Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[Titian06]

Very pretty, @Cissy63 ! 💜❤💜❤  This will make a great Valentine's Day mani!  Your Christmas cactus is lovely! 🌵🌺

[Cissy63]

Aww thank you @Titian06 💜❤️. I am so surprised that they are blooming now and with so many blossoms 🥰 You bet this will be fun for Valentines Day❤️

[Titian06]

Hi, all!  For those of you with large quantities of nail polishes (though all input is welcome), what method do you use to store your polishes?  Mine are taking over the top of my chest of drawers.  I'm not interested in displaying them.  Thanks!

[WinglessOne]

@Titian06  As with lipsticks, I need very easy access to nail polishes. I don't want to display 'em all. But if they’re kept in drawers or stacked in boxes completely out of sight, I’m far less likely to use them. So I keep ‘em in these cases, for now. You’ll find several different varieties of these at Amazon; search for either “thread organizer” or “Matchbox car storage." Mine are the Creative Options Plastic Thread Organizer, which I bought from JoAnn (at the time, they cost less than Amazon charged and I had an additional promo code, plus I got 3rd party cash back). I store these cases on their horizontal sides (so all bottles stand vertically) on the pullout shelf of my vanity, which is actually an office desk + hutch. 

These cases are double-sided. Each side has one extra long (eh, extra tall) slot.

If you go this route, be sure to note the measurements of individual compartments inside the case. In my cases, any bottle taller than an ILNP won’t fit anywhere except the double-length slot. This includes China Glaze, Mooncat, Morgan Taylor, OPI, Orly, and anything else with a cap that tall. I replaced my CG and OPI brushes with KBS’s wide paddle brush + shorter cap, so they now fit in these containers. Smith & Cult bottles are too wide to fit at all. 

I group bottles by color instead of brand, unless a brand’s bottles (like S&C) won’t fit in the cases. I keep S&C bottles on a 2-tiered carousel. I’ve started puling all my plain jellies and “basic” base colors (blacks, white, creams, nudes) out of cases to store on the bottom tier of that carousel. 

A cubby in the hutch atop my vanity/desk.

Oh, and those cases aren’t the sturdiest things: they’re not flimsy, but they are made completely of plastic. Don’t rely on the hinges to stay shut while you transport cases. I haven’t had the doors pop open on me yet, nor have a broken a hinge, but those are common complaints with these. I like that I can wind shrink-wrap around each case whenever I’m ready to pack up and move to a new home; it’s like most of my polishes are already packed and ready to go. 👍 

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne Wonderfully organized!

[Titian06]

Thanks, @WinglessOne !  I have similar cases for my embroidery and DMC floss and loose mineral eye shadows.

[RGbrown]

@Titian06 

If you plan on getting lots of polish (or maybe want some storage for something else too), Ikea Helmers get tons of love in the polish community. The drawers are a good height to accommodate most every brand and sturdy enough to be packed full without falling apart. Will hold 400-600 IIRC

I do plan on wall shelves one day, but that's always way off in the future lol, so in the interim, I just use boxes I've hoarded over the years ("maybe I can use this one day" finally paid off lol). They're mostly from gift sets, ones that are fairly substantial, lid & base two piece design that I keep together for better reinforcement.

For used polishes, I sort by brand as I can, with a few that are marked "indies" and a couple other overflow boxes with misc leftovers. These are stored on some shelves out of the way. 

For unused polishes, they are sorted by color and sit out on a counter where I can see and get to them a bit easier.

[Mellmars1185]

@RGbrown I like your organization containers and system!

[Titian06]

Thanks, @RGbrown !  I have similar type boxes filled with my quilting and crochet supplies and doo-dads.  Maybe I have some empty boxes or boxes that can be combined... 🤔

[Cissy63]

My polishes are in plastic shoe boxes in the bottom of my linen closet 💅 @Titian06  And right now I have 4 of these boxes 📦 

[Titian06]

Thanks, @Cissy63 !  I also looked at these types of boxes too.  That's when I decided to post my question! 😂

[itsfi]

@Titian06, for the longest time, I kept mine on a couple of shelves in a closet next to the bathroom but there's a remodel in the works so I've moved those off the shelves and they're (mostly) in a paper shopping bags by either color family or brand (if they're from haul this year that I haven't gotten around to) in a box at the moment, except for a couple dozen shades that I've set aside in a storage container. The plan was to just use the ones in this storage container but I keep going back to the larger box, and will probably do so until I seal that up and put it in the garage. hahaha! Not sure if I'll go back to the same system but at some point, the plan is to go through the bags/boxes and do another round of - dole out, donate, or declutter. I keep telling myself I want to whittle down my polish stash but it doesn't seem to work out that way. 🤣

[CookieGirl1]

@itsfi I had to do a little bit of polish decluttering myself awhile back!  It was honestly good for me to see what I actually wanted to use and keep vs the polishes that I felt very "meh" about and it definitely created more room!

[itsfi]

@CookieGirl1, I’ve been pretty good with my hauls this year in most areas (though that’s probably all relative lol) - polishes and lippies I give myself a little more leeway. 😆 I’ll do another polish declutter with family and friends in town for the holidays so that should help with creating more room 😂 with polishes, fragrance items, and body products. 

[CookieGirl1]

@itsfi that's so nice that you share with your family and friends!  I'm sure that they'll all appreciate it :).

[itsfi]

@CookieGirl1, trying to find ways to re-home things, particularly used or gently used items. I don’t want to toss it if I can repurpose or re-home it. 

[Titian06]

@itsfi - Out of sight, out of mind!  Now that you're making your own, I don't see your collection getting smaller. 😂

[Shosh85]

@Titian06  I don't have a lot either, (at least compared to some of the ladies here) but what I do have I keep in these storage containers from Amazon. 👇

[WinglessOne]

@Shosh85  Ah, that's very similar to my cases. 🙂 They are indeed handy! 

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  How are yours different?

[WinglessOne]

@Shosh85  I posted a photo of one of mine : https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/Show-Me-Your-Nails-2-0/m-p/6349511/highlight/true#M25522 

(The heck… folks can’t edit links—change displayed text, have links open in new tabs, add titles—via mobile web version of BIC like we can via desktop web? Boo hiss.) 

They’re configured slightly differently, and they might be different sizes. I don’t recall the dimensions of mine offhand. Amazon has several different types of this case. 🙂