Fellow bloggers, can we talk about how roundup posts always seem so fun, so easy (you’ve got a million ideas for reccs swirling in your head before you approach the keyboard), and like a really cool way to share something new with readers? Five hours later… Ugh. Such a tedious task! Here, I was really on the hunt for a few lesser-known brands—sure, I want anyone who doesn’t know about tenoverten and NCLA to discover their awesomeness—but there’s nothing like coming across something you’ve never seen before. Especially in the world of green beauty, where cruelty free nail polish is a popular topic.
The cool thing about a lot of smaller brands is the incredible range of color they provide. It’s one area of conscious living that’s decidedly not minimalist… And we at-home manicurists rejoice. Now, for our top finds…
1. These sheer vegan polishes from Chantecaille are gorgeous on naked nails or layered over opaque shades for an iridescent shimmer.
2. Painting with Habit‘s Terra as we speak. They’re all about “plant-powered beauty” that works for you, not against. Retrogade may be my next hue.
3. Mischo Beauty‘s chic, shiny lacquers are 10-free and chip resistant. Available at BLK+GRN.
4. Can’t talk polish with a purpose without mentioning Claws Out, the cruelty free nail polish with an activist plan.
5. Ultra luxe smith + cult nail polish shades have all the glitz and glamour, minus 8 common toxins.
6. Cult fave Floss Gloss offers a ton of colors, and their vegan nail polish is much more affordable than a lot of clean beauty brands, each at $9. Shade shown above is Night Palm.
7. I’ll forever love tenoverten‘s clean aesthetic and commitment to safe, nontoxic salons. Pictured above is cliff.
8. NCLA is one of those brands you could stock up on every hue ever with. Their lacquer section alone boasts 110 products and plenty of sales.
9. Model-founded Kure Bazaar combines natural formula with French fashion. Available at Beauty Habit.
10. You’ll get sucked in by their dreamy packaging and London charm and stay for Ciaté‘s commitment to cruelty free beauty.
11. Just purchased my first bottle of clean nail polish brand Palate Polish at Betsy & Iya. Did you know that all of their hues are inspired by food, like Turmeric above (captured by The Dainty Squid)?!?! Too good.
12. Vegan and nontoxic brand LVX, also offers plant-based remover pads and cruelty free nail treatments.
13. You might know elle+mila (who is celebrating 9 years) from their cute elephant logo, they’ve grown from a cruelty free nail polish brand to offer makeup, skincare, and accessories too. Their catalog of colors is so impressive, and everything is made in the USA. They even have gorgeous holographic colors like zephyr, dragonfly, oasis, and violet skies featured in the photo above by @aanchysnails.
14. PRITI NYC polishes are cruelty free, vegan, nontoxic, and available in over 100 shades. They’re known as a pioneer in eco luxury nail lacquer and are a fashion week favorite!
15. Our new online bouquet wallflower features a couple clean lacquer brands such as BKIND and Seven Seas. Both brands are consciously made and free of all common toxins. Pictured is Sapa Valley, a gorgeous chartreuse found here.
When searching for eco friendly and cruelty free products like these, be sure to look into each brand’s sustainability policies… Being kind to your home is just as important as behind kind to your skin. I know that in the grand scheme of things, we don’t need to be adorning our nails with all this shimmer and spice. But for those of us that use fashion and beauty as a creative outlet, I think it’s important that we have good, solid go-to’s when we do indulge. That, and gifting a cruelty free nail polish is a nice way to stick to our guns when shopping for our less-than-conscious pals. ; )
Who else should we add?
your two cents