Nail of the Week: Butter London Petrol

After my recent post on Zoya polish being the only polish I use, a friend begged me to give Butter London another chance. Given that my application and routine have improved since the last time I gave it a try, I was considering it. Then I stopped in at Nordstrom's Beauty Trend event and they had the Backstage Basics kit just sitting there. So I picked it up with Petrol.

Butter London Petrol

I've been wearing this for three days so far and, I'm sorry to say, I've got major tip wear and what looks like a french manicure from the polish wearing away on my right hand. (I'm trying to let it go a full week so I can take photos then.) What you see above is Nail Foundation, three coats of Petrol (it's very sheer as it is intended to be used as a top coat in addition to being a stand-alone,) and a coat of Hardwear.

Petrol is very aptly named - it has the very pretty sheen of gasoline or an oil slick. No photo I could manage did it justice.

I do like the feel of both the base coat - Nail Foundation - and Hardwear, the top coat, better than Zoya's. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be doing the job as well. I wish Zoya could do something to be as quick-drying and lightweight as the Butter feels without sacrificing the quality and wear time. I do use Zoya's quick-dry drops but they leave my fingertips greasy until I'm comfortable washing my hands. Butter London's top coat dries quickly with no fuss. 

I think for the foreseeable future, I'm sticking with Zoya and will only be picking up Butter London polishes on sale in shades that Zoya doesn't have (yet.) Admittedly, Zoya is not always up on trend colors, even if they are usually on the frontlines of runway color.

Butter London polishes clock in at $15 per bottle, base and top coat at $19 a bottle - available from Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, many Whole Foods stores, and Butter London's website directly.