Out with the old, in with the new...

I have been on a mission for a while now to get rid of all my old chemical-laden nail polishe's and replace them with more eco-friendly and 3-free version's. I fell in love with Priti NYC first because they have a massive range of colours, think every shade you could want and more, the bottles are cute, and because  Kim DÁmato, the founder, was one of the first to create non-toxic, eco-friendly nail polish's.

Of course, the non-toxic nail polish's are double, sometime's triple the price of the regular ones but some believe it is worth it, I do. It just means that I no longer buy nail polish for the hell of it just because they are cheap, which is probably a really good thing because I have a gazillion that i've worn only once.

More and more eco nail polish brands are popping up so it is now even easier to make the switch. The most popluar are brands like Priti, Zoya, OPI, and newer one's like Butter London and Scotch Natural's. But after looking around I found this page, which is a few years old, that list's all the 3- (Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Toluene)-free polish brands plus brands that go further and cut out other things like Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor and Ethyl Acetate.

Here is the link: Check Your Ingrediants.

I you're main concern is that your polish's are 3-free then the list is perfect for you, but I am also concerned with company ethics. I like Priti because Kim D'Amato supports organic farmers and the products are all vegan and animal cruelty free. I am not vegan but I do not in any way support using animals as test subjects, I find it appauling, so this brand tick's all the boxes for me. I know some people are concerned that 3-free nail polish's won't last as long and in some case's this is true, the first time I wore Priti polish it lasted about 5 days before it chipped but the second time it started chipping after about 1 day. I think it depends on how you apply it and whether or not you use a base/top coat.

Butter London, OPI, Scotch Natural's and Zoya are also vegan and cruelty free. I'm not 100% about the other's but i'm sure you easily find out from google.

As far as getting rid of old nail polish, I usually give them to people who are happy to use them because I know you can't just chuck them in the bin because nail polish is considered hazardous and should be recycled the same way other paint item's are. But I recently read another way to get rid of them, by tipping out all of the unused nail polish onto a piece of newspaper or cardboard, sit it outside till it dries (which, if I'm correct, I think helps all the nastie's to evaporate sort of), then once its dry chuck it in the bin. That way it won't seep into the ground as it would when wet. Obviously it is going to be bad for the environment as it still ends up in landfill, but it is better than nothing. The old bottles can go in the recylce bin once cleaned out which I do by putting some polish remover in the bottle, swishing it around and tipping that out to dry on the paper also.

A few brands have now brought out eco-friendly polish removers too which is great i think, I never could handle the smell of the chemical ones (instant headache). I use the Priti Polish Remover because it doesn't smell bad, almost too sweat if anything, and it absolutely doesn't dry out my nail's and the skin around them. And a glass nail file is always a more eco-friendly option too.

I think you can find OPI and Zoya polish's at most Myer and David Jones stores.

Butter London can be bought online at:
Biome
Honey Honey
Adore Beauty

Scotch Natural's can be bought online at:
Green Chickadee
Bathing Beauty

Priti can be bought online at:
Priti NYC
Finger's and Toe's
Ikigai