Moulding a polish-precipice

What is it that makes nailpolish work wonders on some people and just end up a streaky mess on others?

The same polish, the same color and all, and yet, somebody raves about it but the next thinks it's porridge in a jug?
My nemesis is yellow but there's also a green one lurking in the shadows. It goes on looking like watered white-out, it's streaky and it never dries. With one of them, the Depend, you can re-mould the polish, move it around and play with it forever as it never sets.
Thinking it was my bodylotion or maybe residues from my conditioner, I re-did it a few days later, but the same old, same old.... No base-coat, no top-coat, just polish on a clean nail and still, it's a disaster.

People I know that can spot a good polish a mile away have raved about both of these polishes, but none of them work for me.
Now, I remember reading a blogpost about chemicals and how our personal cocktail of chemicals means that some product may not work as they should, but I forgot to bookmark the post :
does anybody remember? Was it you that wrote it?
Either way, I am starting to think it must be something like that. Can somebody please explain or have a guess?