How the comparisons are put together

This is desk research, not laboratory testing. We have not tested these products against each other in controlled conditions and we never say we have. What we do is compare published specifications, verify UK prices and stock, and rank against criteria printed on the page.

1. We set the criteria before we look at the products

Every comparison page lists the criteria it ranks on, and those criteria are applied identically to every product on that page. They vary by category, because what decides a top coat is not what decides a dust extractor, but within a page they do not move. Typical criteria include:

• price per millilitre or gram at UK retail, with VAT included;
• size, and how many sets the brand says a bottle covers;
• published formulation: HEMA, TPO, ingredients list, safety data sheet;
• cure time, removal method and any published wear claim;
• shade or size range, and how much of it was in stock when we checked;
• warranty length, and what is in the box;
• UK delivery, returns and how easy the brand is to buy from.

2. We check prices on UK retailers and date them

Every price on this site is in pounds sterling and includes VAT. Several UK trade suppliers display prices excluding VAT: where that is the case we convert at the standard 20 per cent rate, name the retailer, and show the original ex-VAT figure so you can check it. Each product card names the retailer the price came from, and every page carries the date the check was made.

Prices move. A figure that was right on the day may be wrong a month later, particularly where a retailer was running a promotion. Where a listed price looked like clearance rather than a standing price, we say so on the product rather than treating it as normal.

3. Five products, ordered by the criteria

Each comparison holds five products. That is an editorial choice: a tech reading on a phone between clients needs a decision, not a catalogue. The order comes from the criteria, and each product also gets a short label such as "best value" or "best for sensitised clients", which describes the case in which that product is the right answer.

Those labels are descriptions of our own judgement. They are not awards, they do not come from a test, and we do not use phrases such as "test winner" or "award winning" because there is no test and no award behind them.

4. Limitations are compulsory

Every product carries a list of limitations, including whichever one came first. If a product is dearer per millilitre than the rest of the page, that goes in its limitations even when it is our top pick. If most of its shade range was out of stock the day we looked, that goes in too.

What we do not do

• We do not sell ranking positions, and no brand pays to appear here.
• We do not invent prices, review scores, certifications or specifications.
• We do not present manufacturer marketing as measurement. Where a brand quotes a trial or a durability claim, we attribute it to the brand.
• We do not publish customer reviews or ratings of our own.
• We do not take payment from any brand featured on this site.

Updates

Each page shows when it was last reviewed and when its prices were last checked. When a price, a formulation or a product's availability changes materially, we update the page and re-date it rather than quietly editing it.