I’ve reviewed several nail polish brands over the last couple of years.
Catrice Cosmetics
Catrice Cosmetics is a European brand and is the slightly more expensive sister brand of Essence Cosmetics. You can find Catrice Cosmetics in drugstores in most European countries, but it can be a bit trickier to find in North America. Catrice Cosmetics releases several limited editions per year, which might be different depending on the country. Overall I find that Catrice Cosmetics releases fun colors, although they often do not last too long on my nails. You can find all my blog posts about Catrice Cosmetics over here.
China Glaze
China Glaze is a nail polish brand for the United States, but sometimes can be found in Europe too. China Glaze is known for their fun collections and special finishes for low prices. Recently, also a natural version of China Glaze is released, called Eco Glaze. You can find all my posts about China Glaze over here.
Cirque Colors
Cirque Colors is an indie brand from the United States, but is available all over the world. Cirque Colors has an incredible range of different finishes, from cremes to holographic sparkles. Each year, Cirque Colors releases several collections, including one of my favorite neon collections each summer! You can find my posts about Cirque Colors over here.
Essence Cosmetics
Essence Cosmetics is a European brand that is also widely available in North America. Essence Cosmetics is one of the cheapest brands for nail polish and releases several limited editions per year. The marketing of Essence seems to be focused on a younger audience, however, the colors are usually so nice that it’s worn by people of all ages. You can find my posts about Essence Cosmetics over here.
Essie
Essie is one of my favorite nail polish brands, and I probably have the most posts about this brand. Essie was started in 1980 and started as a private label for nail salons (basically, Essie produced the nail polish while the salons put their name on it). At some point in the late 80s Essie started to release limited edition collections under their own brand name, as we know it now. Essie releases around 12 limited edition collections per year nowadays. You can find my posts about Essie over here.
Hema
Hema is a dutch brand but is also available in Germany, France, and Belgium. Hema is a variety chain store that sells a lot of different products, including nail polish. Next to their permanent collection, Hema releases several different limited edition collections per year including an Advent calendar around December. You can find my posts about Hema over here.
Holo taco
Holo Taco is a brand started by nail YouTuber Simplynailogical. It’s only sold online on Holo taco’s own website (but you can also find limited editions on Ebay for ridiculous prices). Holo taco is known for its holographic nail polish and specialty finishes. You can find my posts about Holo Taco over here.
ILNP
ILNP is a boutique indie brand from the United States. They have a number of online stockists all over the world. ILNP is one of my favorite indie brands, and most of my indie nail polishes are from this brand. ILNP does amazing holographic nail polish, but their multichromes and ultra metallics are also amazing. You can find my posts about ILNP over here.
Kiko Milano
Kiko Milano is an Italian brand that is available almost everywhere in Europe. Kiko sells amazing products for a very reasonable price. Their stores are literally a make up and nail polish paradise on earth, but also their online website is great. You can find my posts about Kiko nail polish over here.
Masura
Masura is a Russian indie brand, but has several stockists outside Russia. Masura is cheaper than most indie brands and is usually really fast with releasing new finishes. Masura is especially great when you want to have more unique nail polish, but don’t want to break the bank. I have not tried a lot of nail polish shades from Masura, but the ones that I tried I really liked. You can find my posts over here.
OPI
OPI is one of the best-known nail polish brands. It started originally as a dental supply company, however, nail artists kept coming in for the dental acrylics that they used for artificial nails. OPI ditched the dental business, and became a nail polish supply store instead. That worked out so well, that it’s now one of the most famous and most popular brands in the nail industry. You can find my posts about OPI nail polish over here.
Orly
Orly was founded by the inventor of the French manicure (entire article over here) in the 1970s. Nowadays, Orly is still going strong and releases four seasonal collections each year, and several limited editions. Orly also invented the world’s first ‘breathable’ nail polish. You can find my posts about Orly over here.
Picture Polish
Picture polish is an indie brand from Australia. The brand is founded by two sisters, who were looking for gifts for their friends, but somehow ended up creating a nail polish brand. The brand is known for its soft holographic shades, square bottles, and the names printed big on the bottle (instead of the brand name). You can find my posts about Picture Polish over here.