“I love taking off my nail polish!” said absolutely no one, anywhere, ever. Even if you’re not dealing with a gel manicure or—heaven forbid—glitter (don’t even get me started), the process of sitting there, inhaling acetone, and scrubbing until you get every last stitch of deep, forest green (ugh, why did you think it was a good idea to choose this shade?) to disappear is just really not fun. For me, it ranks somewhere below emptying the dishwasher but above having to listen to Donald Trump get all yell-y on TV on the Misery Scale. And even when you remove all your polish successfully, then comes the task of rehabbing your poor, dried-out nails and cuticles back to some level of acceptability. But if you’ve been sitting around thinking to yourself, Wait—it’s 2016. Why on earth have we not figured out a better way to remove nail polish yet? I have some good news for you: we actually do.
Caption Onto The Next Creme Remover, $5.95. You say “creme,” I say gel. (It’s clear! C’mon.) But the important thing to focus on here is that this is not a liquid nail polish remover. The adorable little squeeze bottle allows you to drip a little glob of the thick, non-runny formula directly onto your nail. After letting it sit for a few seconds, wipe it away with a cotton pad, and it whisks off the polish with near-magical quickness. And while it does contain acetone, the smell is way less overpowering than any other acetone-based remover I’ve ever used—and there’s also a lavender note that makes it almost borderline pleasant. You’ll still wind up with slightly dry nails (again, there’s still acetone in there), but the lavender oil offers a tiny dose of hydration, so they’re not completely ravaged.
Aila 3-in-1 Soy-Based Nail Color Remover with Pure Argan Oil, $19. Yes, this is a nearly-$20 nail polish remover. But trust me, if you’re someone who abhors traditional acetone-based formulas, you’re going to go crazy for this one. Because it’s natural and soy-based, there’s literally no chemical smell—and that whole drying thing? Yeah, nowhere to be found here, either. Soy formulas can take a little getting used to: You have to let the remover sit on the surface of your nails for about a minute before you go in and start scrubbing it away. (Read a full rundown on everything you need to know about soy-based nail polish removers here.) This particular version is also spiked with argan oil, as well as vitamins A, C, and E, so in addition to whisking away polish, it also acts as a hydrating treatment for your nails and cuticles. But that moisturizing property also means you can’t use it like a regular polish remover to prep nails before applying a new color; it leaves behind a slightly oily film, so you’ll need to wash your hands before you start in on a new manicure.
RGB Cosmetics Nail Color Remove Pads, $28 for 20 pads. Also soy-based, these wipes have pretty much all of the same benefits of the above soy formula (they’re natural, stench-free, and moisturizing) tucked into little individual packets. They’re a total no-brainer for travel (no risk of spillage), and one tiny sheet removes the polish on all 10 fingers. I’ve also found that soy-based removers make dark polishes less likely to stain my nails and cuticles. (Sometimes the acetone can make the nail polish evaporate and re-set on my fingers.)
Photos: @Paintboxnails/Instagram; Photo illustration: Hannah Choi/Allure; Courtesy of brands (products)
Regular people try Pinterest nail art:
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