One of the biggest challenges I have come across in my personal beauty repertoire has been coloring and maintenance of my nails. I would love to have a full set of acrylic or gel nails done every few weeks at a salon and not have to worry in between visits, but that’s not in my budget right now. Also, I don’t feel that fake nails are hygienic enough to wear in my line of work. Besides that, the ordeal of nurturing natural nails back to health after acrylics are removed can be a seriously ugly process, and there’s no beauty in that, my friends!

So, I do my nails myself, and I believe the resulting experimentation I have done will benefit many of you. Over the past few years I have tried just about every brand of nail polish under the sun in multiple colors, coverages, and finishes.

I truly do not enjoy painting my nails. It’s about as interesting to me as watching paint dry…maybe because it literally is watching paint dry! But it has been an enlightening experience. One important thing I have discovered during this journey is that not all brands are created equal. Considering different price points, ingredients, manufacturing process, and packaging, I have found one brand that definitely stands out to me as being the best in all categories of measure. Before I spill the beans on which it is, first I’ll tell you why I chose this brand.

I work with makeup, skincare, and fragrance every day. So, I come in contact with a variety of strong chemicals and natural substances all day long—makeup removers, alcohols, facial cleansers, perfumes, potent serums, moisturizers, and more. I apply them to myself and others, I clean them up, I then use even harsher substances over and over to clean my hands from constant swatching and to keep them hygienic from one person to the next.

Because of all this exposure to harsh substances, when I do my own nails, they often start to chip or fade from day one. Yes, day one! I think most of my readers will agree that spending $10 on a nail polish that can’t make it through one day intact is not money well spent. In fact, at this point, I started asking myself why was I choosing not to go to the salon?!

The only at-home nail polish I have found that I’m able to stretch beyond a three-day refresh is OPI Infinite Shine 2, and I will sing the praises of this nail polish on and on. This stuff is amazing. It stays put, the colors are trendy and vivid, the formula is nondrying and easy to remove. The drying time is quick, and the price is right on, considering how awesome it is. I don’t know the science behind what makes it so much better than the rest, but true to its name, it infinitely outshines everything else I have tried.

If you are looking to save some money and want a quality beauty investment, my solid recommendation, hands (and nails) down, is to check out OPI Infinite Shine 2.