Nail polish the good the bad and the ugly!!!!

Now, there are millions of polishes out there from $2 to $50, what's the difference and what is a reasonable price to pay? I'm sure you question yourself about this often. I've been painting my nails since I was 14 - every 3 days I never gone more than 1 week with no polish. I've tried them all - from most expensive to least and this is what I've found using them on myself then the technical reason 😋
So starting with your popular brands, the first I used was Creative now known as CND. I love Creative polishes, they have an amazing colour range and a good polish. I did find though if you weren't cleaning the lid after every application, the polish does go thick quite quickly. I find the polish with the base and top coat does peel after a couple of times in water whether it be showering or rinsing dishes (please always wear gloves when doing the dishes, this will not only maintain your polish but keep your nails from becoming weak and breaking) so a nice polish but these were the down sides. Next is OPI. I still use some OPI products and was hesitant when the salon I was working in decided to make the change but then I realised the polish was much thinner and lasted a lot longer. Still a good range of colours but not the one I needed so just a little insight into me, I only wear pink polish, not any pink, a fluoro pink! It's amazeballs and very hard to find in your streamline ranges so I'm constantly on the hunt if anyone can recommend! This brought me to having to look at the cheaper ranges. I was very skeptical on the longevity of the $4 polish from Sportsgirl (on special👌) I bought them all as it was obviously being discontinued.
I used the polish with the OPI top coat and shazam it lasted just as long as my $30 polishes when I don't use top coat. I still get 3- 4 days wear but just no shine. I like OPI's start to finish as its a top and base coat in one!
I know that base coat protects your nail plate as I'm a lecturer in the Diploma of Beauty, this is what I teach but I have to be honest, my pinks don't stain my nail and the base doesn't last as long. If I was using a red I would probably still use a base but I haven't in ages with no drama 🤗 Ok, now the tech side. This is just my opinion but I'm pretty sure it comes down to the chemicals used but mostly the name of the polish is what you pay for. I know there are 3 ingredients you may find in most cheaper polishes.
The first is Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) which is an ingredient they use in plastics to make them more flexible. DBP could potentially have dangerous effects on developmental growth.
The second chemical is Formaldehyde which you all would have heard of, it's supposed to be a carcinogen. The third chemical is Toluene which is a highly hazardous chemical found in petroleum. I have seen these ingredients in some higher named ranges but just be careful not to get it on your skin, maybe if your worried wear a mask when your polishing and you should be ok😉 My toes only need doing once a month using no base and a thin layer of top coat and I've tried gel polish aka shellac but no matter what any one may tell you, etching the nail which is what they do to your nail plate to help the shellac stick. It damages the nai,l especially if you are going to nail bars so just be careful! l how often your doing it I personally don't like it but for girls who bite their nails or they just don't grow. There is definitely a place for it but I find good old polish lasts just as long on the hands and much cheaper ! At the end of the day the price you pay will not necessarily effect your result so find the colour you like and go for it!