes!!!
Zoya, though I can’t speak for the super luxury brands.
OPI’s Liquid Sand polishes, namely the Bond girls collection. I’ve had particular luck with Tiffany Case, Jinx and Honey Rider lasting a full week or more, using CND Stickey as base, and no top coat, through normal activities, without chipping. AMAZING. Haven’t found anything else that can even come close to comparing.
CND Vinyllux is incredible!!!
Nicole by OPI’s new sugar textured line. That sh*t DOES NOT BUDGE, and it takes an epic battle to remove all traces. Hard as a rock, I swear.
Nars, China Glaze, and Deborah Lippmann are ones last the longest on my nails. Essie has a few colors that have a good staying power but most have been hit or miss. I only have a few Zoya colors but they have a pretty decent staying power.
I have found that Zoya lasts the longest on my nails. I can get a good three days out of those polishes without chipping. Second would be Butter London. That also lasts a few days on my nails. I do have a gel polish kit, Red Carpet Gel Manicure, and those polishes last a good week and a half to two weeks on my nails with no chipping or fading. Its quite easy to apply also and for what it is, I think the price is very reasonable for the kit. It can be found at Ulta.
Dior and Illamasqua always last about 10 days on me!
I like the new Creative Nail Design _Vinylux line.
Masglo (I think it’s a Colombian brand) lasts up to a week. The worst is Chanel, it wears one day or less before it starts chipping, but I’m a sucker for Chanel’s colors… What I do to prevent early chipping y reapply the top coat 24 hours after first application. It sort of refreshes the polish and makes it last much longer. However, like I said, Chanel sometimes chips before 24 hours, which is so disappointing for a high end brand! According to a Chanel sales associate I asked, the reason Chanel polishes don’t last much is: A) They don’t include damaging/dangerous chemicals; and B) Chanel polishes are treated as an accessory, something meant to be changed frequently to suit your daily look. I don’t know if this is true, but those two reasons just scream OVERPRICED LOW QUALITY to me. Boooooooo!
Honestly, Sinful Colors! No idea why I even bother buying higher end nail polishes at this point, every time I use Sinful Colors they last a week without chipping. A close second would be Illamasqua, but they’re not as chip-resistant for me as Sinful Colors and are extremely expensive/hard to get a hold of in Canada.
Also for some reason it took me 12 Essie nail polishes to decide that I hate their formula, d’oh!
I agree about Essie, I won’t buy another botthe of their polish, too thick and goopy. I have two shades I love Turquoise and Caicos and Pretty Edgy.
I know right?? And so streaky! I can’t for the life of me get it to even out without building up too much polish on half of the nail, then of course it’s too thick to ever set, and I end up getting moosh marks on my nails.
I’m glad you were the smart one of us and stopped at two. xP
For me, it’s Chanel & Model’s Own – every time.
I am currently using Charlie Very Berry by Revlon. It is not the highest ranked of nail polish brands, but I am a loyal fan of Revlon makeup and thought I would try out their Charlie range. So far I have been very impressed with the consistency, bottle, brush and deeply pigmented colour. It has been on my nails for three whole days now and I did not have to touch up once. I highly recommend it for its affordability and effectivity.