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I love the dimensional in color/texture/undertone you can achieve in a lacquer (compared to most powder products), but I’m so lazy about applying + removing, especially when it comes to glitter polish removal!
— Christine
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I know this isn’t asking about brands, but I just have to throw it out there. ILNP is the only polish I wear now. They have the most stunning holographic polishes that are easy to apply, easy to remove, and have lasted me two weeks before it chipped (on my non-dominant hand). I get compliments on my nails and people are stunned by the sparkle!
Hi Alana. I agree ILNP is a fantastic polish. There are so many holographic colors to choose and this polish does not chip. I love this brand of nail polish. Another great polish is Chanel. This polish does not chip and there are many color choices. Chanel and ILNP are my favorite nail polishes.
They’re one of my favorite brands, I have very few polish brands on my radar anymore (I have too much polish, there, I said it) but I will always have room for more ILNP.
I like a good cream or a glossy jelly. I hope we will see more nail polish swatches here 🙂 ( idk if it’s possible).
What I like: It makes my nails look pretty.
What I don’t like: Doing them myself (I can never get it right, especially my right hand), when it chips, removing it, and how it sometimes discolors my nails. Despite not liking to do my own nails, I’m lazy about going to a manicurist. So, unfortunately, my nails are undone 99% of the time.
Love how they look once applied! Love having fun using different combos as base and toppers, too. And collecting them. I probably have well over a hundred. Very glad that we now have acrylic gel toppers and nail polishes that can literally last 10-14 days before developing serious chipping or wear.
Hate removal, especially if I’ve used a glitter or flakey topper. It’s a pain in the butt! Also hate application of them as I’ve never had very steady hands, especially my left hand. Not happy once they begin chipping, either. Thankfully, I usually get at least a week before this happens.
Rant: I wish glitter wasn’t so hard to remove.
Rave: I love doing my own nails. I have an extensive collection and I enjoy doing nail art with vinyls and stamping. It has that same relaxing effect as gardening or vacuuming or folding clothes for me – clears my mind and helps me organize my thoughts. Watching nail swatch or nail art videos is ASMR for me. During my nails on a Sunday afternoon is sacred, built-in Me time.
Con: Applying it evenly, waiting patiently, destroying it regardless of efforts.
Pro: pretty colors
(I still wear it maybe once a year.)
^^^^ EXACTLY this!!!
???
I should have added: Sooooo true!!!
I love the look of nail polish… however I compete horses and work at the barn when not at my full time job so normal polish never lasts on me. I will paint my nails if I go out of town and won’t be working with my hands at all, otherwise it is sadly not worth the time it takes. I used to do all sorts of fun nail art before and was decently good at it. I do like to do dips from time to time and the only part I don’t like about those is my nails grow so fast that I feel like they only last for 4 weeks before I get annoyed with the regrowth showing and it is too expensive for me to be able to keep up with the maintenance!
I love polished nails. I feel a nice manicure helps pull together someone’s look. I no longer use liquid polishes but I love a fresh silk dip powder manicure. I love not having to worry about my nails chipping and looking fresh for 3 weeks.
I’ve gotten dip powder twice, and although they look amazing and last three weeks, they really left my nails a mess after they were removed. My nails are just too brittle to begin with, I guess. But those dip nails are so easy to live with!
Gel polish ?.. I used to painstakingly do my own nails for years. Now I do bio gel so I do not have to struggle to keep longish almond shaped nails and gel polish so I can go three weeks without bothering a smidge beyond hand cream.
I love everything about nail polish except that I never take the time to put it on. Seriously, I still have nail polish on my great toes from when we went to Europe which was in August of 2018.
This may be TMI for some people but as I have gotten older, I am having more and more trouble doing my toenails. Age, vertigo and weight all play a part in this. I use to force my daughter to do it for me but since she has moved out I need to find another option. Living in a town with no nail salon is part of the reason I don’t have nice nails. So, in the new year, I have decided to treat myself to a manicure at least once a month, in the big city. My fingernails have never been nice. Primarily because of nursing and washing my hands a million times a day or using sanitary gels which just dry everything out. My nails haven’t recovered since I quit nursing so they aren’t likely to in the future. My cuticles are dry and I get hang nails all of the time. My nails split horizontally and so I don’t really like drawing attention to my nails.
I also can’t do my toenails any longer but getting pedicures has the advantage of getting a foot massage too—-one of the best treats ever.
Oh yes, the foot massage. It is heavenly. I have had some in the past that when I tried to stand up my feet didn’t feel like they were connected to my leg and I had to really think about walking!! The joys of getting older.
For glitter polish removal, use a peel-off base coat. Cristine of Simply Nailogical has recently released one with her new nail polish line (along with awesome holo polishes) that makes taking off glitter nails painless and fast.
Holosexuals unite!
Does a peel off base mean it is easier to chip? I’ve always wondered that about the peely bases I’ve seen. I actually use glitter on top of normal polishes to prevent chipping and while removing can take a while for some reason glitter polishes just last forever and ever on my nails (true glitters, not just shimmery formulas).
Not in my experience – it might make it easier for the polish to “pop off”, but that happens with the entire nail instead of little chips. Wrapping the tip for each step also helps prevent chipping (regardless of the base used).
The downside is that the peel off base coat usually lasts for only 2-3 days, which can be frustrating if you want your mani to last a long time.
I love everything about nail polish, except that it is a hazardous substance and when you want to dispose of it, you need to treat it like hazardous waste.
I love pretty much EVERYTHING about nail polish EXCEPT the work involved in doing it myself – I hate that I can’t get the same perfect application I can get at the salon. I also hate how long most polishes take to dry to a durable enough finish that I don’t mess up my “home manicure” but smudging or gashing the surface before it’s dry. I don’t like when it stains my nails (I tend to avoid a base coat because I find polish tends to last longer on me without it – again, when I’m doing a home manicure). Finally, I hate how it chips! I guess my nails grow fast and also my job involves a lot of stuff that it tough on a manicure but for a home manicure, I’m lucky if I get 3 days without tip wear or needing to touch up a chip; for a salon job, I can get anywhere from 5 days to a week, maybe a bit more sometimes but still, unlike polish on my toes, polish on my fingers gives a pretty short lived thrill compared with the work to apply it.
I have a love/hate relationship with nail polish. I find it tricky to apply well, waiting for all the layers to dry down without smudging. I also dislike how most of them chip on me easily.
My only rave is that there are so many beautiful shades out there and they can look gorgeous on your nails.
M mom did acrylics in the 80s and was a sought after nail artist. I absolutely hated the anti fungus treatments she insisted on as I felt burned internally. I get by but never did tips. I’ve tried gels a and just never felt compelled. Time was a factor vs pedicures.
I recently discovered dips and finally found a salon that didn’t make me feel like I was part of a production line. The dips have been great and allow for shine and longevity… low maintenance. I always do a very neutral sheer like finish.
For feet…I veer to classic red. I mourned the loss of the fab OPI Vodka and Caviar. But found Chanel Pirate. I always pack mini bottles of Prosecco to get my pedi. It’s my big indulgence since I do my own facials and waxing. The best red ever.
I used to collect nail polish but got out of that and now I get my nails professionally done every two weeks, along with my daughter. I don’t have good results doing them myself so I stopped about 6 years ago. I love duochrome type shades tho, and that’s usually what I pick when I get them done.
I love the look but nail polish always chips on me within just a couple days. It’s so frustrating! I actually recently got into Impress press-on nails (with the adhesive on the nails, not the kind that require glue). They last for AT LEAST 2 weeks and wearing them makes it harder for me to pick my cuticles which is wonderful.
PROS: everything, nail polish for me is what makeup is for most of the readers here, it’s what I collect and it’s one of the ways I express myself. It’s a temporary way to express a mood or a feeling and it makes me feel good. I bit my nails to the quick for 26 of my almost 49 years so now I’m all about having well cared for nails. Mostly I do a self-pampering manicure once a week, but being a DIYer means I can switch it more or less often as the mood strikes. I’m lucky that I get more than a week’s wear out of regular polish, I’m not sure if it’s my body chemistry or just the combo of base and topcoats that I use.
CONS: that they’re so easy to accumulate. They reproduce with each other overnight. I leave 4 bottles on my desk and come back and there’s 6. Ok so nail polish doesn’t procreate, but someone should tell that to MY polish! Seriously. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices when your stash gets too big. And then just like that it’s easy to become disinterested in new releases because you’re not really seeing anything new anymore.
And glitter, I detest glitter polish.