In my Sephora haul last week, I picked up a nail polish thinner, as I’ve noticed most of my polishes have been getting thick and unusable. You ladies in the America have the advantage of having OPI products (including their nail polish thinner) at relatively inexpensive prices, but here, at nearly 15 euros for a bottle of polish, one must find alternative products when looking for a deal.
I picked up the Mavala Polish Thinner because it’s only 8 euros, and also because it’s Swiss, which somehow screams ‘fancy’ and ‘quality’ to me !
The product comes in a 10ml/.3 oz glass bottle with a plastic cap, and reminds me a little bit of those holistic ear drop bottles or rescue remedy – in short, it looks clinical, which is somehow reassuring.
I decided to test this out first on one of my Essie polishes – they aren’t sold in France and their ‘In Stitches’ from the Fall 2010 collection is my favorite nude polish, but has gotten too thick to use.
I followed the instructions on the paper included in the box, and added about 5 drops of the thinner, shook the bottle of polish well, and then waited 30 minutes before application.
Verdict? This is a miracle product and NOT a miracle product at the same time. The nail polish was, effectively, transformed – it went on smoothly and was the first time I’ve been able to use it in months. However, I found by the end of the second coat, it had started to thicken again, requiring more product. I also noticed that the polish took AGES to dry, even smudging 6 hours later when I went to bed, which was frustrating.
For the price though, and to lengthen the life of polishes, I do think this product is worthwhile. The bottle is large enough (and applications small enough) that I won’t need to repurchase for a while, and it’s a great deal compared with nearly 20 euros for the OPI version. I’m not photographing my nails for you because they’re hideous, but I did get at least one satisfactory manicure out of an old polish using this product. When you consider that the Mavala product is 8 euros, and a Chanel polish 21 Euros, it makes financial sense – nothing is more frustrating than not being able to use a favorite nail polish shade due to gross thickness !
You can visit Mavala’s site in English here:
http://mavala.com/indexphp.php?s=com&l=2
The products are also available in Sephora’s French stores:
