Full disclosure, I didn’t really get into the nail polish game until recently. I thought buying a $2 of Sinful Colors from Big Lots was a Big Deal (ok, some of their colors ARE good, if you don’t mind reapplying every single day). I’ve been trying to step up the price point a little to see if it increased longevity: the results have, surprisingly, been mixed. What I should have called this article was “why would anyone buy the standard formulation and not the Breathable formulation?” I have three colors in each of the two formulations and they’re all variants of white/nude/pink. Here’s what Breathable gets right:

• the color is easy to spread on application — I even had a few instances of “perfect on the first stroke”, a rare feat for someone who doesn’t consider themselves proficient at coloring in the lines;
• the color itself is GREAT — it’s very vibrant, or very true to the actual color that you see in the bottle;
• Lasts close to a week without chipping

The standard formulation does none of this. The color is blah, and it’s not even right. It’s impossible to spread. And, after all that work you’ve done to put it on, it lasts for… a day, if I’m being generous.

I usually only buy Orly colors when they go on sale or they’re on clearance, so I should have realized sooner than checking it five seconds ago on Google that Breathable has a higher price point ($10) than the standard ($8). But the standard is BAD, so if you’re going to pay full price, shill out the two extra bucks and go for the Breathable. ~A

 

Standard

Perceived efficacy: 2/5

Longevity: 1/5

How much I actually like this product: 1/5

 

Breathable

Perceived efficacy: 5/5

Longevity: 4.5/5

How much I actually like this product: 4.5/5