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Sunday, March 6, 2011

And the winner for favorite drugstore nail polish brand is...

The results are in! It's time to review the latest Nouveau Cheap Reader Poll, which is a poll I run for one full month and leave open for all readers to participate (thank you all so very much for voting!).

With over 1,600 votes, here are the results of the Favorite Drugstore Nail Polish Brand poll, as voted by YOU:


In first place with 354 votes:
OPI

In second place with 319 votes:
Sally Hansen

In third place with 172 votes:
Sinful Colors

Brands that also received a respectable amount of votes:

Wet n Wild (159 votes)

Revlon (118 votes)

Essie (113 votes)

Rounding out the bottom:

Jordana and Black Radiance (tied with 4 votes each)

Petites (2 votes)

CQ (1 vote)

When I created this poll, I tried very hard to include every brand of polish that I personally can find at the drugstore and/or big box store. But I noticed that 39 of you voted "other", and I'm very curious what polish brand your vote would have gone to if it had been listed! I'm thinking perhaps it would have been NYX, which I did not put on this poll because I have yet to find NYX nail polish at a drugstore or big box store (if you have, I'm jealous!).

The winner of this poll comes as no surprise to me. I was almost certain OPI would win, considering their enormous popularity in the beauty world. But what I did NOT expect was for Maybelline to score so low. Maybelline polishes are some of my favorites (especially their LE shades) so I was kind of sad to see them only earn 30 votes.

Do you find anything surprising in these results? How did YOUR favorite drugstore nail polish brand do?

PS: This month's poll is now up! We're tackling eyeshadow now, so please cast your vote!
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32 comments

  1. I voted for Sally Hansen but I bet some people said other because Zoya wasn't included. Or does that not count as a drugstore np brand? It's about the same price as SH and OPI etc but aren't available many places but online- but that's the case with e.l.f polishes too. I love Zoya so that would have been my "other" if I hadn't voted for SH.

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  2. Affordable Beauty: Yeah, I definitely don't consider Zoya drugstore (even though the price point is the same as SH) because I've never seen their products at a drugstore or big box store. I think they'd be considered a "boutique brand"? Anyway, thanks for the input! I included e.l.f. in this poll because you can find their products at Target and also Dollar Tree. :)

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  3. Gotcha- that makes sense :) I do love SH CSM- they last more than a week on me- the only brand that lasts that long for me. Plus I LOVE the brushes!

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  4. What about China Glaze?? Is that an "other" brand? Because that might a factor to consider.

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  5. Oh good point- China Glaze is an awesome ds brand- I love them!

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  6. I'm so impressed that you thought of all those drugstore brands! C'mon, admit it, you must have had to use some sort of cheat sheet! haha. On a side note, my nauturelux foundation sample from Wal-Mart came in. It had two envelops of the product, along with two coupons; 1 dollar off and NL product, and 3 dollars off any NL (2 or more) products. Both of which expire at the end of the year! (They are also manufacturers coupons!) Thank you so much for the heads up, G!

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  7. What drugstores can you get China Glaze at? O.O That would be handy, since they're my new favorite brand. I get a pretty good deal at Sally's on them though, since I have the rewards card thingy.

    I never voted in this poll because I couldn't decide. -_- I think out of all of them I wear Sinful and Sally Hansen the most though...

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  8. Affordable Beauty and Carolanne: I'm with Hana here! What drugstore can you purchase China Glaze? I only ever see them at Sally (and I admit, I rarely make it to Ulta--do they carry China Glaze there too?). Thanks!!

    Anna: Sadly, I had no cheat sheet! I started writing them down, and visually going over the drugstore aisles in my head. Pathetic, huh? LOL! :) And I'm so glad you got the CG samples! I just got my Maybelline ones the other day, but the coupon wasn't nearly as good as the CG ones! Darnit. I'm bummed I never ended up signing up for that one now!

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  9. China Glaze is my favorite. Although it's not available in all drugs stores, I can find them at Ulta and Sallys and they're cheaper than OPI :)

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  10. Marie Elizabeth: OK, so Ulta does carry China Glaze? Thank you!! I don't make it into Ulta often so I honestly didn't know. Do you know of any drugstores that carry China Glaze? I'm thinking maybe it's drugstores that are not in my city or even my state like Duane Reade or something like that?

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  11. Yeah Ulta carries China Glaze :) I don't think any of my "drugstores" have it though.

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  12. Some of the "other" votes might have been for Confetti or 10, or maybe Scherer Chameleon? I'll bet it's mostly non-drugstore/big box polishes though, like China Glaze or NYX.

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  13. Pretty close call for Wet n Wild but still a happy camper

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  14. AffordableBeauty: Thanks, love!

    Donna: See, I didn't list Confetti or 10 because I thought they were going bye-bye a long time ago and perhaps not even available at some CVS locations anymore. But now I'm confused because I saw full display of both at another CVS the other day (yet the displays at my main CVS are barren). Hum...

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  15. I voted OPI bcs technically I can find it at Meijer...but that's the only non salon place it's available here. Sally Hansen would have been a more *honest* drugstore np choice but I usually prefer OPI's colors. As to Maybelline - I think the quality of their polishes has really fallen in the last couple of years. I haven't found the new display w/the duochrome in it yet; that might change my mind. In my experience, cheaper brands (esp Wet&Wild & Milani) have taken over traditional d/s brands like Maybelline & L'Oreal with better colors, formula & brushes overall. Just my opinion! Also, I'll just mention that ELF polishes aren't available at any stores in my area, including Target. Love these polls, the results are always interesting. :)

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  16. Wow, I don't consider OPI a drugstore brand, because I have to go to Sephora or Ulta for it. Love it though!
    But Orly got no love? You can find those at CVS.

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  17. With the enormous splash that the ColorIcon palettes have made, I predict WnW as the winner of your new e/s poll! (I voted for e.l.f.; I haven't tried the new WnW yet.=[ )

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  18. LOL- Donna nailed it! I voted "other" and it is because I LOVE my little Chameleon nail polishes I got at Rite-Aid.

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  19. I think some of the low scorers didn't get much love because they aren't widely available, like Jordana. My Walgreens sells some Jordana, but not the nail polishes! I wish they would get them.

    G, I was wondering about that, because I know there is some kind of lawsuit going on about Confetti and 10, and I thought they weren't supposed to be resupplying? But my CVS continues to restock and always has it, so I don't know what's up with that.

    OPI is available at my Target, so it is in some big box stores. I think Duane Reade stocks it too (NY/NJ drugstore).

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  20. Ooooooo! I just thought of another one, Color Club and other Forsythe (Massini, Studio M, and there's a new one I forget the name of right now.) polishes! I bet some picked "other" for them since people in the NW and plains states can get them at Ross stores.

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  21. Hum...VERY interesting to hear that some of you gals don't have OPI at your CVS locations! Every CVS in the San Diego area (at least the ones I've been to) has a display rack of OPIs that's about 1-1/2 feet by 2 feet. So not a TON of colors, but definitely not a small selection either. And because OPI can be found easily at CVS stores here, that's why I included them. :)

    And Donna--I'm surprised Orly didn't get much love either, considering they are at CVS and Walgreens too, right?

    Jean: I think you're absolutely right. :)

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  22. I just visited Walmart (I live in Hawaii) and all the CQ's Items are on clearance!!!! Not sure if they are phasing out the brand to make room for another. All that was left were single eyeshadows .25 cents, eye/lip liner .75 cents, lipsticks .75 cents and Mascaras were $1.00, no nail polish...got there too late :-(

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  23. I've never seen Orly anywhere but Sally's, CVS and Ulta.

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  24. As I was tweeting with you tonight (I say, as if you'd even probably remember who I was, haha), I wound up using OPI after my ill-advised syrup attempt tonight. It was my first time using it myself... I got it with a pedicure on my birthday. (Salon school nearby had a $12 pedicure, and you got to keep the bottle.) So it was *my* first time using it, though I'd worn it before. As before, I love the color, but I'm actually really disappointed with the brush, the consistency, AND the wear of it. After letting my nails dry for over an hour, I went to bed, and woke up with impressions from my sheets "stamped" into my nails. So, fail. Dunno if I did something wrong, or if it was the polish itself, but so far, I'm not tempted to recommend the brand.

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  25. Twirly, you need to use a quick dry top coat if you are going to paint your nails at night. Many brands remain dentable hours afterwards if you use a regular top coat or no top coat. I still like to have at least an hour after using a quick dry before I go to bed, just in case, but haven't had any sheet mark issues otherwise. You don't need to use an expensive brand, my favorite I get from Family Dollar for only $3 (Nutra Nail Speed Dry) and it works like a charm.

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  26. I've never seen OPI in my area drugstores either.

    Also, I'm not that surprised Maybelline scored so low. I haven't experienced this much myself, but I've read on MUA that many people have dealt with super wonky brushes and poor application.

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  27. Blech. I hate OPI. I've had nothing but bad or mediocre experiences with their polish, despite the "name." Hands down Rimmel blows them out of the water. I think they couldn't get more votes because of the slim pickings as far as colors go.

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  28. G, I voted for "Other" because I'm a fan of China Glaze polishes, which to me, have longer staying power than OPI, which for some reason chips quickly on my nails (I'm experimenting with different base/top coats to try to remedy that -- I currently use Seche Vite). For $8.50 a bottle, I expect more, JMO. I stopped in my closest Wal-Mart yesterday and there was a beautiful display of Essie polishes, including the new French Affair collection. One of my favorite YouTube beauty gurus wore Lilacism in a recent video, and it was gorgeous.

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  29. Orly is my absolute favorite nail polish I've tried! I'm surprised more people didn't vote for it but I love it.

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  30. I only have one OPI polish, but it applies beautifully and lasts for ages. However, it's the type of color and finish that performs similarly across brands for me.

    Basically, a light colored shimmer that you can apply in a sheerer, thinner coat, and do three coats of wears the best for me.

    So, this OPI, Significant Other Color does that for me. So does Zoya's Zara. So does the Sally Hansen Ultra HDs. So does my 12 year old bottle of lilacy Maybelline Express Finish, or the Revlon Not So Blueberry. (They also have being kinda purple in common, but that might have more to do with my overall polish color choices than anything.)

    I didn't vote OPI et. al., because I don't consider it drug store. Even if my CVS has a few, if I want a particular OPI or something from a collection, it won't be there. But I could go in and pick up any Sally Hansen, or Revlon, etc.

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  31. OPI can be found in some big box and drug stores but they are not authorized dealers as far as I know. I'm not sure why those stores sell them. Remember the drama they had with online sellers last year.

    OPI doesn't last as long as my favorite brand China Glaze. I know that's not a drug store brand.

    I've neve tried Essie so that's on my wish list. Now that L'oreal owns them they are poping up everywhere.

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