Paint Me Stunning

I had high hopes for this water-based polish: "Paint Me Stunning" from PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics (flash photo above). It’s basically a plastic polymer in a water-based solution that cures through evaporation (no quick-dry option here). It doesn’t have any of those really nasty chemicals in it, so overall, it’s healthier for you – though I must say, the alcohol smell is pretty bad. The formula is really dreamy to work with – smooth, easy to control, it’s the cleanest mani I’ve done in a long time with minimal cuticle clean-up needed afterwards.

But alas, every one of my nails “bubbled” as it dried. I love nail art, but hate bubbles with a passion, so that was most disappointing. I'll have to try again later with a different room temperature. No-flash photo:
This polish boasts that it needs no base or top coat, so I thought I’d see if it would hold a few stones in on its own. I had some bows or butterflies (I couldn’t decide what they were) that match the polish perfectly, so I used just a few to see how they held up. I did this manicure on Sunday night, and since I had Monday off of work, I spent most of the day cleaning. As you can see, I lost one stone on my left hand, and I lost both the stones on my right index finger (not shown). So far, the others are still solid, so we’ll see how long they last with no topcoat holding them on.

I’ve gotten a little tip pull on all fingers…but I think that’s probably to be expected since it cures through evaporation, and I didn’t wrap the polish over the tips.

The main test, of course, is whether or not this polish will last without chipping or “wear” until next Sunday. It warns that the polish should be removed after 1 week, because the longer you wear it, the harder it is to remove. So we’ll see how the durability turns out next week.

I wanted to add a caution on the Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover I reviewed last week. I thought I’d use a cloth to remove my Valentina mani last weekend. Seriously – just say no! Use cotton balls! With the cloth, the lovely red Valentina got all over my fingers, making a huge mess, and leaving me “red-handed” for the better part of yesterday. Not a great fashion statement.

Next weekend I’ll be trying out the soy based nail polish remover, so stay tuned. Later this week, pictures of my new Nubar Moodie colors, as well as more water-based nail polishes.