Melted butter
May 7, 2008 5:38 pm Hands & Nails
Turns out that toxic ingredients like toluene, formaldehyde and phthalates actually serve a purpose in nail polish — they help it cure.
I went in to butter LONDON today to trade in three old polishes for three shiny new 3-Free ones, and the clerk painted each of my nails up with a different shade. He applied approximately two thin coats to each digit, and I let them take it easy for a good 10–15 minutes before I went back to running my errands.
When I got home and inspected them, they were all significantly smudged. You may not be able to tell from that fuzzy iPhone pic, but trust me, they’re pretty ugly in person. (But to be fair, I’m a very hands-on person, and polish jobs don’t usually last long on my fingernails.)
I had hoped these new semi-natural polishes would hold up like regular icky ones, because I hate waiting for things to dry. (The long curing time is the main reason I was turned off of the Honeybee Gardens polish collection.) I’ll update as to whether a full and properly cured manicure still smudges…
Kristi :
Date: May 8, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
That is so weird that you had a problem with the butter london nail polish. i get my nails done there all the time and haven’t ever had a problem with them smudging. actually, my manicures usually last longer with their polish. which colors did you use?
Virginia :
Date: May 8, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
I got Aston and Fash Pack, but I was painted with two others at the salon (Tea With The Queen and Yummy Mummy). I tried removing the rushed mall job and painting all ten nails with two coats of Aston per my normal usage today.
They’ve held up a *bit* better… I guess. But I also noticed lumps on a couple nails. The company’s not even that old, so there’s no way the bottle I was sold could’ve been expired, ya know? I usually only get lumps in my polish when it’s really old and needs to be tossed.
I’m not TOTALLY discouraged, I’m just not totally wowed either. I’ve always been rough on my manicures, so it’s hard for me to judge, but these polishes don’t seem much better than the drugstore ones I’ve bought my whole life (for a third of the price). At least they’re not as bad for me!
As an aside, I’m not totally shocked to hear that you haven’t had trouble with their polishes, since your IP address shows as “mail.butterlondon.com”… ;)