I Purged My Nail Polish Collection—These Are the Popular Brands I'll Keep Using

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(Image credit: @thehangedit)

If there's one thing we've learned as beauty editors, it's that a brand's popularity doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with its effectiveness or quality. While perhaps a bit controversial, we're not afraid to dismiss a hair, makeup, skincare, or even nail polish brand if we think it's (honestly) underwhelming and over-hyped. There's a large bandwagon mentality when it comes to beauty products and good (or bad) marketing can be a be-all-end-all for a bourgeoning label.

Bearing all of that in mind, we like to keep it real here at Who What Wear Beauty] and only recommend the brands and products we feel are really truly worth your money. Recently, me and my beauty colleague Courtney Higgs dished on the most popular makeup brands we 100% feel earn their well-famed glory, and now it's time dive into nail polish. With so many brands out there with tons of different formulas, thousands of colors, and some really crazy price points, we whittled down the most popular nail polish brands that deliver the best durability, über-glossy finish, and all-around nail glamour.

Keep scrolling for our top picks and the exact shades we currently have sitting on top of our vanities or inside our shopping carts. 

Oribe

Zoya

Orly

Deborah Lippmann

Nails Inc.

JINsoon

Sally Hansen

J. Hannah

Essie

Smith & Cult

Chanel

Olive & June

OPI

China Glaze

Butter London

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Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.