We haven’t even hit the middle of winter here yet in Pennsylvania, and I’m already counting down the days until spring! While I can’t speed up time, I have been making little changes here and there to help lighten the mood – starting with swapping out my dark polishes for pastels and sheer tones. The latest shades I’ve been wearing have all been from Habit Cosmetics. Here are swatches of all three from my current collection, along with a little bit around why I’m loving this brand so much!
Habit Cosmetics Nail Polishes
Aja Frierson founded Habit Cosmetics back in 2013. Taking her passion and experience in fashion, art, and green beauty, she created a nail polish brand that gives you the best of all these worlds. Habit’s shade range includes 40+ fun and trendy colors – from nudes to deep, dark bold tones – with varying degrees of opacity, finishes, and shimmers and glitters to further mix things up. All of the polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and also non-toxic and 7-Free, meaning they’re formulated without 7 harmful chemicals commonly found in nail polishes (Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, TPP/TPHP and Xylene). In fact, they’re completely free of phthalates, parabens, and fragrances. One ingredient Habit did make sure to include is Myrrh, a natural extract that helps strengthen and hydrate the nails.
So happy to be included on this list! Habit is and always will be a #vegan, #crueltyfree, and #7free nail polish! https://t.co/QqppiYsfw6
— Habit Cosmetics (@HabitCosmetics) January 18, 2017
To top it all off, Habit Cosmetics’ polishes are housed in beautifully designed, contemporary glass bottles (and the prettiest I’ve ever come across!), topped off with a bamboo overcap and FSC-certified paperboard boxes, to keep in the spirit of making their line as sustainable as possible.
Habit Cosmetics Nail Polish Review & Swatches
Habit Cosmetics’ Aether is very appropriately named as it’s an airy, almost icy semi-sheer blue-aqua with a touch of silver shimmer. It’s one of my favorites from Habit so far for its uniqueness (and because I love all things that look ‘ethereal’).
This one starts off very sheer, and is almost imperceptible with just one coat. For a semi-transparent, frosted finish, it took me a full three layers (as shown in the above photo). Fortunately, the formula dries super quick between coats, and once dry, it lasts me a good 5-7 days with no top coat.
Habit’s Phantom is a medium stone gray with micro champagne shimmer, which adds a bit of extra dimension. I personally don’t find it to be the most flattering shade on me, however, formula-wise, it’s one of the best I’ve come across – it’s smooth, effortlessly glides on without streaks, and only takes two coats to build up to opaque coverage. Dry time is pretty quick as well (about 2-3 minutes) and it lasts me about 4-5 days with no top coat.
Habit Cosmetics’ Moon Rock is a creamy off-white polish with a hint of pink and gray. It’s a my second favorite out of the three for it’s uniqueness and rich pigmentation. Two coats easily builds up to full-on opaque coverage.
This one’s consistency is a bit thicker than the other two, however, making it a bit difficult to work with and also not quite as long-lasting. I tend to only get about 2-3 days wear without a top coat.
Wrap-Up
All-in-all, between their clean ingredient profile, sustainable packaging, gorgeous bottle design, and fun and unique shade selection, Habit is becoming one of my favorite nail polish brands, and one I can feel good about wearing. Longevity is up there too, with an average wear (at least for my lifestyle) of around 4-5 days. (The only exception is their thicker, creme formulations, like Moon Rock, which require a top coat for them to last). At $18 a bottle, Habit polishes are definitely pricier than most other brands, but considering they’re good for your nails and the environment, to me those points justify spending that little bit extra.
Habit polishes are available at www.habitcosmetics.com as well as domino.com.
Have you tried Habit Cosmetics’ polishes?
What’s most important to you in a polish brand? Their ingredients, shade selection, overall performance?
