# Hot new stuff in the area of nail polish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605 "2009-12-09T17:55:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/1 "2009-12-09T17:55:18Z")
Hello folks, My wife is really into nail polish (has a daily blog about it, etc), and I would really like to get her something related to it for Christmas. Unfortunately, as a Dudetm, I’m only mildly aware of what is out there in the area of cutting-edge-nail-decorating-technology. She’s not into decals and little jewels and such, but things like [konads](http://www.konadusa.com/)are up her alley. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/2 "2009-12-09T18:05:53Z")
OPI (and a few other brands) have been putting out matte nail polishes like [these](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ihatethevandals/opisuede2-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.prettyinpolish.com/2009/07/coming-soon-opi-suede.html&h=636&w=400&sz=56&tbnid=5x6PMNJVFaeu3M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3DOPI%2Bsuede&usg=__XKiMmU9Ac6-AGv5nTTuljaZOC-A=&ei=lOYfS--BHdWUtgfF8airCg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CBwQ9QEwBQ) recently. I don’t love them, since you can’t use topcoats or use hand lotion while wearing them (it ruins the effect), but it might be worth a shot. Or, you could get her a gift certificate for a manicure at a nice salon. ETA: the site I liked to does say “coming soon”, but it’s an older site, I just liked the pictures it had - they are available. Stores like Trade Secret carry them, and all the OPI polishes - if you have a mall near you, they probably have a Trade Secret. The salespeople there will also be able to help you. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/3 "2009-12-09T18:14:15Z")
She’s actually got most of those. They’re among her favorites. (You \*can \*use a top coat on them, but it will definitely change the effect/color. She uses hand lotions with them all the time, but I’ve never asked her if that changes them at all.) Good suggestion, though! ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/4 "2009-12-09T18:33:22Z")
She has a nail polish blog? Can people post on the blog? Have somebody post for you and ask, “What’s a great gift for somebody who’s really really really into nail polish and has everything?” Googling, I see several nail polish blogs! Scope out the other ones for suggestions! ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/5 "2009-12-09T18:45:36Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > She has a nail polish blog? Can people post on the blog? Have somebody post for you and ask, “What’s a great gift for somebody who’s really really really into nail polish and has everything?”! That is a darn good idea. I need to learn to be more sneaky! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/6 "2009-12-09T20:28:40Z")
A nail polish blog? Would you consider posting a link? Does she do them herself or have them done? Or both. I was going to suggest getting whatever was new from OPI, but I see that that’s been covered. Sometimes, OPI puts out sets of mini-bottles. A set of those might be nice. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/7 "2009-12-09T20:48:42Z")
I sent you a PM with the address. (If someone else wants it just drop me a PM.) She does them herself every day. She’s got a lot of colors, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want more. I’m certainly going to look into sets. ---
**Author:** ![SMullen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@SMullen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SMullen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/8 "2009-12-09T21:10:51Z")
There’s at least one magazine for nail professionals. If your wife doesn’t subscribe already, you could get her a subscription. I like the site. > **[Home](https://www.nailpro.com)** > > Articles, news, products, blogs and videos from Nailpro. Here’s another one: > **[NAILS Magazine | Nail Salon Techniques, Nail Art, Business Tips](https://www.nailsmag.com/)** > > NAILS Magazine covers the professional nail care industry, featuring nail art, technique demos, business and marketing guides, salon décor, product reviews, and healthy working tips. I love beautiful nails but the best I’ve been able to do is go a few hours without raggedy cuticles. Right now they’re a mess. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/9 "2009-12-09T21:11:42Z")
> [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](#): > > I sent you a PM with the address. (If someone else wants it just drop me a PM.) She does them herself every day. She’s got a lot of colors, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want more. I’m certainly going to look into sets. Lucky Magazine is touting OPI’s “Over the Taupe” as THE color rihgt now. Allegedly a good one for all skintones. And I love their sets of mini-bottles. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/10 "2009-12-09T21:44:18Z")
Okay. The deed has been done by the designated mole (aka me) I was really sly and said that “my sister” reads the blog too, so maybe she could suggest something that hasn’t been on the site yet. I love a the smell of espionage in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/11 "2009-12-09T22:34:49Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Okay. The deed has been done by the designated mole (aka me) > > I was really sly and said that “my sister” reads the blog too, so maybe she could suggest something that hasn’t been on the site yet. > > I love a the smell of espionage in the morning. I see a possible flaw in your story–if your “sister” reads the blog, your wife may not want to tell you anything on there because it would ruin the surprise. Did you cover that? (Don’t if you haven’t–maybe she won’t notice.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/12 "2009-12-09T22:40:44Z")
> [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](#): > > She’s actually got most of those. They’re among her favorites. (You \*can \*use a top coat on them, but it will definitely change the effect/color. She uses hand lotions with them all the time, but I’ve never asked her if that changes them at all.) FTR I think it is so cute that you know this! Love it when someone is supportive enough of their partner’s work or hobbies to absorb crazy random info about it. Depending on her blog, you might even be able to get her free stuff for her to post about. Maybe your gift could be making her an intro letter and becoming her part-time publicist! ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/13 "2009-12-09T23:03:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I see a possible flaw in your story–if your “sister” reads the blog, your wife may not want to tell you anything on there because it would ruin the surprise. Did you cover that? (Don’t if you haven’t–maybe she won’t notice.) Yep, my lovely wife noticed that too. Apparently \*\*Green Bean \*\*and I aren’t as efficient in our sneaky-ness as we thought we were. > [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > FTR I think it is so cute that you know this! Love it when someone is supportive enough of their partner’s work or hobbies to absorb crazy random info about it. > > Depending on her blog, you might even be able to get her free stuff for her to post about. Maybe your gift could be making her an intro letter and becoming her part-time publicist! Thanks! I try to keep up. She was teaching me about glitters, gels, cremes, mattes, and flakes last weekend. You might be amazed by what I know about handmade bath and beauty products, too. I have some friends who have done the “get free stuff and review it” gig before. I’ll see what I can find out about getting that started. She already gets some extra samples and such when she buys things from some vendors. I bet there’s a good way to magnify that. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/14 "2009-12-10T01:03:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I see a possible flaw in your story–if your “sister” reads the blog, your wife may not want to tell you anything on there because it would ruin the surprise. Did you cover that? (Don’t if you haven’t–maybe she won’t notice.) :smack: Man, I’m a lousy spy. I was so proud of myself for thinking of it too! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lisa\_listens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5daacb/32.png) [@lisa\_listens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisa_listens)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/15 "2009-12-10T01:06:10Z")
These seem kind of interesting. [http://www.revlon.com/ProductCatalog/ProductDetails.aspx?CategoryID=4&SubCategoryID=15&ProductID=194](http://www.revlon.com/ProductCatalog/ProductDetails.aspx?CategoryID=4&SubCategoryID=15&ProductID=194) I don’t know how well they work, just found them but I plan on trying one or two. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/16 "2009-12-10T01:13:08Z")
Okay, I emailed her directly as she suggested. I said: \*I can’t believe I just asked for advice on a gift to surprise my sister on a site that she actually READS! She’s going to make fun of me so bad… Yes, I would very much appreciate some gift suggestions. I guess the fact that she’s getting a surprise won’t be a surprise, but I’m sure she’ll love whatever it is. Thanks!\* I’ll post what she replies with. Unless she complains about her husband, in which case I’ll post a thread in IMHO about a really sticky etiquette problem. 😛 Gosh, I hope I don’t end up having to fake any actual nail product knowledge! If I do, I hope you’ll all help me figure out something to say! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/17 "2009-12-10T01:48:43Z")
Wow. She’s quick. And smart. She wrote: > [@](#): > > Hi Again, > I’ll make sure to get back to you soon about this. I just wanted to let you know that I deleted your message so it can still be a surprise! 🙂 I replied > [@](#): > > Thank you so much! Good idea to delete it. You’re a better sneak than I am. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/18 "2009-12-10T04:25:41Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Wow. She’s quick. And smart. Yep. And she married me. Can ya believe it?:eek:😃 I don’t think she’s going to quiz you or anything. At worst she’d ask you what kind of polish your sister is into. Don’t feel like you have to take the ruse too far. I don’t generally like to carry out espionage where family is involved. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/19 "2009-12-10T14:55:38Z")
> [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](#): > > Yep. And she married me. Can ya believe it?:eek:😃 It’s those darn snake legs, women go mad for 'em. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605/20 "2009-12-10T17:25:05Z")
**SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES!!** Here is Mrs. Snake Legs wrote to me this morning: > [@](#): > > Does she have Konad? If not, I think that would make an awesome gift for a polish lover. I know Scrangie has a coupon code for OC Nail Art (I believe. You can check her blog to double check). If she already has it, perhaps your sister might like a few colors from China Glaze’s Romantiques collection for a different Konad experience. > > **I’m not sure what she has in her polish stash, but I’ve always wanted a higher end polish (Chanel, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Lippmann, etc.). I’m a poor college student so I don’t want to pay $20 for one polish (even though I always hear how great they are!), but I would LOVE to get one for a Christmas present!** > > Again, I’m not sure what kind of stash she has, \*\*but I always want to use new basecoats and topcoats! \*\*Definitely try to stop at Marshalls or TJ Maxx to see if they have any Barielle products or cheap polishes. Quirius has a topcoat that I absolutely love (even more than Seche and Poshe), unfortunately they are closed right now ☹ You can always put together a little kit of a basecoat, topcoat, a glass nail file, and one color (if you want you can throw in an orange stick, cuticle softener/remover, cuticle oil, etc.). Again, this all depends on how much stuff she already has. > > Please let me know if this is the information you were looking for. If you wanted specific polishes, etc. just let me know and I can try and help! (bolding mine) I replied: > [@](#): > > Thank you so much! That’s exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I never thought of a high-end polish. She would love that. I also like the idea of a little basket with various things. We always need more basecoat and topcoat, right? She already has a ton of Konad stuff, so I have no idea what else she would want. > > I didn’t know they had nail stuff at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. I’ll have to check that out. > > Thanks again, and thanks for such a fun blog. I’ll let you know what I pick out and whether she likes it. So there ya go. She also suggested the China Glaze Romantiques, but you should check to see what she has already because she didn’t say she didn’t already have them. I looked on the Quirius website, and they did have polish color charts. If she doesn’t have one, maybe she’d like one. Do they have them for Konad? For what it’s worth, my favorite base coat is Orly Bonder and my favorite topcoat is Sherani Tufcoat. And please please tell me you’re going to print out this thread and give it to her after you give her the present!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-new-stuff-in-the-area-of-nail-polish/520605.md?page=2)