Product Review: Cutex Nail Polish Removers (including the NEW Cutex Twister)

Recently the fine folks at Cutex® - the leading provider of nail care since 1911 - sent me a box of some of their nail polish remover products to review. Cutex® nail polish removers are conveniently stocked in the beauty aisles of more than 1800 Target stores nationwide, and they have just introduced a brand-spankin' new, first of its kind, instant nail polish remover: Cutex® Twister® with SPA Formula.

Now full disclosure: I rarely do my own nails (as you can probably tell by the pic in the lower left). But I DO need a good nail polish remover around the house, because even when I get professional manicures, I usually start chipping within a week (from all my computer typing) and so I need something to remove it all before my hands start looking really ragged. For this "test", I used a dark, eggplant hue - two coats + clear topcoat - to see how the Cutex offerings would rate.

The first I tried was the Cutex Spa Formula Nail Polish Remover. This took my polish off in one pass with the cotton pad (as shown in the pic, bottom right). The formula is "fast-acting, with conditioning botanical oils", but what I like best is the non-offensive smell with little after-scent left on your hands. Ladies, this is not your mother's nail polish remover! It contains 98% acetone in order to get tough gel and glitter polish off quickly and easily.

Next I tried the Cutex Advanced Revival Nail Polish Remover, which "strengthens & conditions" and also contains botanical oils. This also worked well, and from the ingredients list looks to be similar to the Spa Formula but contains less acetone. It did have a slightly stronger scent than the Spa Formula, though.

Then it was on to the Cutex Regular Nail Polish Remover, which still worked well, but honestly was pretty much your regular run of the mill polish remover: it took several passes with the cotton pad to get all the polish off each nail, and the smell was definitely strong.

But my two favorite products were saved for last.... first, the Cutex Advance Revival Nail Polish Remover Pads. Now this is more my speed! The box contains 10 pads (individually wrapped) and each pad contains plenty of remover to get off all the polish on both hands. This might be pricier than the products listed above, but to me, the convenience is worth it. Likewise, the Cutex Twister is a fun, easy way to remove polish from your nails - especially coats that are hard to remove like gel and glitter formulas. All you do is dip, and twist (in the attached plastic brush) and 'viola!' - your nail is clean!

All of these Cutex products are available at Target and other retailers nationwide.