Mavala Nail Polish Remover Pads

A couple of years ago I got curious about  Swiss drugstore brand Mavala. The products weren't (still aren't) widely available here, which added to the appeal, I guess, but Beauty Encounter had a nice selection of makeup, nail stuff, and skincare, so I placed an order and hoped to be wowed.

I wasn't. The eye makeup remover pads (a very popular and highly regarded product) made my eyes sting, and the cute little nail polish colors looked dated, as were most of the other items I tried and ended up feeling like I was using drugstore products from the 70s and 80s.  It just wasn't a good fit for me. Except for one thing: the nail polish remover pads. These were fabulous.

Mavala Nail Polish Remover Pads work well even on the most long-lasting nail polishes that were firmly cemented with good base and top coats. They take everything off while somehow not stinking up the room with toxic fumes nor drying or irritating the skin around the nails. As a matter of fact, I find my nails to look and feel well-conditioned after using the Mavala pads. I later discovered that Mavala has other nice nail products that are available at Ulta: the nail cream, cuticle oil, and ridge filler are especially nice. But it's the polish remover pads that I'm never without, at home and while traveling (very convenient on the go). The one flaw of these pads is that they're not very sturdy-- I have to use one pad per nail because they disintegrate, which makes them far less economical than they appear at first (for comparison, the $9/20 wipes from Josie Maran lasts longer as I use about 1 pad per hand, but some polishes don't respond as effectively).

Bottom Line: highly recommended.

Mavala Nail Polish Remover Pads ($10) can be found on Amazon and from Beauty Encounter.

Photo by Nina Leen, 1952.