i've tried it all

I've Worn Nail Polish Every Day for 20 Years. These Are My Favorites.

Photo: Courtesy the retailers

Confession: The final fourth dimension I can call back having bare nails was when I was a 5-year-old. When I was half-dozen, my mom painted my tiny nails before a ballet recital, and they haven't been bare since. The shade was Essie's Ballet Slippers (slap-up option, Mom).

I am a nail-polish obsessive and if you practise the math, I've been obsessed for almost two decades. I've had more drunken nail-smooth-shopping binges than I intendance to admit. At home, I wearable safe gloves for more than than just washing dishes for fearfulness of ruining my mani. Last week, my manicurist staged an actual intervention: She told me I needed a breather and sent me home with naked nails.

And so y'all can trust me when I say that I've tried every polish on the market. and these are the ones I know won't let me down. Read on for my list, broken down by how long each polish lasts.

Essie Ballet Nudes Gel Couture

2 coats of this polish will last yous upward to 2 weeks while maintaining a great shine. Y'all don't demand a base coat, merely it'due south important that y'all use the make's Gel Couture pinnacle glaze for the best results. There are over 50 shades to choose from in the Gel Couture line, and I tin say with confidence that any bottle is a reliable investment.

Deborah Lippmann - Touch Me Tease Me Gel Lab Pro Nail Color

This polish gives gel results without the UV low-cal or the foil-removal process. Practice three coats, and it tin can last up to ten days without a flake. While information technology does take niggling while to dry, the await is worth it. Annotation: You lot can utilize it with any base of operations and top coat.

BUTTER LONDON Patent Shine 10X Lacquer

Butter London claims their new formula has ingredients that promote healthier, stronger, and brighter nails, and I believe them. This has lasted me upwardly to ten days with no signs of chipping and lots of shine. Some polishes leave my nails stained or yellowed, but non this ane.

JINSOON Pixie Sheer Gloss

Although this smoothen doesn't claim to be gel-like, information technology can last upward to seven days with ii to 3 coats. It also dries fairly quickly. Pixie is a perfect light-pink gloss that doesn't crack after a few days of vesture. What'south swell about Jin Soon polishes is that they're free of harsh chemicals, have UV filter protection, and are non tested on animals. Jin Soon polishes are besides now ten-free, pregnant that they are free of formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, camphor, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, triphenyl phosphate, parabens, and lead.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish

Chips in dark polish stand up out much more than in light colors or nudes. This 1 normally remains chipless for around seven to 10 days if you apply two coats plus a layer of the brand'south top coat. Miracle Gel polishes were one of the offset in the market of UV-free, long-lasting polishes, and they've connected to exist an affordable drugstore favorite. (The Cut and the Strategist both beloved them.)

Smith & Cult Nail Lacquer - Lovers Creep

This brand, developed by Difficult Processed founder Dineh Mohajer, has recently won my honey and trust. I got a free sample manicure at a department store and was skeptical at beginning, but after seven days, my nails were still perfect. Since then, Lovers Creep has been my become-to deep-red polish. Not simply is the branding bright (I dear the quirky color names and the unique hammered metal bottle tops), but the formula is free of harsh chemicals. Eighteen dollars is a lot, just it's worth it.

OPI Soft Shades Nail Lacquer Collection

Photo: Hudson Cuneo

I can ever count on OPI's Bubble Bath to stay intact for days. This is the color I use when traveling, because I won't have to worry about having to impact information technology up. Just two thin layers will give your nails a prissy natural sheen without bubbles or cracks. Some darker OPI polishes fleck at the two day marking, but the lighter, sheer shades tend to take longer lifespans.

Olive & June Nail Polish

You've probably seen these sweetness, processed-colored smash polishes on Instagam, on the hands of celebrities like Mandy Moore and others. They arguably made the Skittles manicure a affair (with the aid of Harry Styles), and are known for having some of the longest-lasting polishes ever. The make held a "Mani Marathon" contest and one customer said her manicure lasted without chips for 21 days. —Kathleen Hou

J. Hannah Eames Nail Polish

If you lot tire of pastels, you lot'll dearest J.Hannah's "ugly cool" colors — the blast polish equivalent of "ugly pants." Many of the colors are jolie laide like this very hitting sludge green, which is called Eames. The brand's Instagram is total of cute easily, artfully draped like a 1960s Vogue. —1000.H.

ILNP Juliette Holographic Nail Polish, Rose Gold

This nail shine has close to 2,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. The brand, ILNP (which stands for I Love Boom Polish), is besides loved by the Laqueristas, Reddit's smash-obsessive community. Reviewers honey its immovability and opacity (you only need one coat), and say the colors are and then pretty that they wish they could dip their whole bodies in them. —K.H.

Cirque Colors Creme Nail Polish

Blast polish obsessives love this blackness smooth. They praise information technology as even better and richer-looking than Chanel's Black Satin, the original shade which kicked off the black polish trend in 2006. And you only demand one coat. —K.H.

Côte Toxin-Free Nail Polish

Like Jin Shortly, côte is "x-free" – guaranteed to exist free of the 10 virtually toxic ingredients plant in polishes. If you hate sparkle, you'll like this brand's Farrow and Brawl-like approach to matte nail-smooth color. —K.H.

Pear Nova One Piece Wonder

These luxurious Black-endemic polishes are also 10-costless, in addition to cruelty free, and vegan. They apply like a dream, stay but as polish and scrap-free well past the week-marking, and come in unique colors that popular on all peel tones, like this nifty chartreuse that'll transport you lot straight to summertime. —Erica Smith

This commodity was originally published Nov tertiary, 2017, and has been updated throughout. If y'all buy something through our links,New York may earn an affiliate commission.

These Nail Polishes Terminal Forever Without Chipping