Shop bought nail polish most like Shellac?

[BaconAndAvocado]

Obviously we can’t get our nails done at the moment and I would love to find a nail varnish I can apply at home with a similar high shine finish, if it exists!

I bought an essie nail polish today and was very disappointed with it. Very matte finish and started to chip within hours.

Any recommendations?

This has been my life long search. So far nothing has been amazing, I have found that a base/top coat really does help the varnish last longer. My favourite being one from Primark surprisingly.

I'm here for the recommendations.

CND (Shellac brand) also sell Vinylux, which has the same colours as Shellac but can be applied as a normal nail varnish. They claim to last 10 days but in my experience, chip after a couple of days. The finish is pretty much the same as Shellac though.

Get yourself a lamp and gel!

MrsA that sounds expensive! Trying not to spend too much.

Kiko gel, the one that comes in a black box with a top coat.

I was also disappointed with essie nail varnish.. I'm yet to find one that doesn't chip tbf.

I find OPI lasts a few days with a top coat.

It’s the top coat you need for the finish, not the polish itself. Try Seche Vite.

I also recommend sèche vite top coat. I use it on essie nail polish and it’s brilliant

Thanks, I’ll seek out the seche vite.

There are cheap lamps on Amazon and the gel polishes etc available are fairly reasonably priced

@AgathaX

There are cheap lamps on Amazon and the gel polishes etc available are fairly reasonably priced

Yes but be careful with this cos I have made myself allergic to gel nails now through applying it too much to my skin and building up a sensitivity to it

Agree with seche vite

I bought a mylee nail lamp off vinted for £5 use it all the time

I think there is a new style of lamp that's not UV light. Best to buy that one over something that ages your hands!

Did you also use the Essie top coat? I find this adds shine and staying power

lady the other type of lamp is led. That's what I have. I think it cost about £20 from Amazon. You just have to check that the polishes, undercoat etc that you buy cure with led and not just UV.

Maybelline Super Stay 7 day.

Best normal polish if you don’t want gel.

I’m a tricky test subject (I can chip the shit out of Shellac in less than a week) but this polish survives a good 3 or 4 days on me so would probably last a good week on a normal human.

Dries pretty quick too

Sesche Vite gives a lovely finish on my nails but don’t find it provides longevity.
Sort of infiltrates the polish so that when it decides to chip the whole lot just peels off , maybe just me

Crimples do you get the high shine finish with this polish?

@BaconAndAvocado not super, super shiny like gel but yeah, I’d say better than regular polish.
It seems thicker than most polishes and it doesn’t seem to settle into ridges, gives a nice even coat.
It does go gloopy quite quick though, have had to bin a couple of them before they were quite finished as got unusable but I think that happens with most polish after a while