When you're shopping for nail polish, it's easy to get drawn in by all the eye-catching store displays. Who can pass up neatly stacked towers of tiny shimmering multi-colored bottles of fun? You might be tempted to buy one of each. But all nail polishes are not created equally, and there's no point spending your money on a product that won't yield the desired results.

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Which brands or formulas of nail polish to buy depends on what you need. If you're a fan of color variety, you'll want a brand that offers a wide spectrum of shades to choose from. If you love to be on top of fashion trends, you can stick with brands marketed to a hip young demographic, and that offers up-to-the-minute colors and styles. Some shoppers are very interested in nail health, in maintaining the strength and beauty of their natural nails for as long as possible. If that's you, you should lean toward products that focus on overall nail care, not simply quick color fixes.

Some nail polish basics:

• For daytime, neutral, subtle colors work best.