Seven indie nail polish companies

Cult Nails

Cult Nails is a 4-Free (which means that in addition to being 3-Free, the polishes also exclude camphor) and cruelty-free nail polish line by nail blogger Maria Morrison. The colors range from chunky glitter polishes to subtle shimmery shades. The whole line is available from the Cult Nails website, and the polishes are $10 apiece.

Rainbow Honey

Rainbow Honey is an adorably hand-crafted and hand-packaged nail polish line by Dee, who derives inspiration from "1990's video games, Japanese festivals, and kids' TV shows." The polishes cost $10 for a 15mL bottle and $5 for a 7mL bottle and are 3-free (formulated without Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Dibutyl Phthalate) and cruelty-free.

The Hungry Asian

Kae Russ sells her hand-mixed and creatively-named nail polish solely on Etsy. The polishes range from $4.50 for a small heart-shaped bottle to $9.25 for a larger bottle.

Dollish Polish

Dollish is a nail line created by Dolly, who became known in 2009 for uploading more than 250 nail tutorials to YouTube(she even has a Lisa Frank inspired nail series). Her polishes are hand-mixed and inspired by the '80s and her love of sci-fi and horror movies. The polishes range from $4.50 for a mini size to $8.75 for a full size.

Candeo Colors

If you're a fan of glitter nail polishes, Candeo Colors has some really creative options. All of the shades are hand-mixed using a lacquer base and a myriad of loose pigments and glitters. The polishes cost $9.

Pretty and Polished

Pretty and Polished is a rather mysterious indie nail polish company with a somewhat complicated ordering process. The best way to see the polishes ($9.50 for a full size and $5.25 for minis) is perhaps through their Facebook page.

Obsessive-Compulsive Cosmetics

This brand prides itself on being 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free, after walking past their cute little store on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. Everyone at BuzzFeed went pretty crazy for these polishes (all $8), which come in a bunch of really amazing opaque colors, as well as some shimmery shades.


Holographic Polishes by Enkelini

Pat Ashton hand-mixes all the polishes from her line, Enkelini. She makes glitter polishes, but the ones that really caught my eye are the holographic shades. The polishes range from $5-12.

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