Pretty nails that don't poison...

I am really tough on my nails - normally polish lasts for the best a few days (although a lot of times it's messed up before they are even dry). So when I learned about how toxic most nail polishes are I was worried that I would never find a brand that stood up. And like most changes, I've tried a bunch to find some that work. So before I get into the results, here are some things to know. With all the news about how bad nail polishes are, most of the big names are now "3-free" which means no formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and toulene. These three chemicals have been found to be three of the worst chemicals. 

Many brands are now offering "5-free" which remove camphor and formaldehyde resin in addition to the above. And if you really want to go clean, some brands offer 9- and 10-free - free of xylene, ethyl tosylamide, parabens, lead, and in the case of the Sundays lacquers, tert-butyl hydroperoxide. 

One tool that I've mentioned before and love is the Skin Deep/Healthy Living App from EWG. You can scan the polish before buying to find out exactly what it rates and which chemicals it contains. So far, after trying many that don't stay on at all (for example, Scott Naturals peels right off of me. So far, the top picks are Zoya and Essie (but not all are safe - this is true of most brands, even different colors have different ratings).Cote works well but only if you use the base and top coat too - and it stays much better on my toes than fingers. The Londontown Butter polish (10-free) holds up decently, but to be fair, I should try the full routine with it to.

***UPDATED***

Okay, it's been over a year since I posted this and I've learned some new tricks. The Butter polish is my favorite for a traditional polish but I am in LOVE with Dazzle Dry. It's a bit more work as there is a 4-step process, but once done is dries instantly and it wears more like a gel polish - yay for a hard on my hands kind of person! DO note that the polishes and steps dry out fairly quickly, so the little starter size sets are perfect.