Beauty Product of the Week: Paint and Peel

What is it? Sula Cosmetic's Paint and Peel is a "collection of good-for-you (nail) hues is inspired by what’s happening on the street and the runway - colors that are hard to come by but not to remove! Touch ups are a snap with the fast drying formula. For extended wear, use water-based Permanent in clear or metallic. Apply 2 coats to clean naked nails. Touch up when required. Peel off when desired--no polish remover needed!" Hard to find--I found it at my local Ulta--for less than $10 a bottle (I think I paid $9).

What did you think? I like that this nail polish is free of the "big 3" nasty chemicals found in some nail products (Toluene, Formaldehyde and DPBs). I also like the idea of not needing to use a nail polish remover since it just seems like one extra step (and one step that also exposes me to more bad-for-me chemicals!).

When I bought this nail polish from Ulta, I didn't have very many shades to pick from. I settled on Moss, and funky green shade. The polish goes on easily--just like every other polish. The color is decent--perfect for Halloween! The green tint had quite a bit of gold and earthy tones to it, and it looked surprisingly pretty next to my very pale skin. I put on a clear top coat from OPI and went about my day.

I was tough on my nails when I was wearing this polish. I got a wild instinct to scrub my bathtub which did not help my manicure last a long time. I noticed that after a day of hard use, the tips of my nails did not have color on them. I also noticed a few "strings" of polish around the side of my nails that was easy to pull off, but a little gross.

After about a day, I wanted nothing more than to but the peel part of the polish to the test. So as my husband and I spent a quiet day playing board games, I peeled all the paint off my nails. It felt oddly satisfying to pick away at the paint and then pull big strips of it off my nails. I can only imagine how annoying I would have been when I was much younger and in school if I had this product. I could visualize myself sitting through a boring math class, picking and peeling my nail polish to my heart's content. Ick.

The polish did all peel off without the need for a nail polish remover...for the most part. There were a few spots that I couldn't get to peel off for the life of me. And the surface of my nails was a little rough and dry immediately after peeling off the paint, but their condition returned to normal after an hour or so.

The final verdict? Peeling off nail polish is both disgusting and satisfying at the same time. It's probably not very socially acceptable to be pulling off nail color in public, but as long as you keep your picking and peeling confined to the privacy of your home, you'll be fine. This product intrigued me and I am left with mixed feelings about it. I wish it was a little tougher and able to withstand my tub scrubbing, but it did what it said: it peeled off easily and my now naked nails are ready to be painted anew.

My one main concern is this: how healthy is this for my nails? Is there any risk of damaging my nails by peeling off the paint? I don't know the answer to this. Anyway, if you're a nail product junkie, you may want to give this a try...if you can find it!