Chanel nail varnish - alternatives for hands

[vanillacinamon]

Apologies as this thread has no doubt been done many times before.
I have read some reviews that "french manicure" shades such as "ballerina" Chanel nail varnish are nice but that Chanel generally does not have great staying power and chips appear much quicker than the heft price tag might promise.
Can you recommend a nice (but not too sickly if you know what i mean) pink / neutral classic shade for hands with impressive staying power (i.e which lasts and does not chip. Expensive or cheap and if you can name the shade too that would be fab. Wanted to treat myself but have stopped short of buying because of the terrible online reviews i have read - thanks

I am a nail varnish addict, and the best ones so far is Rimmel. Honestly. Chanel, models own and Nails Inc all wear off after a couple of days - Rimmel is about 6 days for me, if i wear rubber gloves whilst cleaning. Bourjois do nice colours, but the lacque ones don't last long either.

thanks scorps. i believe you about rimmel - any thoughts on shades or do you not really do pale pink type colours?

No. 210, Ethereal. Is one of the 60 second bottles.

fab thanks will check it out

The 60 second bottles are fab, great when kids are around.

I really like OPI too.

thanks run
can you recommend a shade in OPI? of the pink or neutral variety (or do you usually go for bolder colours)

I use OPI 'Sweet Heart'. Stays put very well.

mum295
perfect thanks for your post & recommendation

Agree about Rimmel. It beats Chanel,OPI, Dior and other more expensive nail varnishes handsdown. Wish I had discovered this before I continually spent a bloody fortune on the dearer stuff. Revlon is OK but Rimmel is still my favourite.

Essie is very good

Mac all the way for me.

OPI. Excellent. Stays on for ages. For a very pale pink, with a hint of shimmer, try "Shopping Pink" I think it is called, however they do a whole range of nice soft delicate pink shades as well as their full on brights. I get mine from the States - about half the price of most UK stockists, website called Beverly Beaute. They also do cheap bottles of the OPI handcream, Avoplex and nail hardener which are very good.

NYC Color is a good budget brand, you can get it in larger branches of Superdrug - great colours that last. H&M and Marks and Spencer are also good.

scuttlebutter thanks for recommendation on Beverly Beaute which I will check out (what is the delivery cost?) have just spent quite a lot on that avoplex oil which so far seems good but was v expensive. thanks also for shade recommendations. pale pink is tricky, often the shade looks a bit "sickly" to me i.e very shimmerly, glittery or frosted. Trouble is i am not sure what my ideal shade of pink would be - a subtle classic shade I guess, i'll know it when i see it just not sure ive seen it yet!
thanks for everyones thoughts very helpful and lots to check out

Definitely Rimmel or OPI. I wear Chanel Rouge Noir a lot, but it doesn't last more than a day without chipping, and that's just normal wear.

vanilla, delivery is free if you spend over £70 otherwise it is a flat rate £5 which i think is pretty reasonable. Usually find stuff takes about a week or so to arrive.

Sadly, agree about Chanel. They do some stunning shades but I just cannot keep them chip free.

thanks scuttle
but it is good to know about rimmel as anything with great performance but a low price tag makes me happy (!!!) but OPI is a nice treat if it lasts without chipping as you say
i think Beverly Beaute doesnt send OPI products to the uk but it is still a great site, am enjoying looking at it

revlon last the longest, and they do a very pretty equivalent of chanel's ballerina. also, get some sechevite top coat from HQ Hair (online). No other top coat is worth buying in my opinion.

Always worth seeing what Avon has - their varnishes have good staying power. I like Marvala too.