When I ran out of my usual Superdrug nail polish remover, I decided to shop around before buying a replacement. I had seen some bottles of remover in Poundworld, which gave me more for my money, so I decided it would be worth seeing if they were any good. There was two brands on offer at the time, so I bought both. One was the Classics Nail Polish Remover which I am reviewing today. My pound bought me 400ml of the liquid. I had not heard of the Classics brand before, and I have not seen there products anywhere other than poundshops. I don't mind trying unfamiliar brands as I have had more success than failure with experimenting in this way.


The bottle is hard to miss, as it is pink and tall. The packaging design is simple, and looks cheap but in my experience this is the same with most polish removers. It is after all a quite basic product. On the back comes the usual warnings - the product is highly flammable - and instructions for use, as well as the information that the remover is made in the U.K. I do try to buy British products where I can but for some reason I have never thought to look for British made products such as this. Classics don't claim that this is one of their products that offers any nail conditioning properties but it is fungicidal. I have never to my knowledge suffered from a fungal nail infection so I can't put my continued lack of them down to using this product. If I had an active infection, I would not really want to paint my nails either.


The remover smells the same as just about every similar product that I have used, in other words strong and artificial. I don't like the scent, but as I don't have to put up with it for very long at a time, I have got used to it. It only smells bad when the bottle is actually open, as the screw on lid shuts tightly. Once opened, I tip some on to a piece of thick cotton wool, and press it on to each nail in turn. I use a lot of different coloured polishes on my toes in particular, ranging from the pale pinks to midnight blues and dark reds. I have found that most removers deal with the clear and light varnishes, but some make hard work of the deeper shades. This one deals well with most colours, but the results have been variable depending on the brand of polish. I found that although it is recommended that you press the remover into the nail before wiping it away, in most cases this isn't necessary. A quick wipe has dealt with two coats and sometimes three of lighter colours. Where I have had more mixed results is with the darker shades. I normally just refresh the amount of remover on my pads after removing two nails worth of polish. With the Classics brand, but I have found that I have to remoisten each pad at least a couple of times per nail in order for it to remove some deep colours - including those from Maybelline, Revlon and Miss Sporty. On the other hand, removing a deep plum colour from the MUA brand was as easy as anything and didn't take more than a swipe. I suspect it depends on the ingredients of the polish, but overall I expect to use a bit more of this remover on dark colours. All traces of the varnish are removed eventually though, which is the main thing.


I have nails that are in good condition despite how often I paint them. Using this polish remover for the last couple of months hasn't changed that. I can't comment on how it would affect your nails if you suffer from weak or flaking ones. Apart from that, I would recommend this product. You are getting a lot for your money, so if you sometimes end up using more, it still represents good value for money. The results may be variable as regards speed of removal, but it is never the case that I have had to resort to any other polish in order to get my nails clean. Worth a try at the price.


[This review may appear on Ciao in the future, under my user name.]