One of the best nail polishes on the market costs $9 and dries in less than 2 minutes

• Nails INC. is a UK-based cosmetics brand that sells a wide array of polishes and nail-care products.
• I recently tried items from the brand's Speedy Gloss collection, which claims to dry 45 seconds after application.
• While a gray polish from the collection took approximately one minute and 15 seconds to dry, in my experience, I was still impressed by the product.
• Seven days after completing my at-home manicure, I found that the nail polish also held up pretty well with minor blemishes.

Though I love experimenting with most beauty products, I rarely wear nail polish.

I've always found the process of precisely painting my nails and waiting an hour for them to dry to be more tedious than relaxing. It's also disappointing when polish chips just a few days after applying it.

But when I heard about a quick-drying polish from UK-based brand Nails INC., I was intrigued and decided to give it a try — and I'm glad I did.

Though Nails INC. is based in London, you can find the brand's 45-Second Speedy Gloss nail polish both online and through retailers including Sally Beauty and Sephora. At the time of writing, both neutral and vibrant shades are available.

Editor's note: Nails INC. provided Insider with the 45-Second Speedy Gloss, Base Coat, and Top Coat for review, which usually retail for a combined $28.

Nails INC.'s $9 Speedy Gloss polish is said to dry in 45 seconds

To put this to the test, I first painted my nails with the Speedy Dry Base Coat, which retails for $9.49. Not only did this polish dry in 45 seconds, but it also was extremely easy to use. I loved its wide brush, which covered most of my nail with one swipe.

Once the base coat dried on my nails, I began to apply the Nails INC. Speedy Gloss in a gray shade called Made in Marylebone. I like that the color is darker and edgier than others offered by the brand, but is still wearable for all seasons and occasions.

To see if the polish could actually dry in under a minute, I first coated one nail, then set a timer on my phone. Once the clock reached 45 seconds, I lightly tapped the tip of my nail and found that it hadn't completely dried. Of course, doing so caused a slight ripple in the polish, which I had to touch up later.

Still, I let the timer run, and found that the nail polish completely dried around a minute and 15 seconds after applying.

While it did take longer than promised on the bottle, I was still super impressed by how quickly this nail polish dried. I've found most others on the market can take up to an hour to fully dry, so I didn't mind the extra 30 seconds.

To complete my manicure, I then applied the Nails INC. 45-Second Top Coat, which retails for $9.49. This product made my nails look shiny and almost gel-like, and also dried in approximately 45 seconds.

A week later, my nails were in pretty good shape

Exactly seven days after applying the gray polish, base coat, and top coat, I'm pretty happy with how the products have held up.

Some minor chipping occurred around the sixth day on two nails, and there are a few streaks where I probably could have applied another layer of polish. Of course, some nail growth is also visible.

Still, I'm impressed that an inexpensive, quick-drying polish could hold up so well over the course of a week — during which I spent hours typing on my laptop, playing guitar, and doing yard work, among other activities. The chipping, streaks, and nail growth are also barely noticeable unless I'm looking closely at my nails.

I might not start painting my nails every week, but I'll definitely be less opposed to doing so in the future now that I have such an easy-to-use polish in my makeup bag.

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• This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).