A Few Money Saving Tips From A Polish Addict

Hell there, Ladies!

So during my giveaway, in the section where it requested a suggestion in a blog post comment, a few people left me the suggestion to share some ways to save money while still being a polish-aholic.

Now keep in mind, these are just some ways that I have come up with, and they may not all be relevant or plausible for everyone. These are just a few tricks and tips that I like to follow...most of the time.

1. Shop clearance- Don't underestimate what you can find in clearance sections. I have found some amazing polishes and nails supplies for super cheap while rummaging in the clearance section. Target, Ulta, Sally's and even drug stores can have some ridiculously low prices on some quality stuff when they are trying to make room for more current items.

2. If you aren't in love with it, wait- This one kind of goes along with shopping the clearance. A month or so ago, I was eye-balling China Glaze Mahogany Magic but I just wasn't sure if I was IN LOVE with it. I couldn't justify spending $8 on it. A week ago I was in Sally's beauty and I nabbed that bad boy on clearance for $1.50! If you are humming and hawing about if you like it enough, don't get it. Chances are you will forget about it once you leave the store. And you might get lucky and find it later marked-down.

3. Buy minis if available- I love Indies as much as the next gal and believe me, I have my share of full size as well. But, if they are available, I prefer to buy minis if it is a new brand to me or a new color I haven't tried. If I love it, then I will later get the full size, but I have found that I usually use my colors only a few times (with some excepts of course) and a mini will usually be sufficient. This way I am spending $4-5 instead of $9-12. Same goes with OPI and Essie collections. You can usually get a collection of 4 minis of the newest polishes for around $12 instead of $8-8.50 each for full size.

4. If you don't love it, return it- Now this mainly applies to larger stores, such as Target or Ulta. I understand that Indies are independent and cannot afford to return polishes just because someone isn't happy about the color. And I am also not saying that you should buy that really expensive polish, swatch it once for your blog and return it. That is not OK! What I am saying, is that if you get it home and try it out and it just isn't what you thought it would be (maybe the color is exactly like another one you have, or the formula is streaky, whatever), there is no reason you should have to eat that $8.00. Bring it back!

5. Enter giveaways- This one isn't just practical, it's super fun! I can spend about 2 hours a day doing giveaway entry forms. And there are always new giveaways popping up. I have won 5 to date and have gotten some pretty awesome prizes! (see photos below)

6. Limit yourself to one- When logging into Etsy for an Indie restock, I tell myself, "if there are minis, you can get 2. If no minis, you can get 1". That way, when I get to the shop, I spend a minute or so looking at all the ones that catch my eye, but only purchase the one I love the most. This takes a huge amount of effort and willpower and I will willingly admit that I am not always successful. But 90% of the time, I leave the shop having purchased only one polish. Now, there have been times also that I didn't get the polish I wanted because it was already sold out. So I hummed and hawed over the other ones because "I really want a Dollish Pollish because I don't have one yet". But I end up leaving with nothing. Why buy one that is just so-so (to me) just because I couldn't get the one I really wanted? Why buy one just to buy one? I would rather spend that money on one that I know I will cherish rather than one that will sit in my storage drawers, not getting used.

7. Shop Copious and use credits- If you are not familiar with Copious, it is a site where people can sell their polishes, beauty products, clothing, etc. Just for signing up you are given a $10 credit to use on whatever you want. Periodically, they send out codes to get another $10 credit good for a limited time (usually a weekend or a few days). I have spend maybe a total of $5 on everything I have gotten on Copious (see photos below). If you haven't signed up, you can here and get your first $10 credit.


This is everything I have won to date:

(Fever Lacquer Midnight In Your Shortest Skirt)

(Sally Hansen Cherry, Cherry, Bang, Bang! and some cute little minis)

(a perfume, press on leapord nails, Wet n' Wild Blue Wants to Be A Millionaire, Mini green shimmer from Icing, mini white shimmer from Icing, mini OPI I Vant To Be A Lone Star)

($15 Gift certificate to Born Pretty Store)

(Rainbow Polish Yo-Duh-from her new Star Wars inspired collection. I won this last night in a contest to guess the inspiration behind the polish - photo courtesy of Rainbow Polish)

And here is everything I have gotten on Copious.com:

(Rainbow Polish Monarch - I used a $10 credit for this and only spent $1.50!)

(China Glaze Harvest Moon)

(Kleancolor Cappuccino)

(Spoiled by Wet n' Wild Ants In My Pants)

(Kleancolor Mud Pie Sparkle)

I hope this helps some of you out there. If you have any other tip and tricks, please post them in the comments. I would love to hear any other ideas you all may have!