Painting Piggies

I see make-up as an accessory. It’s not an accessory I wear all the time, but I want to have make-up that looks nice and is fun.  Part of the “fun” part for me involves the support of small, innovative, or eco-minded companies.

When Lana was about a year and a half old I realized she’d like to have her nails painted. She was trying to color them with her crayons. So I did a few Google searches, and finally wound up finding Piggy Paint.  While Lana wasn’t ever much of one for sticking odd things in her mouth, since it was possible for her to stick even her toes in her mouth, I wanted something innocuous (if it existed) to paint them or I wasn’t going to try it. She was almost two before I actually had some of the polish and we tried it out.

Piggy Paint is a water-based non-toxic nail polish – and no, I’ve never gotten anything from the company for free, and there are no affiliate links here to the products. In fact, when I was first trying to purchase the product, the site directed me to a place in the industrial park of a small town near Pittsburgh that I never did find (never found the store, I found the town and its industrial park and explored same for 45 minutes), so I’d have a grudge if the product weren’t so cool.

Lana loved it. It’s the only nail polish I’ve used on her. I used it (still do) as an occasional reward (read: bribe) for letting me trim her nails, a task she hates. She only gets her nails painted a handful of times a year so far, but it’s an enjoyable activity for us. I use the polish on myself as well, with about the same frequency, and I get to feel good about the chemicals I’m missing out on. It has some smell, but nothing compared to other nail-polish, which is a great boon. I think it might wear-off faster than traditional nail polish, but then I don’t prep or base or top-coat anything, so I’m sure that has an effect. It starts wearing/chipping off Lana immediately; it lasts much longer on me. I like that the brush is a little smaller than a traditional brush, it makes it easier to get those tiny nails, not that you can tell from my paint job.

Anyway, if you’re looking for cruelty-free, non-toxic, or toddler-friendly nail polish, you should check it out.

Piggy Paints 1: Sometimes Sweet + Dandelion Dance + Dragon Tears + Sea-quin + Clouds of Candy

Piggy Paints 2: Candy Coated + Dragon Tears + Dandelion Dance + Angel Kisses + Sometimes Sweet

Piggy Paint Refined: Coffee Talk

I think one key to making it last longer (my painted toenails lasted weeks, though not chip-free) is to make sure it dries fully before coming in contact with water. It is a water-based formula.  I can’t actually get my nails to last past two days without chips no matter what nail polish I use, so I’m a poor case study on nail polish longevity.

(And please, feel free to ignore how badly I paint toe/fingernails. Thank you.)