**This is not a sponsored post**
Using nail polish is one of the easiest ways to add a bit of colour and style.
As a sensitive person with simple tastes, I paint – and re-paint – my own nails to match my ever-changing mood and my minimalistic outfits.
I realized it also stops me from ripping my nails when they get long enough for me to fidget with them when I’m thinking or anxious.
I recently rediscovered my love for nail polish with Innisfree’s ‘Real Color Nail’ line so I wanted to take the opportunity to share a review that hopefully helps you find a way to add some colour and fun in your life – even if in a small way (because it’s the small things that count).
Summary of Pros & Cons
Pros
- Watery consistency and wide brush makes it easy to apply
- Dries up very quickly, which also makes it easier to put on the second coat
- Nail polish smell is not overpowering and fades relatively quickly
- Doesn’t damage the nails with prolonged use (tested for 1 week)
- Easy to remove even with double coats
Cons
- Wide brush might make it difficult to apply on smaller nails
- Can start chipping slightly after a day if applied without a top coat
All in all, at just $25 per 6ml bottle, it’s an affordable and colourful treat that I cannot easily replace.
Gentle on the nails (and the nose)
Innisfree is an affordable South Korean cosmetics brand that promotes itself as using natural ingredients.
According to the Innisfree website, the ‘Real Color Nail’ line of nail polish includes “calcium, argan oil and tangerine oil” which they claim “provides nourishment to damaged nails.”
Perhaps because of this feature, their nail polish products do feel very gentle on the nails even with a week of keeping them on, compared to other products that can cause nails to crack.
They also don’t have the harsh smell that’s typical with nail polish. The Innisfree nail polish smells citrusy and the smell fades quickly, too.
Easy to apply and remove
But perhaps the most important part of nail polish is how neat your nails look when you apply them yourself, especially when you have to inevitably use your non-dominant hand to do your other hand.
Innisfree’s ‘Real Color Nail’ polish is on the watery side which makes it easier to apply than thicker polish.
The brush is also quite wide, spreading the coat across the nails so you only need to apply it over the nails once or twice (maybe three times for the thumb).
The wide brush might make it harder to apply on smaller nails for some people but I made it work for my toes.
Even with the recommended double coat of polish, I found it easy to remove from my nails with the Innisfree nail polish remover (which also smells quite nice).
Colours that pop
The ‘Real Color Nail’ polish allows you to get the vivid colour and glossiness without the cost, inconvenience, and damage of gel polish.
You need to put on two coats to get this consistency but the quick-drying and easy application makes it quite hassle-free.
But if you’re someone like me who washes their hands frequently and isn’t very precious with their nails, the polish can chip from the tips after a day.
It’s very small chipping though, and if it becomes obvious after a few days, I just clip my nails slightly to get rid of the chipped part.
Buying tips
- Innisfree nail products are not sold on official online stores (i.e. Zalora, Watsons, HKTVmall) at the time of writing (October 2022). Here’s a list of the physical Innisfree and Watsons stores across Hong Kong according to the brand site.
- There was no sample in the Innisfree store that I went to (Causeway Bay) for me to see how the colours would actually look on the nails. Search online for photos before you buy them to double check the colours.
- Get two other products to go even gentler on your nails and to make the polish last longer – the Nail Strengthener product can be used as the first protective coat and the Nail Top Coat can be used after the applied colours have dried for a shinier and lasting finish.
Sample colours
Here are some Innisfree Real Color Nail polish colours I tried and how they look on the nails.
Real Color Nail #44
