The Nail Polish Remover That Changed My Game
Anthropologie
I may have a little thing for nail polish. It is, in my opinion, the lowest-commitment beauty product and as a non-committal person (at least where beauty is concerned), I am a fan of anything that lasts a while and doesn't require daily application.
As I've previously written, I've loved nail polish for a long time, but the nail polish removers and I didn't always get along. Acetone-based removers (which were always a staple in my mother's cabinet) were harsh and drying, leaving my nails feeling flimsy and brittle afterwards. One too many split and broken nails later, I finally called it quits for a while.
Recently, I've taken up nail polish again and made the move to a soy-based nail polish remover with a bottle from the nail and wellness brand dear sundays. At first, I was skeptical. Even though I knew, based on previous research, that it would still act as a solvent, I wasn't completely convinced it was going to work, especially after I opened the bottle. When did nail polish remover smell this good? Just a few weeks prior in a desperate pinch, I had rubbed away my chipping blue polish with acetone and I swear that the scent is something that lives in my mind to bring me nightmares about ninth-grade biology dissections. (I failed the pop quiz on frog anatomy by the way.)
Instead of the habitual odor of chemicals, the gentle, fresh, and summery scent of grapefruit wafted out of the bottle—a pleasant surprise until I read the label. Grapefruit essential oil (along with vitamins A, C, and E) was one of the ingredients.
The thing about soy-based removers is that you must apply and let it sit for a moment before rubbing it off. By rub, I really mean a gentle scrub—acetone is the quicker job. Finding myself out of cotton balls, I opted for cotton swabs because they were all I had.
I used the swab to dab a drop of remover onto each nail, and then let it sit for about 30 seconds. The wait was really nothing thanks to the pleasant scent. It made me want to run to the store and buy some grapefruit!
After the waiting period, I started scrubbing. To my surprise, the polish actually came off fairly easily. Granted, I did really have to rub off the residue, but I could tell the remover had done its job dissolving the polish as the initial swab wiped away a good bit of it. I will say, though, to do this on some paper or over your sink. The remover suspends the polish in the liquid so if it drips, you'll get a shiny, nail-polish tinted drop on whatever surface you're working over.
The consistency of the nail polish remover is thicker than acetone-based ones. This particular brand was viscous and slick like olive oil—another point of skepticism—but was, I believe, the key to leaving my nails and cuticles moisturized and, dare I say, revitalized. Where acetone left things dry and flimsy, with this dear sundays nail polish remover my nails feel like nothing ever happened to them. And if that's going to be the case, a weekly (or bi-monthly) coat of fresh polish doesn't seem like an impossible idea anymore.
Sundays Soy Polish Remover
BUY IT: $28; anthropologie.com
