I show you a lot of nail polishes and nail-art designs on Swatch And Learn. But something I haven’t talked about much is nail polish remover.
Although finding the perfect shade of green polish is on your to-do list ( 😉 ), if you’re into painting your nails, finding a good nail polish remover is equally important.
It’s not just what you put on. It’s also how you take it off that matters.
Some removers strip your nails of essential oils and leave them feeling bone-dry, or they may even cause your nails to peel.
As a nail-polish fanatic, I’ve been through bottles and bottles of remover. The surprising thing I found was that price didn’t necessarily correspond with the quality.
I’ve tried a myriad of removers, but so far, my favourite is the Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover that can be purchased from Sally Beauty Supply. Let me tell you why!
Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover Pictures
Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover Ingredients
Claims: TRUSTED
- √ Removes polish
√ Leaves nails soft yet sturdy & reinforced
Key Notes
- Name: Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover
- Amount: 32 oz.
- What I Paid: $7.59 CAD (with Sally Beauty Club card)
- Where to Buy: Sally Beauty Supply stores & Sally Beauty Supply website
Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover Review
Polish Removal Effectiveness
I’ve used a lot of acetone-based polish removers (no pure-acetone ones, though) and this one works the best for me. It manages to take off the polish without making my nails feel dried out.
The first time I used this, I was impressed with how quickly it removed a creme polish. Sure, creme finishes are the easiest to remove, but this did it in half the time of others I’ve tried.
Even with glitter nail polishes, I feel like the Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover from Sally Beauty Supply really goes to work!
Smell
This doesn’t smell like roses, but Beauty Secrets didn’t promise you a rose garden. It has that chemical smell that all us nailphiles are familiar with. Although, it’s not as strong-smelling as a lot of drugstore ones. Still, it’s unpleasant and not something that you should be sniffing anyway!
Value
Aside from the effectiveness of this product, the price is the other major selling point. It’s extremely affordable, and it’s the much more economical choice compared to drugstore nail-polish removers even!
A lot of drugstore ones cost anywhere from $3.99 to $5.99 CAD, but you just get a small bottle of it. If you’re seriously into nail polish and change your manicure often like I do, you go through a lot of remover! (I don’t swatch polishes – I blog about manicures that I actually wear. But if you swatch polishes, you’ll burnnn through the drugstore bottles in no time.)
The Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover comes in several sizes: 8-ounces to 128-ounces! I always opt for the 32-ounce one because it’s large enough to last me a very long time, but it’s not so big that I feel like I need to hit the gym just to carry it.
The Acetone Debate
There’s always some amount of risk when you use chemicals on your body, so if you are hesitant, I suggest you research the risks and educate yourself before making your decision.
I’ve decided to not use pure acetone. Acetone-based ones don’t freak me out as much. And I no longer use non-acetone ones because I find that they don’t remove polish nearly as well. Of course, if you’re willing to sacrifice using acetone for speedier results, that’s your choice to make.
|
|
Final Verdict: 9/10
The Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover provides a lot of bang for your buck, and for that reason, I can see myself repurchasing it again and again. (I’m actually on my second 32-ounce bottle of it!)
What remover do you use? Do you find a difference between brands? Have you found one that doesn’t smell as badly?
I use the exact same one! I find it works brilliantly for removing polish, and hey, it’s purple! Also, price-wise it is a deal!
Ashesela recently posted: Liebster Award
Hey Ashesela!
YAY – glad that I’m not the only one! 🙂 I’m really surprised that I haven’t heard more rave reviews about it.
My favorite nail polish remover is actually from Dollarama. It is not pure acetone and it leaves your nails soft. It removes nail polish fairly quickly and it does come in different sizes, a big one and a small one.
Hey maddy!
Good that it works for you and your wallet! 🙂 (I don’t think I’ve tried any beauty products from Dollarama…although once I found a very-hard-to-find, discontinued Caboodles polish. (Haven’t worn it yet.)
I use this brand, too & I love it! Usually use the acetone based on glittery polishes, and the non-acetone on cream polishes. :).
Hey Kim!
Another fan of this remover! 🙂 YAY!
My favourite remover is actually a pure acetone professional remover made by Onyx.
It’s made right here where I live and retails for $1.39usd/16oz bottle at our local WalMart. It’s the best thing I’ve found for removing glitters but does have a tendency to dry out the skin around the nail if left on too long, so I only change out polishes about 1-2 times a week.
It might be time to try Beauty Secrets and give my fingertips a little extra TLC. Of course, that could result in more polish changes, but isn’t that a good thing? 😛
I use the same remover but only with glitter and hard to remove polishes. Like you said, it does dry out the skin.
That’s the concern that I had with a lot of removers – they’re so drying! But once you find one that works AND saves your skin, you’ve struck gold!
Hey karen!
Wow, that’s an outstanding price for a 16-ounce bottle!
YES, more polish changes is definitely a good thing! 😉 (You wouldn’t expect me to say otherwise, right?)
I just use whatever acetone remover is cheapest at the drugstore, and I think it works fine. But this one is such a great deal! I go through remover pretty quickly, so the huge bottle would be great for me. Except Sally’s site charges $12.95 for Canadian shipping so I won’t buy this until I’m ready to make a big purchase from them! The idea of using pure acetone freaks me out a little, too. It just feels so toxic! I’m actually thinking of buying a non-acetone remover for when I’m just wearing cremes, and saving the acetone for things like glitters.
There are physical Sally Beauty stores in Canada. There’s a bunch in Ontario and some in Alberta, as far as I know. If there’s one near you, you should be able to save on that shipping fee and head over to the store instead. 🙂
You can check for store locations here: http://stores.sallybeauty.com/default.aspx
Carmela recently posted: Nubar Reclaim helps you reclaim the (holographic) magic of the holidays
I really wish they’d open up more locations. The nearest one is still about an hour away…but I make the trek because I refuse to pay the heavy shipping price when I can just pick up the stuff. Plus it’s always fun to see things in person.
Hey triceratops!
Yes, it’s really economical. Actually, that was the main reason why I tried it out in the first place. Plus, I just didn’t want to keep buying bottle after bottle of remover. I wanted to just get one gigantic bottle and use that for a long time. It was such a perk that the formula was not as drying as the drugstore ones I tried before and also, this seemed to remove polish a lot faster.
I’ve never ordered from the Sally Beauty Supply website before – bought this from the physical store. There aren’t many, though, which is too bad…Well, if there were more locations, I think my wallet would complain! 😉 If you’re able to make the trek to one, I think it’s worth the extra effort.
Man, this is almost as tough as finding a good top coat that works with your body chemistry! My all time favorite has to be OPI Expert Touch, which smells like oranges and chemicals, if I’m remembering right lol. But I stopped buying it for the expense, the Beauty Secrets is a better value and is more easily available in stores whereas the Expert Touch larger sizes have to be ordered. I’ve been using the Beauty Secret and it works great and lasts forever!
Nicole recently posted: Birthday Sammich!
Hey Nicole!
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! 😀
I’ve tried OPI Expert Touch, and it was good, but Beauty Secrets works well and is much cheaper, so it was the winner for me. I used to order the large bottles of the OPI one online, but shipping to Canada is expensive! I really like how I can just go to the Sally Beauty Supply store and pick this one up. (And whenever I see the HULKING largest bottle, it always makes me laugh – that one looks like laundry detergent or something!)
How do you like the popular favorite, Zoya Remove+ ? I’ve tried that and like it fine, but it’s so expensive that I went back to an acetone. It’s my own mixture that I concocted based on a blog, 75% acetone and 25% coconut oil. Zoya Remove worked fine and definitely didn’t have the characteristic acetone stink. However, I didn’t find it to be vastly different from my own concoction when I did a comparison between the two removers.
Another Cristina recently posted: OPI Texas Collection minis-Just Two Cute!
Hey Another Cristina!
I’ve never tried Zoya Remove+, but I’ve heard wonderful things about it. Honestly, using a non-acetone polish is better for you, but I just really like to remove my polish quickly, so I always end up going back to the acetone-based ones…But I can’t bring myself to use 100% pure acetone. (Too chicken…*bawk bawk bawk*)
I’m curious to try this with your recommendation. I’m still on the look out for a good polish remover. Thus far, the ones I find that are good value-wise, don’t dry my nails much and doesn’t smell too horribly are the Rexall brand acetone based removers that I usually get on sale for $1 each (for 236ml/8 fl.oz.). I tried a non-acetone one from Fernanda’s called Delon and I swear, it’s the stinkiest, most horrible smelling polish remover in the entire universe. It was $5.99 for a liter so that should’ve warned me; you get what you pay for. Needless to say, if I could I’d pass it on to whoever is desperate enough to take it I’d give it away faster than you can say “I want it”. No luck with that yet. The best I’ve found that smells like cucumbers and a bit of chemicals is Nubar’s non-acetone nail polish remover. I like how its polish removal performance is on par with most acetone based removers I’ve tried so it’s been my go-to lately. It’s pricier tho so I’m still looking for better alternatives. And it doesn’t do as well with glitter polishes so I still need my acetone based ones for those.
Carmela recently posted: Nubar Reclaim helps you reclaim the (holographic) magic of the holidays
Hey Carmela!
The Nubar non-acetone remover sounds interesting – like cucumbers? That’s different!
I’ve also tried the Rexall removers, but I didn’t find that they worked as quickly as Beauty Secrets. Then again, when I take off polish, I’m always in a hurry to remove it – partially because I’m excited about wearing a new colour. Funny…I have patience for nail art, but none for removal. 😛 I remember the Rexall one working well, but just in comparison to Beauty Secrets, I found that the latter made the removal process whiz right by. (Of course, with glitter polishes, I need to spend more time.)
I went to Sally’s on the weekend in hopes of grabbing a bottle of this but they were all out of stock except for the gallon ones! (I thought it was a bit much although at the rate I wear polish, I could probably use one of those) Guess these are pretty popular! I’m hoping to get some later this week as I don’t want to use up the Nubar one till I can get a back-up. If you want me to pick up anything for you, let me know so you don’t have to make the trek yourself.
PS. I found some of the scented Color Clubs! But the display was ransacked and there was only of the Gingerbread scented one else I would’ve gotten you a bottle. 🙁
Carmela recently posted: China Glaze Ruby Pumps takes you away from holiday induced stress
Yeah, they must be! I’ve never seen them sell out of it before. (Did you laugh at the gallon bottles? They’re HUGE! Wouldn’t you feel funny lugging that home?)
Thanks for the offer, but I actually just hit up Sally Beauty Supply recently. I’m set for the next 6 months or so. 😉
What else are you getting from Sally’s?
Aww…that’s okay. You’re so sweet to think of me, Carmela! Even just that thought makes me really happy.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’m always looking for a good polish remover that doesn’t completely ravage my already dry cuticles. I usually just pick up whatever is on sale at Shopper’s (usually their store brand), but it doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore! I’ll definitely be picking up a bottle at Sally’s tomorrow. 🙂
Hey Cristina!
No problem – Considering that I’ve been using this so much for months, I’m surprised that I didn’t review it until now. Maybe it’s because I get so distracted by nail polish? 😉
I know what you mean about the ones from Shoppers. I used to use them, too. I’ve even tried the ones by Quo. None of them worked as well as this one. Hope you love it, too! And, since you’re dropping by Sally’s, consider getting a bag of their cotton balls. They made such a big difference when I used them with this remover! (I always buy the huge pillow-sized package of the cotton balls…hehe, which looks ridiculous, but the value is good and they work very well.)
Hey Mary!
I always see people reviewing awesome stuff from Sally’s and sometimes it makes me want to rip my hair out! Quebec is way to french to have a Sally’s, so I’ve never actually been to one :[ I want to go so bad though. I think when I do finally get there, I’m going to empty out my bank account, I have such a long list of stuff I want from there. It’s actually ridiculous.
Still pouting.
-Candy
Hey Candy!
YES, when they make their way over there, you’ll definitely have a ball. And if you’ve ever had trouble finding the core collections from China Glaze, Sally Beauty Supply carries them, so it’s nice to be able to see them all lined up in a physical store instead of having to order online.
If you really want stuff from them, they do ship to Canada, but the fee is hefty. I’ve never ordered from them…
Hey again Mary!
I’m *hopefully* moving to Toronto for the next school year, so I’ll finally get to join in on the party!
-Candy
Woo hoo – Beware the ides of polish! Hahha 😉
Thanks you SOOOOOOOOO much for this! I always end up getting removers that make my nails really thin, peel or even make them turn yellow! (yuck) So I’ll definitely be getting this! 😀 I’m really surprised about the size as well and am glad it comes in different sizes.
Hey Lawren!
Wow, I’ve never had any remover make my nails turn yellow. Do you remember what brand did that? I think that my readers would want to know which one to avoid. That sounds horrible!
Hehe, when you go to the store, you’ll laugh at the largest size they have. It’s like a detergent bottle! 😛 I never buy THAT much of it…hehe…but it always makes me laugh when I see it. (I know that size is more for salons, but it’s still funny to see a ‘super-size-me’ bottle like that.)
Ahh, I wish I could remember! It could have either been Cutex or Take It Off. I know it was in a yellowish bottle and the liquid was yellow too with a lemon scent. My mom had bought it so I don’t even know where I can say you’d find it.
Wow, that’s crazy! I can only imagine that it’s good for salons too xD
Sounds familiar. I tried a lemon-scented one a few years ago. It was from the drugstore, but I also forgot the brand.
I’ve used so many removers over the years. Some didn’t smell too bad. Currently I use Cutex Protein Enriched Strengthening Nail Polish Remover. It has acetone and removes my polish fairly quickly. I also feel that my nails aren’t dried out when I use it. As for the smell, it smells like nail polish remover :-(. I’m used to it, as I’m sure you are.
Hey Marisa!
Yep – I’m used to the nasty chemical smell of remover. Whenever I remove my polish, I tend to hold my breath a lot (just like when I paint my nails). But, even so, you catch whiffs of the stench.
Since companies are making scented polishes, it would be cool if they could work on reducing the smell of their removers. How about one that smells like vanilla and caramel? Or pumpkin? (
There’s a nail polish remover from Tony Moly that smells like a grape gummy sweet!
Hey Kay!
Grape? That sounds reallllly good! (I hope nobody drinks it by accident…haha)
Julep makes a polish remover, it’s non acetone and it works better than any Sally Hansen acetone remover I’ve ever used! It also has a nice scent to it, slightly chemically, but there is definitely a floral/sweet smell to it that makes removing polish better 🙂 But for a whopping $14 ($11.20 for Mavens) for 4 fl oz (118mL) it feels like highway robbery! I got mine in my July Maven box so I didn’t technically pay retail (or Maven discounted) price for it, and I don’t think I ever will. It came in a pump bottle which is refillable, so I have been refilling it with my Sally Hansen remover 😀
Wow, yeah, that’s a stiff price to pay for remover for just 118 mL of it! It’s cool that you were able to try it out in your Maven box. Hmm…maybe if their sales don’t do so well, Julep will consider lowering the price. Right now, though, I can’t see myself buying that because my Beauty Secrets one is super cheap…haha and the bottle is HUGE. (I always feel like such a polish fiend when I buy it. But, hey, at least I’m not buying the gallon, which Sally Beauty Supply also sells! :P)
I use this remover as well. I started using it in school and haven’t use anything else since. Sally is so prolific in my area that many salons also use it as well. It’s an awesome product and the price is equally awesome.
Hey Melissa!
Glad that you’re also a fan of it! 🙂 I love how it economical AND works.
Oh, Mary! I feel like a weirdo to accept this but I actually dont mind the smells! I love nail polish and acetone smells, even Seche UV which smells like granny. BTW I always use Beauty secrets too!
Happy holidays, sweet!
Marcia recently posted: Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance "Dupe" Manicure.
Hey Marcia!
You’re probably the only person who likes the smell! 😛
AHAHA – I laughed when you said it smelled like your granny.
Zoyas nail polish remover is my all time favorite, but is a bit pricey! I only use it sparingly now because it is almost empty. Beauty Secrets from Sally is second choice. This is what my mom always had when I was a teenager and I have continued using it since. I agree it doesn’t smell very nice! I haven’t found one yet that does though.
Amber recently posted: Join in on the Beauty Army!
Hey Amber!
I’ll have to try the Zoya one sometime if I ever want to give my nails a break from the acetone. I imagine that it’s even gentler.
This is what I’ve been using for 2 years now. I’ve gone through a lot & the price is great. I keep a small bottle of pure acetone for cleanup.
April Brooks recently posted: Cool Friends With Lovely Nails; Three Generations of Stylish Women
Hey April!
I’ve always respected people who do clean-up. Hehe, I’m lazy when it comes to that, so I just paint my nails carefully to try to avoid getting any on my skin. Then, if I do get some on there, I just wait until the next time I take my shower so that it comes right off. 😉 It helps that I tend to paint my nails at night, and I shower in the morning.
I loooooooooove this stuff. I bought a big bottle when it was on sale at Sally’s In the summer, I still have a half a bottle left. I will never go back to the drug store brands again. It does smell icky, but if it works I don’t care. haha Before this I was using Sally Hansen remover. I can only find it in some places. Walmart was selling them but not anymore. Beauty Secrets gets an a+ from me. 😉 as far as I know you can only get this at Sally’s.
Hey MissMidnightBlue!
Yay, so you’re a fan of it, too. 🙂 Seems like lots of people love it. I had no idea because I haven’t heard many people rave about it. But it’s a product that, although simple, deserves high praise.
Thanks for this review! I will pick a bottle of this up the next time I get a chance to try it out myself 😀
I generally use the Sally Hansen Acetone based remover (yellow liquid with black label) and it works really good.
I also, recently, got a green OPI nail polish remover which – believe it or not- smells DIVINE!
When you whiff the bottle- you shouldn’t really be doing that… i didn’t? – it is just like any other remover… but apply it to your nails, and when the polish is gone, my nails smells soooooo nice! It leaves some sort of perfumed yumminess behind!
I have played with pure acetone too (not to remove whole manicures, but for cuticle cleanup)…
Marta recently posted: Day 8 – Glitter Nails
Hey Marta!
You are very daring to use pure acetone. I don’t know if I’ll ever have to guts to…
Interesting how the Sally Hansen one leaves behind a smell that you like. I’ve tried a bunch of those removers, but I guess I didn’t pay much attention to the after-smell. Maybe it’s because normally I remove polish and then paint my nails immediately after, so there’s no chance to really smell the remover. (The nail polish chemicals dominate…haha)
The Sally Hansen remover smells “chemically” but the OPI remover has some perfume in the formula that clings to your nail/cuticles and even post painting… my hands smell nice! Really weird (I was a little confused – it doesn’t take much with me- at first…. but now I welcome the lovely smell 😀
Marta recently posted: Day 9- Christmas Song Nails
Wow, I never even noticed it. Makes me want to use it just to smell the remover again. Wait…that didn’t come out right…
I use this EXACT nail polish remover & love it! It DOES remove polishes very quickly & compared to a regular Cutex it dissolves everything much quicker. I was amazed at how quickly it took off my glitter polishes. I could use 1 cotton ball on 2-3 fingers, compared to using 1-2 per nail using another brand. Funny enough, I don’t mind the smell, it does smell chemically but sort of sweet as well… I’d highly recomment it 🙂
Hey Athena!
I guess my nose is more sensitive because I always have to hold my breath when I use this stuff (or any remover). It’s not as harsh-smelling as others, but I still don’t like the way it smells.
YAY for another person who loves this stuff. Beauty Secrets should get more rave reviews for this remover!
This is hands down my ride or die polish remover. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hey Norma!
I agree – I haven’t found a better nail-polish remover than this, and I’ve tried TONS!