HANDS-FREE
Back in 2006, nail polish brands like Butter London started referring to their lacquers as “3-free,” indicating the absence of what industry insiders call the toxic trio: formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate. Popular brands like Essie, OPI and Sally Hansen have followed suit, but the list of questionable nail polish ingredients has grown, and now 9- and 10-free lacquers are the new gold standard for what’s viewed as the safest available.
Among them is the 10-free vegan line that Calgary jewellery designer and slow-fashion advocate Bramble Lee Pryde developed as part of her brand Le Lou Ula. The idea came to her when she realized that there was an overlap between making nail lacquer and enamelling her line of handmade rings and necklaces. “Ultimately, our ethos is to make things more ethical, sustainable and accessible, whether it’s jewellery or nail polish,” she says. Another is Amy Ling Lin, who created Sundays, her line of 10-free nail polishes, after working as a nail technician and feeling concerned about chemical exposure for not only customers but also the nail techs themselves.
While these polishes can’t beat the mileage of a gel manicure, the removal process is refreshingly low-key. Take Suncoat’s water-based peelable polishes, perfect for recreating the carefree nails seen at Tibi’s Spring 2019 show, where nail artist Jin Soon Choi, who has an eponymous 9- and 10-free collection, gave models purposely chipped manicures.