The best nail polish you can buy

With a wide range of colors, hardening finish, and a price tag just under $3, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear is an excellent bang for your buck.

Sally Hansen has been doing nail care since 1957, with wide-reaching solutions for nail needs from promoting growth to cuticle care, and tons of color options that span quick-drying to salon quality. When it comes to an inexpensive polish that does everything you want, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear is the answer.

Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear provides both strength and shine with long-lasting color that is formulated to resist chipping and fading. It comes in more than 30 color options, most priced under $3. It's meant to be applied with at least two coats of color and the Xtreme Wear Invisible Top Coat for the best results.

I love shopping this brand for its wide range of color options that are easy to apply and dry quickly. At its low price point, Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear is a great and inexpensive way to test out trendy colors. While it doesn't offer a nourishing formula to care for nail health, Sally Hansen sells base coats and nail oils made with enriching ingredients like Vitamin E.

Compared with other nail polish brands at a similar price point, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear lasts the longest for me.

I typically experience between three and five days of chip-free wear, and other shoppers on Ulta have reported even longer time periods without chipping. One reviewer who wore this polish with a Nicole by O.P.I. Top Coat Plus said that her nails "didn't chip for over a week and through vigorous hand washing" and the only complaint was that the color began to fade after a week and a half.

Pros: Inexpensive, great value, dries quickly, 30 color options, easy to apply

Cons: Chips easily, strong smell, hard to remove, requires specific top coat for best results

Essie Gel Couture polish provides a salon-quality look that lasts up to 14 days, and has more than 100 colors to choose from.

When it comes to getting a professional-looking at-home manicure that will last longer than a week, most of us choose for a gel polish. Essie's Gel Couture line is the best in this category.

The brand has become an authority when it comes to modern, trendy nail polish colors in its 30+ year history of creating new formulas and shades, and its gel line is no exception.

The Essie Gel Couture range has more than 100 colors and lasts up to 14 days. Not every online or physical retailer sells all the shades, so we'd recommend checking out a few places to find your favorite.

Gel polishes are typically much longer-lasting than regular polishes, and while I've found that no at-home gel manicure will go two weeks without chipping at all, the Essie ones have lasted longer than any other I've tried.

While gel manicures typically require a UV lamp, Essie gel polishes, similar to CND, just requires two coats followed by the accompanying gel top coat for the best result. The top coat is made with a hard-shell technology that protects color, leaves a glossy finish, and provides durability — it's a main reason behind the polish's long wear.

The hard shell of both the gel polish and top coat provide a great protection to the color of your nails, but because it doesn't let in a lot of oxygen, your nails might seem weaker after removing the polish.

Ulta shoppers have given Essie Gel Couture an average rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, with 83% of shoppers reporting that they would recommend the product. The majority of shoppers shared experiences similar to my own — a professional, salon-like manicure that is easy to apply and lasts at least a week. The only issue I have found with this nail polish is that it is usually difficult to remove; I'd recommend a nail polish remover with acetone.

Pros: Long lasting, 100+ color options, easy to use, goes on smoothly, dries quickly

Cons: Not great for nail health, hard to remove, requires specific top boat for best results

The Tom Ford Nail Lacquer provides a 10-day wear wear with full-coverage coating and an extremely glossy finish, making it worth its high price tag.

The nail polish is made from a high-performance formula with a bendable coating to deliver a durable, long-lasting wear that remains true to color, so it's worth its $37 price tag.

The range's current selection features 14 color options with clever names like Sugar Dune, Plum Noir, and Carnal Red. The color range definitely isn't as wide as other brands on this list, though it's well curated and ranges from neutrals to deep plums to classic reds.

Allure named the Tom Ford Nail Lacquer a Best of Beauty Award Winner due to its "well-edited set of colors" and the formula's "impressive high-shine finish that makes nails look perpetually wet." Similarly, InStyle noted that this one is a wise investment and that stays true to color for the duration of the wear.

Shoppers at Bloomingdale's felt similarly to InStyle; quite a few reviewers rave about how long the colors maintain without chipping — particularly when used with base and top coats. One reviewer mentioned that the nail polish lasted at least ten days. The amplified gloss of the formula allows a smooth, flawless finish too.

Nordstrom shoppers rated the Tom Ford Nail Lacquer with 4.5 out of 5 stars out of 85 reviews. As with Bloomingdale's, reviewers agreed that the top advantages of the Tom Ford Nail Lacquer was the longevity of wear and richness of hues, though the high price point remains the biggest issue.

Pros: Long-lasting wear, rich colors

Cons: Expensive, limited color options

Butter London makes its nail polish with a mix of nourishing and fortifying ingredients that protect and care for your nails, while giving full-coverage color.

When it comes to nail health, Butter London is the nail polish brand to choose.

On the surface, nail polish is all about making your nails look good, yet Butter London's mix of ingredients also keep them healthy. The Patent Shine range is a lightweight polish created with bamboo extract and diamond powder to protect and strengthen the nails underneath the color.

The Butter London Patent Shine 10X is eight-free, meaning it's made without formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, DBP, toluene, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, and TPHP — all ingredients that are bad for your health. It's also free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance, so it doesn't contain questionably harmful ingredients either.

Butter London uses technology like fade-resistant UV absorbers, and polymers, to help maintain the polish's shine, durability, and gel-like finish for up to 10 days after application, though this won't have the same results for everyone.

The Patent Shine 10X is well-reviewed by shoppers and beauty editors alike. It has an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Ulta, with 85% of shoppers recommending it for others, and it has been featured on sites like Bustle, Glamour, Byrdie, and more.

Most shoppers agree that the polish color is long-lasting and are resistant to chips, while others point out that it's non-toxic to your health and the environment. Shoppers also encourage others to use two or three coats of color, and not to forget the top coat for best results.

Pros: Easy to apply, good applicator brush, long-lasting, fast drying

Cons: Expensive, clumpy, not always true to color