The first time I heard of the Priti NYC natural nail polishes, the least I can say is that I was listening very carefully.
Nail polish and natural, in fact, are unusual words to hear in the same sentence, let alone to describe the same product…
It reminded me of Kure Bazaar, a French nail polish brand using 85% natural ingredients. I love this brand, the colours are fantastic and the quality is great.
Unfortunately for me, it’s not (yet?) available here in Dubai.
Just to put the record straight, I don’t always use 100% natural cosmetic products. I do prefer when it’s possible but if completely natural means completely inefficient, there is no point!
So, a few weeks ago, I was invited by my blogger friend Aseya from the super cool blog Pretty in the Desert to an event to celebrate the launch of the brand Priti NYC here in Dubai.
Priti NYC nail polishes:
Priti NYC is an American brand, created in 2005. The founder, Kim D’Amato, a ex-model, had the idea of creating non-toxic nail polishes when she was pregnant. Which makes sense.
So she created 5-free nail polishes, which means “doesn’t contain toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and camphor”. These ingredients commonly used in conventional nail polishes formulas are strongly suspected to be carcinogenic.
Also, the brand Priti NYC explains its products are non-toxic and 100% vegan, and finally not tested on animals.
All these qualities regarding the nail polishes formula doesn’t prevent the brand to also bet on the overall quality of its polishes. They are described by the brand as some “luxury nail polishes, which dry quickly, are resistant to chipping, which contain an UV filter (for the colour not to fade), are extremely long lasting and with a very glossy finish.”
All this sounds very promising, doesn’t it? A “green” formula paired with high-end quality, Oh I want that!
Regarding the color range, the brand has 100 different references, all very pretty and trendy. Priti NYC has been a partner since its beginning of the Fashion Week in New York and Miami and even created special colors for some fashion shows. And there is even a version for children, also non-toxic, Priti Princess.
OK, well it sounds like Priti NYC is the favorite nail polishes’s brand of all the New York hipsters! If I add that the brand is sold in the US in Wholefoods (a very “hip” organic supermarket), I think it’s pretty clear! wink
Here in the UAE, you can find the products online on Eideal website.
Priti NYC, my test:
I chose to try out 3 different products: the 2 in 1 base coat and 2 nail polishes: Alister Stella Gray Rose as well as Pearlwort.
During the event, we were given a 30% voucher. So I ordered them on the website, trying not to buy all the colors that I liked, which was about 88 different colors (but I stayed strong). wink
I bought the 2 in 1 base-coat even though I’m not really a fan of the concept of the 2 in 1 product. For me, a base and a top coat are not really the same thing. A base enhances the adhesion of the nail polish and the top coat protects and prolongs it.
But sadly Priti NYC have only a speedy dry topcoat available and I don’t like that kind of product neither.It usually doesn’t have a long-lasting power, and frankly, redoing my nails every 2 days, is a pain. (When you will read the rest of my post, you will see that perhaps for once, I should have taken that one instead of the one that I picked!)
I also chose 2 nails polishes: Alister Stella Gray Rose, a peachy nude, a lovely soft shade and Pearlwort, a dark kaki green, perfect for the winter season (let me pretend that winter is coming in Dubai).
Regarding the prices, the 3 products were sold $15 per product. It’s clearly upper range prices for nail polish.
I didn’t pick the unscented soy nail polish remover, but I really should have, it looks great and kind of revolutionary! Next time, probably.
My thoughts on these 3 products:
- – Packaging: I love the packaging. It talks to my inner New-Yorker hipster. It has a very luxurious feeling and can easily be compared to brands like Essie or OPI.
- – Application: The application was really uneven depending on the products.
The 2 in 1 base coat was very easy to apply, noting to report. Used as a top coat, it doesn’t dilute the nail polish which is underneath (my nightmare when I’m doing my mani) and it’s not too thick.
Alister Stella Gray Rose, nothing bad to report as well. The brush is pretty cool, a thick round one, my favorite. It’s easy to use and the formula of Alister was nice, opaque and with a good coverage (in 2 layers).
But for Pearlwort, the application was terrible! The formula was super sheer, almost watery and it was very streaky and it makes some kind of holes when I applied it on my nails. It took me 3 good layers for a result about right. A real pain!
- – Drying process: Well, it’s simple, I think this 2 in 1 basecoat never dries. I had never seen such a thing with a top coat!
I did my manicure during the afternoon (4 o’clock), I went to bed around 11 and the next morning, my nail were ruined by sheet marks everywhere! I managed to recover a little shine with a nail polisher (tip!) But it was still quite dull…
In the first photo of my nails (above) with the Alister color, you can see the marks that I wasn’t able to remove (look at my little finger). I was gutted! And the worst is that the next day, I woke up again with new sheet marks on my nails. After 2 days! Every morning for a week, I found new sheet marks on my nails. And that, for me, is unacceptable for a top coat.
- – Shine: The finish is pretty glossy (when there are no sheet marks on the nails of course). You can see it on the second photo of my nails above, with Pearlwort color.
- – Lasting Power: A great surprise. My manicure lasted 5 days without any chip. And on my nails, it is quite rare!
Here is a picture of my nails on the fifth day of my manicure: not bad, is it?
So, in summary:
[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]
Basically, if the fact of using natural products is very important to you, this brand may be interesting. But if like me, it’s better but not essential, I find that there is still things to improve regarding the formulas (especially about the drying process!).
So I will probably use again the color Alister Stella Gray Rose because I love it, but for the rest, back to Formula X by Sephora.
And you, what do you think of natural nail polishes? Have you already tried some nice natural nail polishes brands?
Photos credits: bonnie-garner.com
Cet article est aussi disponible en français: Les vernis à ongles naturels Priti NYC, mon avis
Elizabeth wrote
Thanks for the info, was about to buy some, but have changed my mind due to the long (non?) drying time.
Bonnie Garner wrote
Thanks for your comment, I’m happy to help! :)
Kim wrote
Hi there I am the owner of PRITINYC and I just saw this many years after the fact
It sounds to me you may have not in fact been using a top base coat I wonder if there was a packaging mix up (everything is handpoured so some Times thé human factor can happen) as I use all of these all the time and have not come across this non drying experience . I use it backstage where we only have a few minutes to dry the nails ..
So if I would have known about this I could have looked st the batch code to find out if that was a top base indeed .
i apologize profusely and wished I could of helped .
Bonnie Garner wrote
Hi Kim!
Thank you so much for reaching out! I definitely appreciate, even if I wrote this review a while ago now ;)
I don’t know what happened here, but this product was definitely not great in my experience… To be honest, I don’t have it anymore so I can’t give you any batch code or anything :(
But I certainly appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment here! :)
Lynn wrote
I purchased a bottle of Geisha Gown Iris at a local pharmacy. As with your experience it went on very streaky and after 3 hours it is still not set. I’m afraid after I wake up I’ll have sheet marks on my nails too. For the money I don’t think I would buy another bottle. Too bad it’s a very pretty color. I just don’t have all day for my nails to dry.
Bonnie Garner wrote
I’m sorry you had this experience and yeah, I feel you! It’s such a shame, they have a great color range!
hanifa wrote
I have never used 100% natural nail polish. If it is possible then I would definitely prefer it. on option is there
Bonnie Garner wrote
Happy to help! :)