What is the difference between expensive and cheap nail polish

Before you know it, that polish is gone and you have to go buy another bottle. When you purchase the same beauty product over and over, it makes sense that you want it to perform the same each time. When it comes to nail polish, the ingredients and recipe for some of the cheaper versions might not always be the same. Nail care experts urge you to start with a base coat, follow with two coats of your chosen color, then finish off with a top coat. By skipping an imperative step, even expensive nail polish might not last as long.

On the other hand, using a good technique with cheap polish can help prolong its life span. Economies of scale are also at play here. Larger nail polish companies can purchase in bulk and produce their polish more quickly and in higher quantities than an independent nail polish brand doing everything by hand.

In a crowded market, premium packaging such as an outer carton or a unique nail polish bottle and custom formulas are investments that some brands make in order to stand out. Pham added that brands often invest in unique packaging, such as a fancy box or custom cap, which also adds to the cost of the product.

Bigger brands with a lot of money and resources can purchase polish and packaging in larger quantities to bring down costs, so they sell their product at a lower price than indie nail polish brands. Cheaper brushes may work fine for the first few applications, but over time they start to fray and lose their straight shape. Nylon fibers with the appropriate plasticizers will work best. She added that working with unique pigments requires extra steps, including sourcing, finding a reliable supplier and thorough formula testing.

Rather, you should find a base coat and top coat that work with your body chemistry, which can be a process of trial and error.

Kelly Dobos, former president of the U. In fact, Dobos pointed out that when a cosmetic ingredient becomes undesirable to include, the rush to replace it can result in the use of an ingredient that manufacturers know even less about. Allergies aside, your natural nails offer protection from the chemicals used in nail polish.

The color of a nail polish in the bottle may not reflect how it looks painted on the nail, and it tells you nothing about the formula including pigmentation or how smoothly it applies. This is especially important for cheaper nail polishes, Marissa said, as pigments and formulas can be hit or miss. On her YouTube channel, Marissa swatches entire collections of nail polish on camera and gives her thoughts on the colors and the application experience. Instagram is another place to find a variety of swatches.

Some brands such as ILNP have dedicated hashtags for specific shades, which make it easier to find swatches from polish pros and novices alike.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum imperdiet massa at dignissim gravida. Vivamus vestibulum odio eget eros accumsan, ut dignissim sapien gravida. Vivamus eu sem vitae dui. Sign in. And because the Rouge Louboutin cap was so thick and heavy, there were parts of my nail that I straight up couldn't reach without contorting my entire body. This felt like trying to sign my name using a down feather attached to the end of a remote control.

Luckily, all the nail disasters cleaned up quickly and easily, without staining my skin. Despite the application dramas, it looked really good! This is my perfect recipe for chip-proof nails, and I was sure it would stand me in good stead — even with the confidence-destroying Loub red. From here, I lived my life normally for the next seven days to see how the Louboutin polish held up. On the bright side: My nails weren't stained, which does often happen with really bold red nail polishes yep, even though a good base coat — those pigments aren't a joke.

That's the only good thing I can say about the Rouge Louboutin nail polish. Let's take a closer look. On my right hand, the polish had chipped badly, and the tips had visibly worn down. This is not what I expect from a luxury brand like Louboutin.

Beautiful packaging is great, but the quality of the product itself has to match up with the aesthetics. I don't do a lot of manual labour — I type on a laptop. Now it was time to select the "cheap" nail polish competitor.

First, I tested eight of my red drugstore polishes to see which was the closest color match to the Louboutin red — and right away, there was a winner. It's bold. It's bright. As someone with breakable, peely nails, I stan HARD for the entire Color Therapy collection — it helps my otherwise fragile nails grow long and strong. The Haute Springs bottle is exactly the size you'd expect, with a cute rose gold cap. Compare that to Rouge Louboutin, which contains 0.

But you can't use the Sally Hansen as a potential weapon, or as your wand if you're suddenly accepted to Hogwart's. And the Color Therapy formula is awesome — Haute Springs might be the best bright red nail polish on the market right now. The polish itself is thick, but not too thick, which made it really easy to maneuver and control across the nail.

It also dries really fast, and perhaps because of the Argan oil, has a unique floral smell. The Haute Springs brush is short and thick, with stiff bristles and a rounded tip. That said, if you're used to a thinner brush — say you're a die-hard Essie fan — it may take some practice to get used to a more thicc version. Three coats looked exactly the same as two did — always a good sign. The fewer layers I have to pile on, the better. Even using my non-dominant hand, I couldn't have asked for a better manicure experience.

The brush fanned out perfectly and covered almost the entire face of my nails. It didn't flood my cuticles.