Nail Polish

If you’re like anyone else who uses nail polish, chances are you’ve got tons of bottles lying somewhere randomly in your room or bathroom. Although they typically last up until 12 months, depending on the quality there are several ways you can use to keep them fresh and longer-lasting.

Although the most common way would be to store them inside an airtight container, did you know that the extra space in your refrigerator works even better? While it does help to slow down the discoloration as the polish gets older, there is a potential for sparks as you’re putting a highly flammable mixture into a sealed area. If you do have to put it inside one however, be sure to use a little petroleum jelly on the neck of the bottle to stop it from sealing shut. Best of all, it keeps it away from its natural enemy, heat.

A nice alternative place to keep them would be a place that is cool, dry and is away from sunlight as a cupboard or smaller nail polish storage bins.

With hundreds of nail polishes out there to choose from, it’s hard to know which brand to pick. Luckily, in my experience, all nail polishes are pretty standard in it’s quality. The most popular brands however are OPI, Essie and China Glaze. The reason for this is because they offer a great selection of colors that are rich and high-quality, able to cover a nail in two coats.

When selecting a bottle of polish, shake it around to see if there is a metal ball in the bottle. This ball will help mix up the liquids and keep the colors from separating. You should also open the bottle to inspect the brush: Is it thick enough to cover your nail in one swipe? A flimsy brush will create streaks in your polish and make the surface bumpy and uneven.

A fast-drying polish is also an important feature because it is very easy to smudge your nails just minutes after you paint them. I recommend adding a layer of paint underneath your nails and an extra coat on your middle finger because it is usually the one that will chip first. Another great brand to try is butter LONDON because the polish is made without formaldehyde, toluene or DBP, three chemicals that are supposedly harmful to your body.

Nail polish is essentially refined car paint, making it especially difficult to clean off of a painted wall. Here are some tips on how to get that darned spot out:

• Avoid nail polish remover, which can smudge or even take paint off your walls.
• Equip yourself with the scouring back of a sponge, rubbing alcohol, and a little elbow grease.
• Wet the sponge’s rough side with rubbing alcohol, and scrub until the nail polish is gone. Expect to scrub a lot to clean the painted wall of nail polish!

You can easily ship a stick on nail design through the mail but if you tried to ship nail polish though the mail, you'd be committing a Federal offense. Nail polish is considered a hazardous material by the U.S. Postal Service because polish may "present a significant hazard when placed in the mail due to vibration, temperature changes, and variations in atmospheric pressure."

So how do you ship nail polish?

Well, first things first. U.S. law says that you can only ship nail polish in the U.S. so if you try to ship internationally you are committing a crime. But to ship in the U.S., here's what you do.

• Put the nail polish in a sealed container or baggy that won't leak if the bottle breaks. Wrap the sealed container or baggy with enough newspaper that the polish does not rattle around within the box.
• Pack the box with the polish within a bigger box with enough packaging or newspaper that the box is fitted snugly within the box.
• Tape up the box and then, this is most important, mark clearly on the box, near the shipping label, "ORM-D". Draw a rectangle around the ORM-D and write "Consumer Commodity" on the top of the rectangle.
• Then write on the box "Surface Only" or "Surface Mail Only".

Current standards say that you can ship up to 1 liter of nail polish. And in case you aren't great with numbers like I am, this means you should be able to ship at least 60 bottles of nail polish. But always remember to check with your local Post Office before you ship to see if standards have changed.

Planning on getting your nails done for the first time? Don’t be seduced by the lowest prices – going to the wrong salon means you may run the risk of contracting bacterial or fungal infections like Candida and skin viruses (warts!), or worse. Take these tips to heart when choosing a nail salon.

• Ask around. Friends, family, and co-workers can recommend you to the places with the friendliest service and best deals. Or look online – service review sites like Yelp.com are great resources.
• Observe overall cleanliness. Are the salon and manicurist workstations clean? Does the technician observe proper sanitation practices (disinfection of the workstation and instruments, the use fresh disposable materials)? Don't feel afraid asking the nail technician how instruments have been disinfected and what solutions have been used.
• Take a breath. An overpowering aroma of nail polish and acetone will mean that the facility’s ventilation is inadequate, and appointments will leave you nauseous.
• Know what the price of service includes beforehand. Does a coat of polish, top coat, or fast-dry cost extra? Will you be charged for broken nail repair?
• Check if the salon and your technician are licensed. All states besides Alaska, Connecticut, Nebraska and Utah require that nail technicians be licenses with most states requiring that license be displayed (along with an attached photograph) for customers.
• The nail technician should ask you about your needs and inform you of proper home care. Be sure to share relevant medical information the technician (some medications may hinder application of particular nail products).

Everyone who's painted their own nails has at least had this problem one time. That's right: the dreaded air bubble in the nail polish. It's not pretty and can ruin an otherwise perfect manicure. But with these preventive tips you can do before, during, and after painting your nails, you'll be sure to almost never have bubbles in your nail polish again.

• Clean your nails before you polish. Sometimes oil or unseen dirt may react with chemicals already in nail polish. This can affect how the polish dries, which is important in having nail polish that doesn't bubble.
• Roll, don't shake, the nail polish bottle between your hands to mix the polish before you begin painting your nails. The action of shaking the bottle causes air already in the bottle to separate into many air bubbles. So instead of shaking, turn the bottle upside-down and roll the bottle between your hands.
• Apply your nail polish in thin coats. Another culprit of bubbles forming is nail polish applied in thick coats. When you apply your second coat of nail polish while the first coat of nail polish is drying, the second coat will dry faster because it is exposed to air, but because the first coat is underneath the second coat, that first coat dries slower. As nail polish dries, it emits vapors, but because the first coating is trapped underneath the dry second layer, the vapor has no way to escape, so it forms a bubble underneath the dry second layer. If you apply your coats in thin coats, both coats are thin enough that they can dry at the same time. If your nail polish is thick, add a wee bit of nail polish remover to the polish and roll the bottle to mix it up.
• Make sure the room you paint your nails isn't hot or humid. Strange but true, a hot room can cause your nail polish to bubble up. Also stay away from fans, air conditioners, and drafts when you paint your nails.

Keep these tips in mind when you do your nails and you're sure to be bubble-free.

Want to paint your nails but don't know how? Well, grab your favorite color off your nail polish holder and let's begin.

The key to having beautifully painted nails is preparation. Before you begin, take off any previous nail polish on your nails. Also make sure you won't have any hand-intensive activities for at least an hour.

• Set yourself up at a desk or somewhere you can sit up straight with your hand laid flat on a smooth surface. Put a paper towel underneath your hand to protect the surface from spills.
• Apply your base coat. Paint your nail by putting the tip of the brush in the center of the nail, exerting enough pressure that the brush bristles fan out, and pull the brush forward. If your brush has excess paint, wipe the brush off on the inside rim of the polish bottle. The base coat helps your nail color last longer and protects your nails from being stained by dark nail colors.
• Apply your color once your base coat dries. For nail color to really shine through, at least two thin coats of nail polish are needed. Roll, don't shake, the bottle between your hands to mix the paint. Apply the nail polish the same way you applied the base coat. An alternative way to paint your nail is to put a dot of polish in the middle of your nail and fan the paint out until it reaches maximum nail coverage. If during the your dry time, you nick the nail paint, add a dot of color to the nick and wait for it to dry.
• Next, apply your top coat the same way you applied your polish and base coat. Some top coats have quick-drying abilities so they may actually help your nails dry faster. In addition to helping your nails dry faster, a top coat will help your manicure stay chip-resistant, look smoother, and adds shine.

• Quick-fix glue Nail polish can be used for most adhesive needs.
• Poison labeler Mark potentially hazardous material with a big ‘X’ in your house.
• Thermostat marker Tired of resetting your thermostat? Mark the appropriate settings with nail polish.
• Fill scratches on a hard wood floor Take some putty and fill the scratches with it. Layer the putty with nail polish to help seal it into place.
• Fix a broken mirror You can easily remove a mirror from a fixture by saturating it with nail polish. Dissolve the glue, use a flat edge and watch the magic happen.
• Repair a window screen While it may not be a perfect fix, it will help stop the tiny hole from growing into a major problem.
• Wart remover Did you know that you can remove ugly warts with simple a simple application of nail polish? While you might think that it might just be an old wife’s tale, plenty of users can testify to this.
• Remove sticker residue Removing sticky residue from glass and metal surfaces can be a pain. However, if you use nail polish it can be easy. If you are planning to apply on plastic, be sure to test it first as it may melt.

Did you know that besides being that great color your wanted, that that little bottle of Confetti or Eclipse nail polish has a long history behind it? That bottle of nail polish would not be possible if it weren't for Michelle Menard, a French make-up artist.

Menard was inspired by the paint used on cars and decided to produce nail polish in a way that similar to how car paint was made. Up until her creation, women of the time decorated their nails by rubbing red-scented oils into their nails and polishing them with a chamois cloth. When Menard's creation entered the market, many film stars took up the product but even then it was frowned upon to paint your nail in one color. Instead, the nail was only painted from middle to end with the moon and cuticle left bare.

The use of nail polish can be traced back to 3000 B.C. China. The polishes were made from a mixture of beeswax, gelatin, gum Arabic, and egg whites. Roses and orchids added aroma to the mixtures, while natural pigments added color.

In ancient Egypt, it was a sign of wealth to dye your fingernails with henna. And during the Chou Dynasty in 600 B.C., metallic, gold, and silver polishes were worn by royalty and anyone caught wearing these colors would be put to death. Thank goodness then is not now, since metallic has been the nail color of the fashion season.