Have you ever tried water-based nail polish before? Well if so, forget your previous experience(s) because you haven't tried Scotch Naturals.
Personally, I've tried the paint-and-peel and a few other water-based nail polishes. And they were terrible. They chipped less than an hour after putting them on, and then because they were peel-off, you couldn't take them off with nail polish remover, so I was stuck picking off a layer of my nail while trying to scrape off the nail polish that looked like I had been wearing it for a month.
Then I heard about Scotch Naturals. What appealed to me was their vast range of colors. Other water-based brands that are made for adults don't seem to stray from the usual reds, pinks, and beige-like colors. But obviously, Scotch Naturals does. This is their Autumn/Winter 2013/2014 Collection:
no base coat, 2 coats Mamie Gilroy, no top coat
First up, we have Mamie Gilroy. Described on the Scotch Naturals website as a "heathered purple cream," this is a beautiful medium hued purple that errs on the side of light purple. It has a touch more red than these photos show, but as with most purple shades, this one was a bit hard to photograph. The photo with the white background (shown above) is more true-to-life than the photo below.
no base coat, 2 coats Mamie Gilroy, no top coat
Man of the Moment is described by Scotch Naturals as a "vintage denim creme" shade. It does have a bit of teal in it, so it is not a straight blue, but blue seems to be the predominant color in this polish.
no base coat, 2 coats Man of the Moment, no top coat
This is a nice twist on the classic winter blue, because the slight hint of green makes this color feel like it could definitely be worn into spring. It's reminiscent of that time and landscape color change when the grass first starts popping up after a frosty winter and a splash of green starts peaking through the frozen ground.
no base coat, 2 coats Man of the Moment, no top coat
Next up comes the holy grail of the collection for formula: this is a one-coater ladies and gentlemen! That's right, Bannockburn only needs one coat for complete coverage. See below for confirmation on this amazing-ness!
no base coat, 1 coat Bannockburn, no top coat
Described on the Scotch Naturals website as a "muted moss creme" - a description that fits perfectly with this color. It doesn't lean too olive drab/army green, so it looks more modern than those repetitive beige-infused regular nail polish colors of the last few seasons.
no base coat, 1 coat Bannockburn, no top coat
And now for the most interesting color of the bunch! This is Amber's Revenge. Described as a "muted mustard creme," this leans too green to be described strictly as a mustard color. With the slight gray-green thrown in to tone down the yellow, this almost feels like a dark chartreuse.
no base coat, 2 coats Amber's Revenge, no top coat
Like many yellow hued polishes, this one was just a tad thinner than the other shades, so to compare the difference between two to three coats for you, the photo above shows 2 coats of Amber's Revenge, while the photo below shows it at 3 coats.
no base coat, 3 coats Amber's Revenge, no top coat
Now because these are water-based nail polishes, you wouldn't wear them with your regular top coat and base coat, so Scotch Naturals has their own fabulous top and base coats that not only dramatically increase the shine on these polishes, but also increases the staying power.
I did a wear test to show how well these polishes hold up to daily life. The first photo below shows Mamie Gilroy after 24 hours of wear time, followed by another photo at 72 hours of wear time.
base coat, 2 coats Mamie Gilroy, top coat
During the first 24 hours of wear, I spent the day at work typing, followed up with packing boxes and filing papers. By the time this photograph was taken 72 hours in, I had taken at least 2 showers, along with more typing and the unpacking of the earlier packed boxes.
Click to enlarge the photos and you can see that by the end of the first day, I did develop a chip on my middle nail, but there was very minimal tip wear. By the end of day 3, I had full tip wear, just like I always do with regular polish. I see no difference in the wear of this water-based polish to regular nail polish.
base coat, 2 coats Mamie Gilroy, top coat
In terms of color consistency, all of these polishes are straight creme shades. All four also seem to have a hint of gray mixed in that is not apparent in the color of the polish, but does seem to tone down what would have been a brighter shade (such as with Amber's Revenge) making these perfect shades for the winter into the spring. They all do perfectly well at 2 coats of polish, though Bannockburn really only needs one coat of polish for complete coverage.
Dry time for me was the same with regular polish. Base coat + 2 coats of polish + top coat = same dry time as regular polish. It was only marginally slower than when I use a quick drying top coat on regular lacquer. The only major difference was that I painted my nails right before bed when I was going to wear Mamie Gilroy, so as to not get the polish wet right away. Because these are water-based, the polish softens in water when it is still fresh and has not completely hardened/solidified on the nail. That could be a downside for people that paint their nails in the morning or before an evening out if a shower is involved in that.
A major plus for water-based nail polish is that it has little-to-no smell. While other water-based nail polishes I have tried seemed to smell like glue, this doesn't smell like glue, rather it smells a bit like plastic. Yet keep in mind that while these polishes do still give off an odor, it is insignificant in comparison to the smell of regular polishes. I've gotten headaches from the smell of regular nail polish, but I had no problems with these polishes, nor did the person I was sitting next to while painting my nails.
Also, instead of using acetone-based nail polish remover, these come off with rubbing alcohol. A home staple that is easy to find at your local drugstore or grocery store.
Well I am certainly a convert. While I'm not ready to toss out all of my old "3-free" polishes until water-based polishes start coming in matte glitter shades and multi-chrome versions, I have been wearing these a lot this past year. My first Scotch Naturals were the 2012 Fall polishes, so I have had previous experience with this brand of water-based polishes in particular, and I still find them to be the best of its kind.
Scotch Naturals weigh in at the median level of polish pricing, costing $14.99US each. If you buy from their website, you can purchase a starter pack of 3 polishes of your choosing plus top coat all for $48.00US. If you buy the starter pack, called the Cocktail Trio, any additional polish purchase made at that time is 20% off! And like many beauty websites, shipping is free if you spend $50US or more. It's a great way to try out more than one color at a time and see what you think!
Have you ever tried Scotch Naturals water-based nail polish? Have you ever tried another brand of water-based nail polish?
