Not a Polish Blogger, Clearly

Clearly, I'm not a polish blogger. You'll see in a second that my polish application skills are mediocre, at best, and my hands are not really what you'd call dainty or photogenic. (I have big hands, okay?)

However! I see a question asked so frequently and feel a duty to answer it to the world and internet:

What's the longest lasting polish you've used?

For me the answer, hands down, is Zoya. I use the full color-lock system: Remove+, Anchor, Polish, Armor, and Hurry Up. I even have a bottle of Renew in my cabinet. (Is anyone interested in "what's in my collection" photos?) 

For example: Here's a manicure I did last week, late Wednesday (the 12th) night while I watched the Amell brothers sulk up the CW: 

Zoya's Dakota - two coats and a single layer of top coat

Yes, I'm holding the polish bottle. My hands were not made for those dainty poses.

Here's that same manicure, no fussing, no fixing, no daily top-coating (do people have time for that?) to protect the polish after a week (photo taken in the wee hours of the 20th) chasing my sick preschooler, doing dishes with the steaming hot water from my sink (no gloves - I've never seen a latex-free dish glove,) washing my hands and face a lot, typing, and generally not being dainty. 

Hey you can actually see my nail growth.

Here's another view: 

The best part of this? The only thing I need to keep these weekly manicures looking this way is a cuticle pusher (but I don't use oil or anything - the Remove+ actually is pretty nice to my cuticles. I lotion my hands after I wash them when they're dry,) nail clippers, and a four-sided buffing block. No fussing with cuticle removers or softeners, no nail hardening routine (and mine were paper-thin and prone to splitting before I started using Zoya polishes,) no fancy routine. Just remove, shape, polish, and go. The quick-dry drops make it so that I can get back to typing and touching stuff within about fifteen minutes (I'm clumsy, so I give myself some extra time) and I can go to bed without sheet marks in about an hour. 

The usual suspects. 

Don't worry, I refill that Remove+ from a giant salon-sized bottle I keep under a cabinet.

Here's the bonus round: these are vegan. They're five-free (that means no: toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, DBP (phthalates) and camphor.) They don't smell horrendous and the remover doesn't make me want to pick my brain out with a fork (fumes, man, fumes.) That remover? I'm pretty sure it could take paint off of a car and leave it buffed afterwards - it removes glitter polish in one go but leaves my hands soft and nails refreshed. They usually have a gift-with-purchase or coupon - follow their blog, Zoya Blog, and you'll always know what's coming. You can pick the polishes up at some salons, Ulta stores (but not online,) and Zoya's own website (my preference.)

Have I used other polishes? Boy, have I. I've tried tricks, tips, gone to salons, bought Butter London, Julep, OPI, China Glaze, NARS, Chanel, Seche Vite, Essie, Sally Hansen, RGB, OCC, Deborah Lippman, and I even recently tried Sephora's Formula X. Nothing lasts like Zoya; long live Zoya!