Psychologists and economists have a lot to say about the perception of luxury and how the price tag on an item affects how we use it. However, all of this comes down to one important question: is a $27 bottle of nail polish really better than a $2 bottle of nail polish? Our fast-drying, long-wearing colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports performed some tests. The answer will not surprise you.

The top performer in their tests was Sinful Colors, a brand that’s available at your neighborhood discount or drug store. The polish itself costs just $2, and a full Sinful Colors set including base coat and top coat costs $10.

If you want to spend almost eight times that much and get a much worse product, maybe Chanel’s Le Vernis (English: “The Polish”) is for you. When comparing products objectively, testers found that the polish chipped on the first day. (Note: initially we said that Chanel was also exceptionally smelly, but that was another polish, Nutra Nail.)

CND, a brand available online and in nail salons, also performed well in the tests. The top choice among polishes with one-step application was Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Despite the name, it does not include a professional manicurist in the bottle. They checked.

A $2 Sinful Colors polish beat a $27 Chanel in Consumer Reports’ tests [Consumer Reports]

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