My Top Nail Varnish Brands

I have become more and more obsessed with make-up over these past few months. I was always a fan but when I moved to Berlin, a city where the look is pretty natural, I found myself using the bare minimum. Cosmetics are now back with a vengeance so expect many more beauty posts on Joyful Antidotes. Let’s start with a lowdown of my favourite high street nail varnish.

Topshop’s make-up has reached a ‘coveted’ status on my scale during the short time it was introduced to me at Christmas. Their nail varnish range retails at roughly €7 per bottle and is more than worth it. I picked this bottle up in the sale and wasn’t very optimistic due to its pale colour. However, it only needed one application and lasted for a reasonable amount of time without getting chipped.

This nail varnish from P2 Cosmetics in a similar colour range to the Topshop product shown above, but has more of a bridal feel to it. Priced at approximately €2 a bottle it is considerably cheaper, however, the quality lacks a little. At least two coats are needed to get the most out of the colour. Nevertheless, it does stay true to its ‘Last Forever’ name and last five days or more when applied. Other P2 Cosmetics nail varnishes are also good, but I found this range the best so far.

Essence is a range that most people are familiar with, especially because of it very attractive pricing (€1.29). I buy a lot of my varnishes from Essence due to their massive colour range, however, the product is prone to chipping. Not that I can complain or anything because you do get what you pay for, but I do feel this range is best for those who like to change colours every couple of days. Admittedly, this won’t stop me buying from Essence as the overall quality for money is acceptable.

Rival de Loop are a brand on the same price level as P2 Cosmetics and Essence. However, they are certainly the best of the bunch. Rival de Loop offers a pretty of range of classic colours, while their sister brand, Rival de Loop Young, have a range of bright colour youngsters will love. For such a low-priced product, these varnishes are very good quality. They don’t need a lot of application and give a good few days without chipping.

Kiko is a great place to buy any sort of cosmetic, offering products and colours which are very similar to MAC, but at a much cheaper price. I can’t remember exactly how much, but their nail varnishes are usually priced around the €5 mark. The colours are extremely vibrant, no more than two coats is needed, and it has pretty decent lasting power.

Finally, ending the post as my favourite nail polish brand, is Revlon. Revlon was never a company I was drawn to but I got a free bottle of their nail varnish with perfume a couple of years back and since then, I can’t rave about them enough. The product can be around the more pricey mark of €10, but they are certainly worth it. The varnish applies so smoothly, the colours are beautiful and they last the longest out of any other brand mentioned here. This is definitely my top recommendation when it comes to nail varnish.

Which brands do you use? Can you recommend any to me?