Nail Vanity

A 200-peso bottle of nail polish is a splurge for me. php300? Maybe. php500? That’s a bag of groceries.

About a month ago I got this Revlon one (color name: Mischievous. price: php225, or about 5bucks) at a department store because I wanted to try on the stone-colored/mud-colored polishes that are in this cold, holiday season. Length of time to decide to buy: 30 mins.

And then about a week ago, I saw this small bottle of Sassy putty-colored polish called Coffee Brown (very milky coffee) at Watson’s SM Annex for 19 pesos or about half a dollar. Length of time to decide to buy: 2.5 seconds.

I also got a brownish-maroon polish at php100 (or about 4 dollars) at a kiosk called Girl Stuff, which only sells nail polish. The saleslady said they have the same composition as the bag-of-grocery equivalent, and that the polishes are formaldehyde-free and toluene-free. I like that. Length of time to decide to buy: 10 seconds.

L-R: Girl Stuff, Sassy, Revlon

L: Sassy Coffee Brown, R: Revlon Mischievous

Sassy verdict:

1. Turned out to be more flesh-colored than cement-colored
2. Formula seemed a bit thin or diluted, you need to apply at least 2 coats so color will look even.
3. Ease of application: ok, but only because the formula was very fluid.

Revlon verdict:

1. Had a bit of bluish tinge–but only very slightly.
2. Color is more concentrated, formula is thicker, and you can get away with just one coat.
3. I found that application gets a bit more challenging as the formula gets thicker. It was still not easy applying it evenly– I would either be over- or under-applying.
4. Toluene- and formaldehyde-free: Yay!

Girl Stuff verdict:

1. This may be toluene and formaldehyde-free, but it gave off a stronger (unpleasant) smell than most other polishes.
2. Very thick formula, so it was a bit tricky to apply.
3. This was the only color I liked in their line, so I don’t think I will repurchase. So to start getting some of my money’s worth, I ended up putting this one on 🙂

I still like nail polishes in these colors, very flattering to my skin color, and very Berenice Marlohe.

Well, kind of. I am not going to sport dark polish on long nails.

And to make your polish last, I recommend Etude House Jelly Pop top coat.

top coat to use: Etude Jelly Pop (L); base coat in photo: San San colorless polish from HBC

Then I use an acetone-free polish remover from Lander, which I only see in Landmark department store:

Acetone-free is supposed to be good.

BUT.

It may contain methanol instead, which this article says is even more harmful than acetone, especially when it comes into contact with skin.

YIKES. Now I have a dilemma. Because I can’t give up nail polish yet, especially on my toes. I try not to leave the house wearing open-toed shoes without nail polish on. And I rarely wear closed shoes.

So until my favorite local healthy-beauty company comes up with a line of nail polish, I’m just going to have to make up for that toxicity by using other less-toxic products in my beauty routines, and eating healthy, etc.

For the meantime, I’m loving my painted toenails.