Honeybee Gardens Water-based Nail Enamel

Let me start by saying that I really wanted this nail polish to work right. I dislike traditional nail polish and think it's a detriment to both health and beauty.

Honeybee Gardens water-based nail polish is reasonably priced (around $6 a bottle). Because it is water-based instead of enamel based, it has a unique application. The instructions said I should wash my hands first. Also, if my nails were dry the instructions suggested that I should apply cuticle oil to my nails and allow it to absorb.

As far as application went, the instructions said that the product would dry in about the same time as traditional nail polish. Also, it stated that two thin coats would dry faster than one thick coat -- something I knew to also be true of regular nail polish. It said that in fifteen minutes the polish would be water resistant, and in one hour it would withstand chemicals, such as shampooing and dish washing. It went further to suggest that 4-6 hours of drying time is ideal for maximum hardness.

So I washed my hands as directed, and used cuticle oil on my hands. I massaged the oil in, and waited fifteen minutes. The oil had absorbed. So I applied the polish in thin coats as directed. I waited an hour before washing my hands, and everything seemed fine. Three hours later, I decided to wash my hair.

Disaster! The polish "bubbled up" and looked absolutely horrible in the shower. I reread the instructions. Hmm, 4-6 hours of drying time is ideal for maximum hardness, but it said I could shampoo after an hour. I emailed the company and received a canned response. I removed the polish with rubbing alcohol as directed.

That evening, I repeated the process. I applied the polish after washing my nails. I went to sleep as soon as they were dry enough, thinking that eight hours of sleep would be sufficient for the nails to cure. The next day, my nails looked great! I washed dishes, washed my hands numerous times, and kept admiring them.

But as soon as I took a shower, the polish started chipping. This did not happen once, but many, many times. I wore this polish for weeks trying to figure out how to make it last the longest. It appears the answer is to not take a shower. I am not sure why taking a shower would affect the nails more than washing dishes, but it did.

Finally, removing this polish is a pain! It takes repeated swipes with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball, and I mean many more swipes than it ever took to get conventional nail polish off! This difficult removal only added to my frustration -- if it's so hard to remove, why does it keep chipping off around the edges?

So I have decided that I will not wear nail polish except for special occasions, until someone comes out with a non-toxic polish that lasts longer than a day.