I’m a sucker for cheap beauty products. Part of the reason is the price and the other is curiosity. Does more expensive mean a better product? Unfortunately in the world of nail varnish it does.

The price is what drew me to NYC collection of nail polish. They have a large assortment of colors priced at $ 0.99. What did I have to lose? I splurged and purchased NYC’s Long wearing nail enamel in two colors:

112A Times Sq. Tangerine
119A Black Lace

The instructions on the back label were easy enough: Apply 1-2 coats.

What I didn’t like was the texture of the polish; both colors were very watery and did not go on as smoothly as other nail varnishes I have used.

When I was applying the tangerine color I found that with one coat of polish all it did was give my nail a sheer color. After two coats the color was still not as vibrant as it should have been. In total in took three coats to get to the tangerine color I desired.

When I was applying the Black Lace, FIVE coats was needed to achieve the black color. If you applied less than this it made your nails appear as if you had colored them with magic marker.

The finish for both of these polishes was shiny; but I don’t believe that the number of coats you needed to apply in order to achieve the proper color was warranted.

As for the long-wearing aspect I’ve often wondered what they consider long wearing. Do they take into account that not every women has a dishwasher and a housecleaner? On my toes it has been three weeks and going strong. On my fingernails, 2 days this seems standard after washing dishes and cleaning.

Is it worth it? In today’s busy lifestyle I would prefer to go with another product such as Revlon where coat is usually enough. For a professional product I would recommend Zoya, fabulous colors and often you can find it at the same cost as a drugstore brand.

The average price for both Revlon and Zoya ranges from $5-$10. When it comes to nail polish, the price is reasonable for the product you receive.