With proper care, your nail polish will last for a long, long, long time. In my high school years, I frequently raided my mom's nail polish stash and used colors older than I was (Hi, Avon Rosefrost). The key? Taking care of the bottles themselves. It only takes a couple of simple considerations. My mom always instilled in me to take good care of your things, and doing so will offer big payoffs with your STELLA CHROMA polishes!
The first thing to remember is that exposure to UV rays will cause the pigments to break down. So, as much as you want to store your pretty bottles on a wall shelf in your nail room, it's not the best idea. If you must, rotate them regularly. IKEA Helmers are perfect for polish storage! They're on rollers, so they're portable, the drawers are perfect polish height, and man, they store a LOT (up to 500 bottles per cabinet). Get yours here.
Nail polishes get thick and stringy as the solvents evaporate. Some of our colors are naturally thicker than others based on the ingredients used. But they should not be so thick that they're unusable. If yours arrive this way, email us at pam@stellachroma.com. They can do this over time with regular use, as air exposure causes evaporation.
This brings us to our last tip. Make sure your bottle necks are clean! If you notice the cap is difficult to remove or feels sticky, clean the neck off with a cotton ball with acetone. No need for it to be soaked, just wet enough to remove the extra polish. This will allow the threads to close tight and keep your polish fresh!
These simple steps will help your polish itself last a long time. Want to read about how to make your manicure last a long time? Check out this blog post!
What's the oldest bottle of polish you have?