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Love a polish, but hate the brush? Maybe you can fix that!
Lots of the ones on this list are ones I've found in various places around the 'net, including an older Reddit thread, commenters on my current Reddit thread, and some are ones I've tested myself and can personally confirm. Big thanks to u/quaintwicket for hosting the old reddit thread that sparked my original interest, and u/Snazzy_L has been a big help on my new thread over there 💕
First things first, where to get brushes, and the differences between them:
Glisten & Glow (skinny and paddle options; black caps available) $0.25-$0.55
KBshimmer (flat/square and paddle options; black caps available) $0.15-$0.33
Night Owl Lacquer (paddle brush, no caps) $0.24
Cupcake (skinny and paddle options; white caps available) $0.20-$0.50
Sassy Sauce (paddle brush, no caps) $0.25 each
Indigo Bananas (skinny, flat, and paddle options in both Full and Mini lengths, black caps, plus mixing beads and bottles too) $0.25-$0.45
DRK Nails 39mm (30pk, $6.90) and 49mm (30pk, $7) The 39mm is a little shorter than Sassy but a little longer than IB Mini; 49mm is the same length as IB Full. Shop is only open a few days a month; also carries bottles (though not individual caps) and polish making supplies (suspension base and a massive range of pigments).
Y'all know the BIC rules, I can't post links, so lemme know if you need help locating any of these!
G&G, KBS, and NOL paddle brushes are all exactly the same and fully interchangeable...it doesn't matter which one you buy, go with whichever one suits your ordering preference best. They are all the same length, and have the same "knob" at the top, and will fit all the same caps/necks.
Ironically, even though Night Owl sells a replacement brush, they disclose right on their listing that it may be too long for their bottle. I have tested one in the past, and indeed, after leaving it in the polish for roughly 3 weeks, the brush was warped. Any brand that uses the same bottle will be subject to the same caveat (and there are several!).
Cupcake, Sassy Sauce, DRK, and Indigo Bananas (IB) have the same "knob" at the top (different from the KBS knob) which means they'll all fit the same caps, but they all have different lengths. If something is marked below as Sassy and also marked as needing a cap, you'll have to get caps from Cupcake or IB since Sassy doesn't sell them (yep, let's make this complicated lol!)...or you can go with the IB Mini brush and cap, since it's just a smidge shorter.
Some comparison pics might be helpful, yes? Can do!
Glisten & Glow, KBshimmer, Night Owl
Example of a warped KBS brush after sitting in a Night Owl bottle for three weeks. Application was difficult with that gap in the middle.
L to R: KBS, IB mini, DRK 39mm, Sassy, Cupcake, IB full, DRK 49mm. Note the knob at the top is different on KBS, but all the rest are the same. Also note that Sassy Sauce is a good bit fluffier than the rest.
For the below table, KBS means any of the KBshimmer, Glisten & Glow, or Night Owl brushes; they're all the same! If it needs a cap, caps from either KBS or G&G are fine.
If the brush is noted as IB Full, DRK 49mm is the same, or you can also use any of the shorter ones with the same knob (Cupcake, Sassy, DRK 39mm, IB Mini) as long as you don't mind a shorter brush. For Cupcake, same deal, you can always go shorter (Sassy, DRK 39mm, or IB Mini), and for Sassy, DRK 39mm or IB Mini would work as well. If it needs a cap, caps from either IB or Cupcake are fine.
I found DRK brushes long after composing most of this, and have not tested the 39mm for length compatibility in bottles that take IB Mini...it may actually work for some, but it may be too long for others. Same for Indigo Bananas Long and DRK 49mm; I knew about Cupcake long before I knew of either of these, and I haven't checked every single Cupcake-compatible polish to see if they would fit as well, so they might be an additional option for a few of those.
| Polish Brand | Brush Brand |
| Baroness X | Cupcake |
| Bear Pawlish | Cupcake* |
| Black Dahlia (8mL) | IB Full |
| Black Dahlia (14mL) | KBS (shorter than OG) |
| Bluebird Lacquer (old round, ?-Aug 2018) | KBS |
| Bluebird Lacquer (old square, ~Jan 2019-July 2020) | Cupcake |
| Bluebird Lacquer (new square, ~Aug 2020-current) | KBS |
| Bow Polish | IB Mini |
| Butter London (11mL) | Sassy*** |
| Butter London (6mL mini) | IB Mini*** |
| Cadillacquer | Cupcake |
| Cameo Colors | KBS |
| Chanel | KBS* |
| China Glaze | KBS |
| Cirque Colors | KBS* |
| Clionadh | Sassy |
| CND Creative Play | KBS |
| CND Vinylux (old brush) | KBS |
| Color Club | KBS* |
| Colores de Carol | KBS |
| Colors by Llarowe | KBS |
| Cote | IB Mini |
Cupcake (old bottle) | Cupcake* |
Cupcake (new bottle) | IB Full |
Cuticula | KBS |
| Death Valley Nails | Cupcake |
| Different Dimension | KBS |
| Dollish Polish | KBS |
| Dreamland Lacquer | Cupcake |
| Ella+Mila (old skinny brush) | Sassy* |
| Emily de Molly | KBS |
| Enchanted | Cupcake |
| Essie (regular line) | KBS |
| Essie (regular line minis) | Sassy* |
| Ethereal Lacquer | KBS** |
| Femme Fatale | Sassy |
| Finger Paints | KBS |
| Garden Path Lacquer | KBS |
| Geekish Glitter | KBS |
| Girly Bits Cosmetics | KBS |
| Glam Polish | Cupcake* |
| Glisten & Glow | KBS |
| Great Lakes Lacquer | KBS |
| Heather's Hues | KBS |
| Holo Taco | KBS |
| ILNP | Cupcake |
| Indigo Bananas 15mL | IB Full |
| Indigo Bananas 8mL | IB Mini |
| Jinsoon | Cupcake |
| Jior Couture | KBS |
| Julep | IB Full* (or Zoya will take the Julep overcap) |
| Katheen & Co | KBS** |
| KBshimmer | KBS |
| Kiss Gel Shine | Cupcake |
| Kokie | KBS* |
| LA Colors | KBS* or Cupcake |
| LBK | KBS |
| Lemming Lacquer (square bottle) | KBS** |
| Lilypad Lacquer | KBS |
| Live Live Polish | IB Mini |
| Lollipop Posse | KBS |
| Londontown (old brush) | Cupcake* |
| LynB Designs | KBS |
| Maniology (full size) | Cupcake |
| Mooncat | Cupcake |
| Moon Shine Mani | IB Full |
| Morgan Taylor | KBS |
| MTK Designs | Cupcake |
| My Indie Polish | KBS |
| Native War Paints | KBS |
| NCLA | Sassy |
| Nevermind | Cupcake |
| Night Owl Lacquer | KBS** |
| Nine Zero | KBS |
| Noodles | KBS |
| NuColor | IB Long |
| OPI | KBS |
| Orly | KBS |
| Orosa Beauty | KBS** |
| Pacifica (old bottles) | KBS |
| Pacifica (new bottles) | KBS** |
| Pahlish | KBS |
| Painted Polish | KBS |
| Peachtree Polish | KBS |
| People of Color | KBS** |
| Picture Polish | Sassy |
| Polish M | KBS |
| Polished for Days | KBS |
| Potion Polish | KBS |
| Pure Ice | KBS |
| Quixotic Polish | KBS |
| Revlon (classics) | KBS* |
| Sally Hansen Extreme Wear | IB Full (shorter than OG) |
| Salon Perfect | KBS |
| Sassy Cats | KBS |
| Sassy Pants | KBS |
| Scofflaw | KBS |
| Seche Vite/Vive | KBS |
| Shleee Polish | Cupcake* |
| Sinful Colors | KBS |
| Spellbound Nails | KBS |
| Starrily | KBS |
| Superchic | KBS |
| Turtle Tootsie | KBS |
| Twisting Nether | Cupcake |
| Uber Chic | KBS |
| Ulta (full size) | Cupcake |
| Ulta (Steffi Lynn minis) | Sassy |
| Vibrant Vinyls | KBS |
| Wildflower Lacquer | KBS |
| Zoya | IB Full* |
* will require a new cap as well
** may be a bit too long, causing warping in the bristles over time
*** I found multiple versions of caps/brushes on Butter bottles in my collection; some won't need a cap, but some will, so it's not a bad idea to have a few on hand just in case.
Some brands change bottles over the years (see the Bluebird listing above lol), and that's tough info to keep up with. If you've got a brush that isn't working even though the chart says it should, lemme know and we'll see if we can't figure out what's what!
Cirque sells their own replacement brush + cap combo, but at $6.50 for 5, they're expensive compared to the alternatives above. But...if you hardcore want to keep the white-cap aesthetic, that's the route to go, as the KBS/G&G tops are black. And from Vice 2023 forward, Cirque has said all collections will come with their new wide brush.
Zoya has their own replacement brush as well; it will fit any bottle an IB Full brush will fit (perhaps some Cupcakes too, but like I said above, I haven't cross-referenced all of those). You will need the Zoya cap as well, but that comes with the brush anyway. They are expensive at $2 each, but the multipacks (6/12/24pks) are more reasonably priced and a decent enough deal with a really nice sale. (pm me if you want links to the multipacks...Zoya has them hidden last I looked, but they are available).
Replacement instructions (from KBS):
- To replace brush only: Open polish bottle and wipe excess polish from the brush. With a paper towel, firmly grasp the brush in one hand and cap in the other, then pull until brush releases from the cap. Insert new brush in the polish bottle, place cap on brush and bottle, twisting cap completely closed. Twist cap off and brush will be attached.
- To replace brush and cap: Open polish bottle, discard old cap and brush. Insert new brush in the polish bottle, place cap on brush and bottle, twisting cap completely closed. Twist cap off and brush will be attached.
- Brushes have lacquered bristles for protection, this is how they arrive from the manufacturer. This may appear to be a white or waxy coating. After placing in the polish, this coating naturally dissolves over a period of 12-24 hours. To shorten this time, gently rub bristles between fingers before placing in polish. Not recommended for water based polishes, nor have we tested these in gel.
