Happy Monday! In case you don’t follow me on Insta, I have been sick and busy (what a bad combo), but I wanted to share my thoughts about a nail polish that I received with my July’s Petit Vour box. The shade is Doolish*, and it’s made by Aila Cosmetics. Aila’s nail polishes are 5-free (free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor) and cruelty-free, which is the most important requirement for a product in order to be included in the Petit Vour subscription box (which you can find here).
Doolish is a warm coral shade. I have seen quite a few swatches online and I have the impression that it flatters many skin tones. The formula is very different from any other nail lacquer formula I have tried. It’s very thin, and the first two coats look a bit streaky, so it requires additional coats to build up the coverage, but it dries so quickly that you can apply multiple coats back to back until you have reached opacity. Then, it lasts forever for a very long time with no chipping at all and only minimal tip wear. Also, multiple coats of Doolish do not build up to a thick, paste-like consistency on the nail, so even if you by any chance touch your nails shortly after you have painted them, you won’t mess up the paint job. It has a gel-like finish.
I don’t own the Aila top coat, but in all honesty, this nail polish does not seem to require a top coat. It’s fairly shiny on its own, and lasts well without it. I have used my Priti NYC top coat on only one hand to see how it compared to the hand with no top coat, and I cannot see any difference at all in terms of shine and longevity. I also noticed that my hand without top coat is almost impossible to “peel off”. It’s like all the coats I have applied (4 coats, to be precise) are glued together. However, I have to mention that I have read a few glorious reviews of the Aila top coat (called Better than Gel) so I do plan on giving it a try, as it is supposed to enhance the shiny finish and make the nail polish last even longer.
This is the full list of ingredients:
Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Bentonite, Acrylates Copolymer, Styrene/Acrylates, Copolymer, May Contain: Benzophenone-1, CI 77891, CI 19140, CI 15850, CI 15850, CI 15880, CI 77491, CI 77499, CI 77510, CI 77163, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Aluminium Powder, Mica, Dibenzoate
Bottom line is that the Aila Cosmetics Doolish nail polish formula is easy to work with, and a good option for people who do not like to paint their nails often. You do have to take the time to apply multiple coats, but once you’re done, it lasts longer than most nail polishes. I don’t know if all of the Aila shades have the same formula. I own another couple of Aila shades that I have not tried yet, so I will let you know how they compare. I was positively impressed with Doolish, and although it’s a shade that I will most likely stop wearing at the end of Summer, it did leave me wanting to try more Aila because of the longevity quality. I plan on trying the shade Sarang next (I already own it but I haven’t tried it yet), which is a classic red shade.
Have you tried any Aila nail polish? If you did, do you find that the shade you tried fits this formula description?
You can shop Aila Cosmetics at Petit Vour.
*media sample
