*disclaimer: I was provided two bottles of coordinated nail polish from Bad Bitch Polish for this review, Amethyst and Violet Quartz.
I’m not girly in most respects. But one thing I love, is a good mani-pedi and getting my nails “did”. You see I have very manly hands, and the shortest, squarest, thumbs on the planet.
See – hobbit thumb!
You know the shit Megan Fox got on the internet for her thumbs not looking “normal?” Yeah, that’s my normal. Aside from one relative, I’ve met one other woman in my entire 40 years on the planet with my hobbit thumbs.
Pair that with super thin nails with ridges. Making my nails look good takes either an act of god, an hour of work by a skilled technician, or just giving up. Regular nail polish tends to come off in a matter of hours, not days.
And then I was introduced to Bad Bitch Polish.
The creator had similar issues to me, in that most commercially available polishes just don’t hold for squat on my nails. So she developed her own line. Small batch, mixed by hand, made in the USA. And an added perk for me – 3Free. NO FORMALDEHYDE! Any time I ever got a manicure the fumes from formaldehyde triggered a noxious nightmare.
Being a thorough researcher though, I opted to purchase a few bottles and try the polishes out on my wacky nails a few different ways. As I was mid-move and stuff when I started, I actually first tested them on my bare naked nails. I did a side-by-side comparison with and without a base coat. I used a mass-market base/topcoat on one hand, and topcoat only on the other.
Within hours, the hand with the basecoat was peeling off. The hand without, lasted a week. I was in shock. The next test, was on my five year old daughter. Since the polishes are vegan and also do not contain toluene or dbp, I wasn’t worried about her biting her nails and ingesting the polish. She actually didn’t. And the polishes survived recess and a hardcore kindergarten lifestyle for a week as well.
Two coats of Harbor Depths (which to a Whovian is pretty close to Tardis Blue). Note the shine and well, you can still see my ridges. I hadn’t “cleaned up” yet.
One coat of Roar, a glitter polish of aquamarine, silver, white, and blue that just pairs beautifully with Harbor Depths (pictured), and Snow White.
And for the final test – on acrylic nails. Now, because my nails are weird and things don’t like to stick, I typically get a gel process done with a french or american manicure. Sometimes I’ll just have the nail stylist just leave them clear so I can play or I’ll do a fun color mix on my own. I’m so planning to try water marble soon, but I opted to try the test color combo, the February birthstone collection: Amethyst and Violet Quartz.
Amethyst (on tips, instead of “french white”) and Violet Quartz over entire nail.
Amethyst (left) and Violet Quartz (right).
Two weeks later, and the color has stayed on my nails (and they take a beating) better than any name-brand mass market polish I’ve used. (And my collection includes Chanel, Lancome, and OPI).
Aside from the chemical difference, and that it’s a one-woman operation carefully crafting these polishes (you can get the full details at www.badbitchpolish.com) one thing I’ve noticed about these polishes, is the thickness. You will sometimes only need one good coat to get full color. Allow for plenty of time between coats if you decide to opt for multiple coats. On my tips I used washi tape (couldn’t find masking tape) to make the lines, and I did one hand at a time. I think the density of the polish is what makes the colors so deep and lasting, despite some rough treatment.
BBP has just released the February birthstone collection in their shop, also at www.badbitchpolish.com . Other new colors launch weekly on “Mad Scientist Monday,” where facebook followers can vote yay or nay. It’s not unheard of for a color to sell out, so make sure to stop by.
My BBP collection (to date, I anticipate more joining the stash soon):
Top (l-r) Violet Quartz, Amethyst, Sugarplum Dreams (also pretty on Amethyst)
Bottom: (l-r) Harbor Depths, Roar, Snow White, Yule
Saltwater Sessions 
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