@Kissmekatie - I seriously doubt if that's true. Perhaps if you left it open too long, the chemicals would evaporate out and then you'd have issues with consistency. I have probably 20 nail polishes and none of them newer than 3 months (most are well over 6 months old and at least half are several years old).

The only ones that I need to toss are those I've used many times and I'm getting to the end of my bottle. The amount of times I've opened and dipped are the reason they're starting to clump up. I have many that I've only used a handful of times and they are still in perfect shape after 2 or more years. Just give them a good shake and I'm ready to go.

It's different for lip, eye or face products that chemically interact with your skin/mucus membranes. You definitely want to be careful there and use both your own judgment and the recommendation of the manufacturer. I have never heard of older nail polish being bad for your health, but of course I'm no expert. I suspect that the original source of the information you were given was possibly a cosmetics salesperson.

The only thing I would add is a candle, some great music and maybe a glass of wine...

I have found NailSense a brand by SeneGence (sold at a home party) lasted a really long time on me and had almost a glassy look. Someone once told me nail polishes only have a shelf life of about 6 months before they start to get thick and clumpy. Anyone know if that is true?

Thanks Gingercorsair, great tips! That's exactly the number of coats they do in nail salons too so I guess that's why.

@ TammyK, I find that the better quality polishes (OPI, Essie) hold up much better in general.



As a rule of thumb, you don't want more than 3 coats of stuff on your nails. It builds up too thick and chips off after that.



Start with a base coat to seal the nail, then do 2 coats of colour
allowing to dry in between. Follow up with a topcoat of your choice and
make sure everything dries properly!



I like to do mine in front of the computer at my desk, especially when
watching Netflix. I know my hands won't be moving or touching anything
and the time spent in front of the screen is long enough for them to
dry.



If you get paint all over your fingers and cuticles, just shower after
it's totally dry. It will begin to flake off your skin in the shower.
Follow up with a moisturizer and pick off the remaining little bits. The
plumping and shrinking of your skin in this process will help it to
flake off!



...Or just learn to apply better. LOL

Thanks for this article. DIY pedicures are always fun....

Becky, I'm the same way. My feet are always good but my nails on my hands chips like no tomorrow. I heard that every other day you should put on a top coat to avoid the chipping but I'm wondering if anyone has another tip because I find that the more coats I put on, the thicker the nail polish becomes and it's actually easier to chip off for me.

I have the worst feet. The worst. Like ever. I'm actually even embarrassed to bring them to a pedicurist so I might have to do a DIY before hand!

Thank you!! I'm pretty lucky with toenail colour, it basically lasts for almost as long as it takes to grow out. Meanwhile, my (hand) finger nails are a different story!! I will go to bed with good polish and wake up with chips galore. Also even while putting on the colour it will go all over my cuticles and fingers. A total hot mess. Any tips there?