Burst into Spring with Eco-focused Nailpaints

Spring is in the air! And though the weather’s been pretty awful of late, there’s no reason not to pep your persona with our selection of nailpaints from eco aware brands. Simply Woman were delighted to review nailpaints from three leading brands, all of which are free of DBP, toluene, formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin. These ingredients are believed to cause skin irritations, anaemia and even cancer in humans.

Orly is the original French manicure selling in more than 60 countries worldwide, (see also our November 2011 feature)

Orly’s generous 18ml sized bottles have a patented rubber cap, thereby eliminating unsightly teeth marks on your bottle. Noted for fast dry time and good adhesion, Orly retails from £9 in the UK. We liked Artificial Sweetenerwhich is a shimmery demure pink from the Cool Romance collection. This colour is ‘professional’ and ‘subdued’ enough for daywear at the office. Downright Red is a sexy, no-nonsense colour. Unlike Orly’s Ma Cherie (from the Holiday Soiree 2011range), this is solid, not opaque. Goes on beautifully. Butterflies can only be described as a happy candy pink gel. We found this colour opaque, and that it needed more coats to achieve a stronger finish. See www.orlybeauty.co.uk for more products.  

Zoya nailpaints are sold by the Lucy Rose company.

Sarah, a beauty therapist for more than fifteen years founded this organic beauty boutique as an alternative to the myriad of existing brands with artificial products in them. The Zoya range boast a cabinet of over 400 colours, and have the added benefit of being camphor free too. Camphor is known to irritate mucus membranes in mammals. This brand was voted ‘longest wearing nail polish’ by Woman’s Health magazine and ‘best nail varnish’ by Lifescape magazine. We sampled Ki, an amazing iridescent charcoal with simmering blues, purples and greens interspersed throughout. Richelle is a warm gold great for daytime, but equally effective at night – just add extra coats after dark. Pia’s orange flame tones will herald the onset of summer in your heart. This is a bold shade to be worn by outgoing women of all ages. The above colours come in 15ml sized bottles retailing at £10.75. See www.lucyrose.biz for Zoya’s complete range.  

Spa Ritual is a company committed to offering eco friendly products containing vegan ingredients and natural colourings.

Nailpaints come in 5ml dinky bottles, just perfect for popping in your purse,and retail each at £5.00. SpaRitual’s aptly named ‘Water’ colours form part of their spring/summer range, and are available now. We chose Ripple Effect – a matt lilac creme, Hidden Reef – a salmon pink shimmer, andUndercurrent – a dark blue matt crème which conjures up images of deep lagoons. We found wearabilitiy of all three shades lasting up to four days before chipping. As a company with a holistic approach to beauty, SpaRitual aren’t just about nailpaint. Their vision for total harmony and balance encompasses the hands, feet, body and mind – see our foot treatment feature. Also go to www.sparitual.co.uk for more about this company. 

Later this year we’ll be featuring SpaRitual’s Grow Your Own Spa /Create Your Home Haven winter wonder which will give you step-by-step instructions for reproducing an invigorating bath, massage and aromatherapy experience.