Beauty Bits

GLOSS LEADERS

The one drawback of a DIY manicure is chipped nails. You spend all that time getting the polish picture perfect, only for it to start coming off days – or sometimes hours – later. Are there any good chip-free polishes on the market? We put some to the test to see which brands have nailed it...

Artistic Nail Design, Welcome to the Show Holiday Collection, £10.95, Sally Beauty

It’s a brand favoured by celebs like Rita Ora, Kylie Jenner, Myleene Klass and Rihanna – and I’ve never seen any of them with anything less than perfect polish. This glided on well, but started to chip at the edges after just one day. Looks lovely but not much staying power. 3/5

Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacqueur, £10.99, Sally Beauty

The colour was rich, deep and gave great coverage after two coats. Our nails remained chip-free for almost five days. If it wasn’t for some minor scratches and a dulled shine, our manicure would have lasted even longer. 4/5

Mavala Heritage Nail Collection, £5.20, mavala.co.uk

Swiss manicure manufacturers Mavala’s products claim to be among the world leaders in nail care. This one was a gorgeous colour and glided on and dried very quickly – but didn’t last long. A day later, chips were starting to appear. Needs to be paired with a top coat for longer-lasting effect. 3/5

Leighton Denny, Glitz and Glam Silver Siren and Merrymaker Duo, £18, John Lewis

This kit will take you from day to night, with a plum-coloured polish that can be worn on its own and a gorgeous snowglobe glitter one to put on top. With both polishes, this really stood the test of time...nearly a week before it began to chip at the tips. 5/5

L’oreal Paris Infallible Nail Polish, £7.99, Boots

With a two-step process, this nail polish promises long-lasting, high shine results. The double-ended tube has the colour at one end and a gel formula top coat on the other, and the small brush makes it easy to apply. After three days, our nails were still chip-free but the shine had started to fade. 3/5