High Shine

If you were to tally our eco-sins here at HauteIdea.com, indulging in manicures and pedicures might top the list. We’ve tried to do better; honest. But those water-soluable polishes just don’t do the trick. Why our sudden desire to improve our routine? Well, we recently learned that most nail polishes are nothing more than a refined version of automobile paint which includes carcinogenic chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (dibutyl phthalate). So we did a little digging, and we found a hand-full of slick new products that stay on strong, have a range of fashionable colors, and are free of cancer-causing ingredients. The following must-have polishes are all non-toxic; what a HauteIdea!

NuBar (pictured left) comes in a wild range of colors, from grass green to baby blue. Nubar’s more slick Midnight Rendevous is perfect for pedicure (6.99).

Zoya polish lives up to its name as a long-lasting, natural nail laquer (we found the polish to last, on average, from four to six weeks). Zoya is our go-to polish for fresh, healthy looking nails. What we wear for a Haute French manicure: Nevaeh ($6).

butterLondon, known for  its stylish range of cutting-edge colors, is a celebrity favorite. Check out Yummy Mummy -- sure to be the new "it" color for neutral nails ($12).