We all like to joke about how we're such "addicts" or we "totally have a problem." I've seen that phrasing from people who have a collection of about 100 bottles of nail polish. So what does that mean when I can go out and buy that much in a few months without a second thought? Because they're all pretty, though, I might as well show them to you.... (I'm posting this from my home in California, while these are all back in Washington, so I don't remember all the names off the top of my head. If you're curious about a shade, just ask and I'll try to look it up.)
Rite Aid was having their buy $30 of nail stuff, get $10 rewards thing, so I bought quite a bit from there. These pictures will include both the original $30 and the extra $10. Overall, I did do a fairly good job of only buying things that I'll actually use. I really wanted Sugar Rush from the Julie G Gumdrops line. I did not really want Tangerine Dream, and I wanted Hot Cinnamon even less. I originally got them because Sugar Rush was out of stock at the first Rite Aid I went to, and I was trying to get to the $30. Then when I went to go spend the $10 in +Up rewards (plus another $5 I'd gotten from some conditioner I bought), I did find Sugar Rush at another store. So now I have two bottles I'll likely never use now that I have the color I wanted. Tangerine Dream is a really pretty color, but I think if I want textured, I'll reach for Sugar Rush first.
I then for some reason had to buy almost all of the Polka Dots line from Maybelline.... I actually got the two on the left (Clearly Spotted and Drops of Jade) from Walmart, but they didn't have any of the other colors when I first saw them. So the others were purchased from the second Rite Aid store. I really like them, but Drops of Jade seems to be the only one that will feasibly get opaque on its own.
Super Cheap Mini Polish! Yayyy! I'm actually really happy about these, too. While I didn't *need* them, they're certainly unique, and very pretty. I really like creme neutral shades, hence the two on the left. The three on the right are completely unlike anything I already own (well, okay, I do have a couple dark duochromes...), and In Mint Condition, on the far right, seems to be a pretty close dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid Dream
Pretty...but so awful to get off, even with the foil method....
I love these. Scattered holo jelly is hands down my favorite polish finish. I already had the purple and the lighter pinkish color from this line, and I've been debating the teal, royal blue, and black, but decided to just stick with these two.
My first time ever in K-Mart, and I found this whole display of polish for $1.87 each. I probably shouldn't be proud of myself for anything after having bought this much in the past month, but I did limit myself to just these three, despite the tempting price tag. I put back the darker colors I'd never use, and the color or two that I already had something similar to in my collection. Again with liking creme neutral colors.... Plus the mustard yellow for nail art. I don't like it on its own, but the only yellows I have are bright or pastel, and this shade actually fits the color palette I usually wear much better.
Random polish! I'm slightly mad at myself for paying $6 for the CG Holographic polish a couple weeks ago when they all went an additional 50% off this weekend...*sigh* The Jordana rainbow glitter just might be my favorite of all 5 or so rainbow glitters that I already own.... But it had a different mix of colors, especially the small aqua pieces, which I really liked, and when I swatched it, it went on a lot denser than most, with the base being less goopy and overwhelming than most. A random NYC to use up the last couple dollars of my $15 rewards money. More evidence that I need to stop buying polish just to buy it. And for the last one, the color shows up a lot more like Mint Sorbet here, but Perfect Pear-ing is a really nice color. It's almost like a neon pastel green, if that's possible. I used it on my fingers a few days after I got it, and absolutely loved it, especially for summer.
So now to the more serious part of this. I didn't *need* any of this. I probably won't use a lot of this for quite some time. A couple weeks before I bought all of this, I'd gotten a package in the mail from Forever 21, with I believe 13 polishes, because they were on sale for $.99 and had some interesting colors. I've gotten a LOT better at actually picking out colors I'm likely to wear. I no longer buy dark colors because no matter how interesting they look in the bottle, I know I'll hate them on my nails.
All the progress I've made doesn't change the fact that this is an unnecessary waste of money. Yes, I enjoy nail polish, but so many people enjoy nail polish without having 500+ bottles in their collection. My collection was at about 400 at the beginning of last year, and I'm sure I've bought at least 100 bottles since then, if not more. Of course, I don't always buy at the rate that I have in the past month. For most of the school year, I only bought polish on breaks, or maybe one every few weeks from Walmart if I happened to pass something really pretty. It's summer, now, though, and in addition to lots of free time when I'm not working, I have a job, so I have money to justify my buying things. But it's not like I'm making all that much, and I really should be saving for school. The trouble is, I don't know how to do anything in moderation.
I don't want to just ban myself from polish completely. It's fun, and I enjoy it, and I think there are perfectly healthy ways to go shopping every once in a while. If I say I can't shop at all, I'll just keep thinking about how much I want to. But I'm also not at all sure what a good limit should be. Of course, I could say "Only 2 bottles of polish per month, and they have to be under $3" or something like that, but then I'd find a whole collection I really loved, for $4 each, break all my rules, and then feel like a complete failure for spending $12.
I'm not trying to excuse anything, or to blame it on "problems I can't control," but I feel like this is a deeper issue for me, somehow, but I also don't think it's something I can just go see a therapist for and ask them to tell me how to spend less money. Therapists are a whole lot more expensive than nail polish, anyway. If you have any ideas, insight, experience, or suggestions, feel free to leave comments below. It's likely that our situations aren't exactly the same, but sometimes it's nice to know you're not alone. I often feel "alone" when I'm reading nail polish blogs and subreddits because it seems like everyone there is totally fine with their shopping habits, and I'm the only one who sees mine as a problem, and possibly even an addiction that I need to overcome somehow.
I buy a lot of nailpolish too, but I didn't come to the point where I think I have a problem, though other people always joke about me being addicted.
ReplyDeleteI just see it as a hobby!
Other people got hobbies too, golfing, model plains, stamps, comics, so on. Those hobbies cost money and time too. And you don't see a deeper meaning collecting stamps or building one model plain after another, do you?
If you got 500+, consider selling some of your nailpolish, then you can use some of the money you spend on new ones and save the rest or something. Then it's not a hobby you use money on, but can still enjoy trying new polishes! Get a circle started up. Then you don't need to feel bad for buying polishes.