No-UV Light, No-Chip Nail Polish: a CND Vinylux Trial

I’ve gained a bit of notoriety around the NAILS office. Among my many other qualities, I am well-known for my magical ability to chip any fingernail polish within a max of approximately one hour from the time said polish was applied. Many theories abound as to why -- from the ridges in my nails to having flexible nail plates to simple dryness.

No matter the reason, after a few weeks on the job, I stopped wearing fingernail polish (I'll wear polish on my toes, which doesn't chip on me). And thankfully in the months and years that followed many other nail products caught my eye that I could wear without chips. The most buzz-worthy of which of course was the introduction of soak off gel-polish several years ago.

Soak-off gel-polish was a lifesaver for me (or at least a face-saver; believe me, the NAILS office is not the place to be walking around with chipped nail color), as it let me wear bright solid hues on my nails again. I love bold red nails, and I'm thankful to have a variety of options for pulling those off.

And now there's a new option I'm optimistic about: CND Vinylux Weekly Polish. From the makers of Shellac comes this new product that CND touts as a no-UV Light, no-chip 7-days-of-wear polish that comes off with regular acetone-based polish remover. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

Exactly one week ago today, we put it to the test. CND education ambassador Shelena Robinson visited the NAILS office to shoot several how-to videos for our Troubleshooter series and did a bonus tutorial on Vinylux. I was offered up as the nail model.

She did regular nail polish prep on my nails, skipped the base coat (Vinylux doesn’t need it), then applied two coats of the weekly polish (shown in Masquerade; this shade is also available in CND Shellac), and topped it off with the specially formulated Vinylux Weekly Top Coat (which becomes more durable when exposed to natural light, so you must use the polish with this special top coat).

THE RESULTS

In all honesty, I'm happy with this polish's wear. And if I saw it at a nail salon, I would wear it again (versus any regular nail polish, which I won't generally even let be applied to me, because I  can't seem to get out the door without chipping; in general, when gel-polish isn't available, I opt for a high-shine buff).

I went four days without any chips. For nail polish, that is my personal best — and by far. Even today, though I can certainly see wear, mostly at the free edge, I'm not in a panic searching for nail polish remover like, "Get this polish off me before the publisher sees my polish isn't perfect!" In the wide non-nail-focused world, most people probably wouldn't even notice the imperfections that have recently cropped up, though if I had a job interview or a wedding today, I probably would remove the polish before going. Over the course of the week, I did notice that cuticle oil was quite helpful in re-brightening the color, so I'd encourage you to retail a bottle to your clients.

My boss, Hannah (NAILS editor), tried Vinylux at America's Beauty Show and did go chip-free for seven days. And in CND's consumer testing of hundreds of manicures, more than 80% had no chipping after seven days.

If I was a salon owner, would I add Vinylux to my polish options? Yes, I'd give it a shot. An 80% success rate is a pretty good bet. I'd probably market it as "chip-resistant polish that you can remove at home." I'm actually looking forward to removing it, because I saw the process during Shelena's demonstration here, and it literally did just take a few seconds with some standard polish remover.

For any clients who chip, perhaps you'll want to guarantee your work for the trial, letting them come back in for a re-do within seven days on any chipped nails. At that point, you can talk to them about their alternatives, such as 14 days of wear with Shellac and other gel-polishes, potted gels, and acrylics.

We’ll have a full step-by-step for you in our July issue. In the meantime, here is the teaser video CND released, plus look for Vinylux at your favorite distributor within the next few weeks.

—Sree