I have always thought that nail polish would last forever and not go bad but I was wrong. The FDA does not designate the shelf life of nail polishes, instead they leave it up to the companies. Typically a nail polish can last from 18 to 24 months if they are kept in a cool dark place. You can however use the nail polish LONGER than 24 months if it has not gone bad.
It is easy to tell if your nail polish has gone bad then to simple toss it after 2 years. Especially if its one of those expensive bottles! There is one pretty easy way to know if you nail polish has gone bad though!
The texture of your nail polish is a dead giveaway if your nail polish has gone bad. If your nail polish has gone thick and gloopy and basically very hard to manage, then more than likely your nail polish has gone bad. When a nail polish has gone bad, it becomes very very hard to make an even coat that does not come out looking clumpy.
Here are some of my tips that you can do to make your nail polish last forever, if you do take particular care of your bottles.
It really is that simple to help keep your nail polish lasting for a long time, possibly FOREVER! (If you don't use it up by then!)
Do you have any beauty tricks to share? How long does your make up usually last?
Ive honestly had nail polish for many years, sad to say lol. And if the polish itself is thick and all yucky. I add alil' bit of nail polish remover. Then shake it all up. It truly works like a charm, it's alot better then throwing or wasting your $$ away ;)
I'm a nail junkie and my polish lasts as long as I make it last! I often use it up in under a year (I told you I love polish), but it never goes bad. It can get a bit thick, but I usually add a drop or two of acetone, and it'll last a bit longer.
Great Tip.
Thank you for your tips!! I try to store my nail polishes away from the sun and if they have a box I let them inside. Another thing I do is rolling each bottle between my hands instead of shaking them, I try to do it as many time I can. I hate when a nail polish component starts to separate :(
I used the acetone only to find that the nail polish doesn't dry as well and the polish on my nails always seem to remain tacky. So I just tend to shake them up a bit every few months & this seems to help extend their life a little longer.
I have nail polish for alot more then 2 years. But babsywabs* took the typing right out of my fingers LoL. When the polish is kinda thick, just add some nail polish remover to thin it out. It does Work! ;)
nice tips thank
I usually just add a little nail polish remover and shake the bottle.
I still have nail polish and makeup since probably over 5 years ago. Guess I need to clean them out. Thanks for the info
I have never thrown nail polish away..hell my mom still has an awesome red from 10years ago. Shake it up for 5 min and good to go.
For me personally ladies don't agree nail polish expires. I own a nail salon which my sister manages and one thing I noticed yes its true sometimes the nail polish get small lumps but I have fixed it with thinner. Even if the nail polish sometimes dries out or is really hard to paint your nail just add some accetone to the bottle and right away it will polish nicely. So far its worked for us.
For me personally ladies don't agree nail polish expires. I own a nail salon which my sister manages and one thing I noticed yes its true sometimes the nail polish get small lumps but I have fixed it with thinner. Even if the nail polish sometimes dries out or is really hard to paint your nail just add some accetone to the bottle and ight away it will polish nicely. So far its worked for us.
long ago...2004, i graduated from nail school and had accumulated approximately 500 bottles of nail polish. Believe it or not i have about half of them that are still usable-checking from time to time i've only had to get rid of about 200 of them. Using the tips above actually work. One thing people believe they can do is to add acetone to the fluids to make them last longer. If in a fix and you don't plan to keep them long this works but i've rarely done so, because the clumping up will still occur and many times shorten the life of the nail polish.
When cleaning the tops don't use acetone on a cotton ball, leaves fibers that get stuck in the bottle and then in brush and on your nails, recommend using a special nail polish pad or paper towel with acetoneinstead. Also the beauty supply store makes a product called Nail Polish Thinner, it has same ingredients that the original polish had. Using nail polish remover is designed to remove and break paint down so you won't get the results you want, nail polish will not be the same and won't dry right or look right.
I've had some of my nail polish since I was in high school (7 years ago) and some have gone gloppy and some are still great! My little trick for thinning out the gloppy ones is to put a few drops of nail polish into the bottle and shake it up! 😀