My new favourite nail thing.

I'd been hunting for it for ages, but it wasn't until right before I headed off on holliers that I finally managed to get my paws on the much-hyped Magic Nail Polish Remover from Bourjois (£4.99/€6.) It's an '80s-stylee dip 'n' twist off nail polish remover (for anyone who doesn't remember them from the first time around, that means the pot contains a remover-soaked sponge with a hole for dipping each painted fingernail into) and since I haven't had much luck with Bourjois products in the past, to be totally honest I was a weeny bit sceptical about the rave pre-launch reviews.

That's why I also picked up a random cheapo version from Pretty Quik (£2.50) for a spot of comparison testing.

The pink Bourjois pot definitely has the edge where Barbie-pleasing prettiness is concerned, and what initially feels like a steep price point begins to look decidedly more reasonable when you take into account the fact that it's a little over twice the size of the Pretty Quik offering (75ml of remover vs. 30ml.)

When the lids come off, the product differences become more apparent.

Obviously the type of sponge used in these dip 'n' twist off removers is really important: it needs to be sufficiently rigid and tightly compacted to offer decent resistance when a nail is rubbed against it for efficient polish removal. 

In fairness, while the Pretty Quik sponge is much softer, has more give, and has a much bigger finger hole (oo-er) than the sturdier Bourjois sponge, it does get the job done without too much more swishing the nail around.

{a very rare glimpse of my nails in the nude}

Where the Bourjois remover comes into its own for me is taking off tricky to remove and seriously pigmented polishes. It made easy work of shifting all traces of the gorgeous Essie Aruba Blue, while the Pretty Quik product left traces of post-polish staining on my nails. I've tentatively used it with a few glitters, too, and had impressive results.

I'd take issue with the "1 second per nail!" claim (and the "Magic" portion of the name, if I was feeling especially pedantic) but in all other respects I'm a convert to Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover. It performs at least as well as some professional grade products I use without stripping nails (it contains nourishing sweet almond oil and is acetone free), smells fruity rather than stinking of polish remover (much to the relief of Himself and the dog), and eliminates the need for cotton wool, pads, or squares, which means no more pesky flyaway strands ending up in your fresh polish.

I'll probably continue to use Pretty Quik for travel because of its smaller size, but otherwise Bourjois will be my go-to for the foreseeable future.

The professional products have been retired. I'm that impressed with it.