What is the best way to store fingernail polish, over time?

August 4, 2006 5:39 PM

What is the best way to store fingernail polish, over time?

My girlfriend bought five bottles of her favorite nail polish, on closeout. Since it's being discontinued she bought it in quantity to last a long time. Where and how should she store it to prevent deterioration?

posted by luminous phenomena to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

I keep mine in the fridge.
posted by jamaro at 5:42 PM on August 4, 2006

Keeping it in the fridge doesn't do any good, and may even be harmful as it will make it harden faster. There's no real way to preserve nail polish longer than its naturally short life span.
posted by orange swan at 5:53 PM on August 4, 2006

I can't wait to hear the answer to this question! So many times have my favorite shades separated into two colors inside the bottle. All I can say is that there's no difference between the closet and the shoebox. :p
posted by beatrice at 6:07 PM on August 4, 2006

There's nothing conclusive out there with regard to storing it in the refrigerator. Some sites (including manufacturers' sites) say do it; others say don't.

In any case, if she finds that it's thickening, she can add a few drops of nail polish thinner to the bottle.
posted by anjamu at 6:11 PM on August 4, 2006

I do agree that nail polish has a relatively short lifespan compared to other enamel paints, however, I've got 4 year old polish in the fridge that's still free flowing (my favorite color got discontinued too). The key to keeping it from thickening up in there is to make sure the cap is on tight, the air in a refrigerator is very drying. I used to keep the polish bottles in sealed tupperware too but that didn't seem to make much difference in the long run.
posted by jamaro at 6:15 PM on August 4, 2006

Keep it in an airtight, opaque container. Light and air will polymerize it much more rapidly than elevated temperature. If you have one of those vacuum sealer things, use that, or you can get some of the nitrogen-argon gas mixture they use for keeping wine and use that to displace the air in a container you can seal airtight.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 6:25 PM on August 4, 2006

It's been my experience that buying quality polish is worth the money. I only use OPI polish and have found that it wil last for years. The color may separate, but a minute or less of vigorous shaking solves that problem. I store my polish in a dry, dark closet and a lot of my bottles are more than a year old. Sometimes one will get thick and I'll add two or three drops of polish thinner and they're back to normal.
posted by extrafinepoint at 9:18 PM on August 4, 2006