Clinique A Different Nail Enamel
Left to right: Clinique A Different Nail Enamel for Sensitive Skins in 04 Hi Sweetie, 05 Really Rio, 06 Happy Heart, 09 Black Honey
According to Clinique, A Different Nail Enamel has been in development for years, and is dermatologist and ophthalmologist approved. Clinique claims we touch our eyes 200 times a day—which seems really quite high, honestly—and our nail polish may be bothering us. So Clinique designed these polishes for those not only with sensitive skin but also to be less irritating. The full ingredients were not listed on the bottles I received for review, a press release about the product notes that it is free of camphor, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde, and formaldehyde resin. Fewer chemicals (some of these five are allergens and irritants), healthier nails, healthier hands, healthier you.
However, 5-free nail polishes aren’t really that new: Brands like Deborah Lippmann, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Priti NYC, and Zoya—all of which we have featured on About Face before—have been 5-free for a while, and I’m unsure of exactly what is different about Clinique’s approach. Why is A Different Nail Enamel so much more fitting for those with sensitive skin than any other brand’s offerings? I don’t think Clinique fully explains that.
Nevertheless, I liked the four shades I received: 04 Hi Sweetie, a medium carnation pink glossy; 05 Really Rio, a coral-leaning cantaloupe orange glossy; 06 Happy Heart, a deeper, coral-leaning tomato red glossy; and 09 Black Honey, a deep burgundy glossy that is meant to match Clinique’s famous Black Honey lip balm.
These shades have varying levels of opacity: Hi Sweetie, Really Rio, and Happy Heart needed three thin coats to build up a deeper crème finish, whereas Black Honey needed only one. To even it out, you could use two, but the burgundy is incredibly deep and rich.
And what about wear-time? I got about four or five days of wear from all of these shades, but be careful during application—I found all polishes to take a bit long to dry, which meant I had a few dents. But other than that, I thought the polish held up well.
Overall, though, is Clinique A Different Nail Enamel really that different? I don’t think so. It’s nice that Clinique tried to design a product with a more healthful point of view, but 5-free polishes have already been around for a while. Nevertheless, the colors are nice; I love Black Honey in any form; and the wear-time was good. I just don’t think these polishes are as revolutionary as Clinique thinks they are.
VERDICT: B. Good colors, but A Different Nail Enamel isn’t that different from everything on the market. Nevertheless, I think they are fairly priced; $12.50 is pretty affordable for a classic brand like Clinique.
AVAILABILITY: $12.50 per bottle at Clinique counters, Clinique’s website, and everywhere that sells Clinique, like Sephora.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The products featured in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog posts are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company, or any other organization unless mentioned.
Photos by Roxana Hadadi.
In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.
