I've come to realize lots of times for PPU I'm looking to buy a nail polish just for the experience of owning an exclusive polish, rather than it being a nail polish I HAVE to have 😔 also wanted to say I really appreciate how you do the comparison swatches and let us know that if we have so and so shade then we should skip it, even trying to dupe it using other nail polishes on the off chance we have them lol thank you for your hard work and trying to save us some coin 🙏
i totally get that!! isn’t it such a silly reason to feel like you “need” to buy something lol 🙈 but aw of course!! i’m so glad everyone loves seeing comparisons and even recreations sometimes 🤗
This is a fantastic video idea! I’d love to see more people vocal about the polishes they regret buying either on youtube or instagram. I think it’s beneficial for us hobbyists to see other people talk about purchase regrets especially when it’s done in a respectful way like in this video. A few of my polish regrets: 1. Cuticula Meowgical 2.0 from rewind last year - the maker changed the formula and it’s not as pretty as the original. I bought it bc I thought I would regret skipping it, but every time I see the bottle i just grumble grumble lol (and i found the original in a destash recently 😍) 2. DAM Dark Eyes Blossom - I have 28 polishes that look like this, probably 3. The entire 2024 Death Valley Nails Valentine’s Day collection - I should have purchased my top 4 favorites 4. Lumen Beetlejuice mysteries - I LOVED the 3 mystery collections that came out prior to this collection so I went all out and bought a ton of these and they ended up not being my vibe. Wish I would have purchased ALL of the Ethereal Spirited Away mysteries though. So you win some, you lose some lol 5. Glisten & Glow Vein Slayer - I hate red and white together because it reminds me of the Huskers (idc about football but I live in NE so red/white is synonymous with Huskers). I bought this hoping I would want to wear it during February, but it doesn’t scream Valentine’s Day to me at all! I had just discovered glitter crellies though in my defense. I’m sure there are wayyyy more tbh.
thank you soo much!! yeah I’m sure theres others I could’ve included, but I had already destashed so many last year from the year before lol 🙈 thank you for sharing some of your regrets!! omg there’s nothing i hate more than when a brand is like “we brought this back but CHANGED it” like whyyyy lol i don’t blame you for grumbling over the Cuticula but YAYY for finding the original in a destash!! and ahh yeah mysteries really can be so hit or miss, i never shopped directly from Lumen so idk if her swatchers would share sneak peeks at least, but for legit blind mysteries i stay away lol 🙈 but wait why do i love that G&G lolll it gives me total peppermint bark vibes!! i can def see it leaning more winter/holiday for me vs Valentine’s day, but yeah if you also realized you don’t like glitter crellies thats totally valid too! sometimes you just have to try some polishes to really figure out what you like.
OK, so let's start with your comparisons - they are invaluable, seriously. Because you get to see the brush, the coverage, application (oh I'm so far from being neat haha, and I am talking about myself here) and the actual shade. I personally greatly dislike all of the macro shots and all of the enhanced photos, kind of "blurring to the spot" because they distort the actual color we see most of the time after application, meaninig, not perfect light or even more of the shade, no shine... Also, small nails make a HUGE difference because one has a very tiny canvas to paint, so the polish ends up looking like a colorful blob... I am perfectly aware of the differences in monitors but I also notice that that is being used as an excuse to cover up enhanced photos. As someone who worked in graphic design for over a decade, I know that if you're editing in RGB, there should not be a crazy difference to justify why lilac one orders looks actually grey upon arrival. That drastic change might occur if you're editing in web colors, CMYK or ha, even Pantone (as it's not meant for web). My main regrets were way off of the color and vibrancy pictured. With that being said, majority of my regrets have taught me No.1 - think 10 times before clicking that button. Compare, search, watch, then wait overnight and in the morning, if you're still thinking of that polish, buy it. Now, when it comes with the similar ones, I have a few regrets as well, but now I can tell WHY this happens. I have a picture of a "perfect red / pink / green / etc." in my mind, and when a new launch crosses my electronic path, I get infatuated. Because it looks THAT perfect that the previous buy didn't. Upon arrival, most of the time, sadly, all the color inaccuracies and other things start poking out, and hello disappointment... And I tell myself, "not anymore!", and yet it happens again :) BUT less often, because experience kicks in :) As to FOMO, I personally am very immune to it, thanks to the graphic design, again. Very very similar items, or even dupes, will ALWAYS appear, because of the same ingredients used. I highly doubt if all makers track the work of others to avoid conflicts, this is very common in the whole field of anything creative. So January's miss will come back in, lets say, September, and in a much better form :) I've noticed that quite a few swatchers are doing their de-stash sales and I totally justify that and think it is very wise and win-win.
i’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, but omg thank youuu for your kind words!! 🥹 I really do my best when it comes to describing the polishes since my camera quality only takes me so far lol and yes not to mention the whole difference in screens thing! I do agree with you where that does seem to be the default reason brands will give when customers share their concerns or disappointments and it can be so incredibly frustrating! especiallyyy for you having a decade of experience, like why are they lying 🙈 and yes i’m the same too where I NEED to look up some swatch videos before buying too! the application/formula/brush can really make or break a polish. but totally understand becoming infatuated with a new shade lol. but exactly like you said, we will more than likely see it again because brands are using the same ingredients!! it’s definitely helpful to remember that, but i know sometimes waiting for the comeback can be painful too lol i would loveee to see Danglefoot’s Iris-istible again for example 🤩 and yes ive been loving the destash series! i likely will have a few videos talking about shades i’ve been wanting to destash, its just such a process 😅
I really appreciate that Mooncat labels the lighting set up in the swatches on their site so that you know which photo shows the polish in direct / ideal lighting. I live in a country that's almost never sunny, so when i wear shimmer polishes, they rarely look how they do in photos taken in bright, direct light 🥲😂 That being said, I don't love how surprisingly sheer MC polishes can be. The Trouble With Immortality is beautiful but it took me 4 coats to reach opacity, which is crazy for how expensive their polishes are.
Shleee Polish does make my favourite glitter polishes (don't know if glitter is the right term - more like Cirque's shimmergraphic tbh). Would be curious to see what you think of those! Maybe an idea for a window shopping video 💕
oh yes definitely love when brands include swatches with different lighting AND when they label them lol! it really is so helpful when it comes to specialty finishes like you mentioned. and yeah I honestly don’t know how Michelle gets her swatches to look so opaque when she usually does 2 coats (at least based off her swatch vids) maybe she uses the pink base to blur VNL. but yeah in general Mooncat polishes aren’t meant to be fully opaque I think, usually specialty finishes are a bit more sheer to let the shimmers/holo etc shine through. i do remember Immortality being a bit sheer, but I only needed 3 coats for that one! i wonder if you happened to get a bad bottle/batch? maybe you can reach out to ask! and ahh yess I’ve seen those polishes from Shleee!! they do look really sparkly and pretty, definitely would be fun to look at those 🤩
@@PolishedYogi I think you're probably right that they don't formulate most(?) of their polishes to be fully opaque; I now try to keep that in mind when purchasing (so that I don't feel regret for basically playing myself 😅). Immortality was the only one lately that I've felt a little bit catfished by, but I'm happy enough to layer it over a base polish so that I don't burn through the bottle. I do wish it were industry standard for brands to state in polish descriptions whether or not a polish will reach full opacity. I don't mind VNL, but I prefer it with certain colours + finishes, so I wish I had a better sense before purchasing whether or not a polish is simply unlikely to ever reach opacity on its own. I don't love having to be a detective and obsessively studying different swatches to figure out what a polish will *really* look like.
My Regrets usually fall into 4 categories: : 1. Falling for FOMO. The Holo Taco Gala set. I bought the whole box and there's two polishes I dislike. Lesson learned: Don't buy entire collections out of FOMO. Just buy the singles I actually love. Highest Bidder- looks like grey concrete. Blah color, very little holo. Featured Guest- needs 4 coats for opacity, holo is weak, and it's grey, not white. 2. Regrets because they are dupes for things I already have: Holo Taco Glamethyst. It's too similar to Glitterally Ourple. If I didn't already have Glitterally Purple, I wouldn't regret Glamethyst. Holo Taco Royal Crush: It's too similar to ILNP XO. If I didn't already have ILNP XO, I would not regret Royal crush. Holo Taco Double Dare. Too similar to ILNP Eclipse. Same as above. 3. Doesn't look like the photos. Lesson learned: look for multiple swatch photos. Holo Taco Bat B*tch: the blue shimmer is barely visible on the nail. I liked the name, it was LE, there was some FOMO too, and it's a dud. Zoya Midori: The shimmer is barely noticeable IRL. Zoya website photos are the worst. Puddle pics don't tell me anything. Zoya Metora: Way darker on the nail. Almost black and I have a million 'almost blacks'. 4. Regret because the texture is a sensory nightmare.Usually applies to large novelty shaped of glitter that never lie flat on my nail. Pointy edges stick up and snag on things even with a glitter grabber top coat. Orly Wing It (bat glitters) Fright Night "Ghostess with the Mostess" (ghostie shaped glitters.) Lesson learned: novelty glitters look cute but I can't stand wearing them.
I appreciate that you’re one of the few swatchers I watch that admits some regretful purchases. That has certainly happened to me several times, like when the swatch pictures don’t accurately reflect what I end up seeing on my nails.
aw thank you! i feel like i don’t share many regrets o my channel since i’m already so picky with purchasing in the first place 🤣 but definitely worth talking about it esp once my mind changes! and yeah i sadly haven’t been tooo burned by inaccurate swatch photos, that really is soo frustrating though and it’s crazy how often it still happens! 😣
I find PPU and indie collections super overwhelming! With PPU, I never find anything I like based upon their swatches (long nails, different lighting, skintone) then after I find normal people's swatches with short nails and regret not buying. I hate LE!!! That's why I love ILNP
definitely!! the way indies casually release 15pc collections is craaazy lmao. and ugh yeah i feel that with PPU too, i often see swatchers later on reddit and they end up looking soo good!! i wish the swatchers were encouraged to take photos in natural light vs studio :/ and yesss ILNP is the best!! literally have a haul from them on the way lol 🤭
We are all adults here and we all make our own decisions and sometimes we regret them. Your videos always help me make informed choices. Sometimes I just wonder what I was thinking😂
Thank you for making this video. The worst case of regret for me was when I accidentally bought a dupe of an existing polish that I was already struggling to figure out how to wear 🤦♀️… it’s embarrassing enough to accidentally buy a dupe, but how could I buy a dupe of a polish I don’t even love?! Eventually, I did figure out a skittle that I love that uses the original polish (but I still regret the dupe).
of course, so glad you enjoyed! and omgg no that’s kinda funny though 🤣 but i get it hahah i’m glad you were able to make them work though! hopefully you were able to destash or gift the dupe to a friend!
There’s no need to be embarrassed. We’re all human and with owning that many polishes how could you not make some mistakes. When I first restarted my nail polishing journey about two years ago I made some terrible choices but it was a good learning experience. I discovered indie polishes, specifically PPU, June ‘22. I only have one that I regret somewhat, but it was for BCAM so that makes it a little easier. I’ve slowly learned to always look at my polishes and compare before purchasing. It’s help me cut back on spending and FOMO. I liked this video a lot! We have to stay strong for each other and help one another out. Right here is the perfect place to do that! Appreciate you so much!❤
i’m soo late to replying but what to say thank you for your reassurance!! its truly appreciated 🤗 & yes definitely a good reminder that we’re always learning no matter where we are on our nail journey 🩵 and ahh yes i’ve also “regretted” a few charity polishes too! I always want to support and sometimes the polishes are super pretty too, but then I remembered I can just donate directly to the organization lol. so glad that you enjoyed this video, i likely will do a part 2 of either my regrets/letdowns or just talk about what i’m destashing and why!
I appreciate videos like this, it makes me feel like I’m not alone in my polish buying decisions 😅 My biggest regret purchases were when I first started buying from PPU, I would buy polishes that I was on the fence about and then later, I would find polishes that I liked even better. Now, I know to wait and a dupe will probably come along. I also regret buying any “mystery” polish or mystery bags. I would rather spend money on a polish I know I will love instead.
definitely not alone!! 😅 and ugh yes i feel like its so easy to end up regretting a PPU purchase just bc you’re on the fence 😵💫 it unfortunately takes some time to realize what we really like/is worth buying! i’m glad you’ve gotten to that point now 🙌🏼
I love this type of video!! It makes so much more real what the every day consumer experiences and love how you share your thoughts which help me a lot in my shopping too!!
love this video! honestly, i have definitely experienced buyer's remorse from shades i got from PPU. whether it's because it's similar to another shade i own or if it was just the hype that got me, i think it happens to everyone. i always love the content nail polish folks put out that says "hey, you don't need to own everything. it's okay, calm down" so i always look for honest reviews, dupes, live swatches, swatches on all the skin tones. anyway, thanks for always putting out content like this!
thank you soo much, i’m so glad you enjoyed this video 🤗🤗 yeah buyers remorse just seems to happen at some point in our nail journeys lol. but yeah live swatches alone are so so helpful!! seeing how a polish applies can really make or break it for me lol and of course seeing comparisons too since its rare we see actual unique shades!
Since I'm a broke chick, a window shopping/shopping stash video would be appreciated! Also here for more polish lovers to be vocal about their regrets. We've all gotten burned by polishes and it can be frustrating b/c these indie polishes aren't cheap, esp. when you get more than one + shipping costs, so hearing someone state similar makes me feel better, we can heal together, lol. PPU can really induce the fomo for me b/c of how ~exclusive~ it all feels, but once I started seeing the repetition month by month, and eliminating polishes w/ features I'm not keen on (magnetic, reflective, etc.), the fomo lessened immensely for me. I started putting rules on PPU for myself after I did my 2nd one last year, b/c I didn't like all but one polish I got. So will say PPU taught me a lesson on what I like, don't like, and need to avoid in polishes, and how to dupe better, thus PPU weirdly made me a smarter, pickier nail polish shopper and brought out my creativity? lol My recent regret is the bad times I've had w/ Sassy Sauce's Tropical Heatwave. I've given this polish so many chances. This polish curdled? at every top/base coat, and topping basic cream shades, and even my bare nail. Total dud. Doesn't look like the pics either. It's not smooth at all, too many flakies. So I feel ya on the flakies disappointments. Still, my big disappointment lies in misleading swatch photos and even live swatches too. I want Cock-a-Doodle-Doom w/ a badness, but that one polish experience makes me tread w/ a bit more caution w/ the brand and be on the lookout for a dupe of it. As always I appreciate your honesty and ideas for videos 😊
Wow I have Tropical Heatwave. I just wore it with no issues at all. I wonder if something happened to your bottle? I don’t remember mine having lots of flakies? I think tiny ghost flakies maybe.
i’m so glad you like this video/concept of my window shopping series! I’m excited to do more of those along with a destash video (coming this weekend!) but yes love that we can heal together by talking about this stuff lol! oh yeah i feel like it can take a little while to really understand our preferences and not be swayed by every pretty polish we see lol. the fomo can be real for sure, especially this past month with rewind and hearing soo many fan favorites coming back. but someone mentioned if they skipped it the first time, there was probably a good reason for it! im glad you were able to shop smarter thru PPU ! but oh wow, i haven't tried that polish but it curdling sounds like there’s definitely something wrong with it! i hope you were able to reach out to them and get refunded. to be fair cockadoodle doom is definitely a stunner and I didn’t have any issues with application! but i think that color combo is just one we’ve seen so often before so i’m sure you’d be able to find a dupe for it from a brand you’re familiar with or trust. thank you for such a sweet comment!! 🙏🏼
Flakie balance seems to be an exact science and art that is a challenge to get right. I'm in a super flakie period in my polish life right now and have been let down by a bunch of them. I'm very curious for the new Mooncat flakies and won't consider buying until you swatch them. Happen to be wearing Polished for days Whole New World today LOL. I don't buy polishes as often these days due to things being dupes or close to dupes to ones I already have.
omg yes lol! it’s so funny seeing how picky i am with flakies 🙈 and i can’t wait to share the new mooncat flakies!! My video will be up Friday morning 😁 and yayyy for wearing PFD A Whole New World today !! its sooo magical. yeah we definitely do see a lot of repeat colors/finishes these days!
honestly love videos like this!! i enjoy the usual swatching or raving of fave polishes but sometimes it's good to also talk about purchase regrets! makes me feel better about any I may have wanted but missed out on, or if I did get it and also hate it I can commiserate with you lmao
aw thank you!! yeah i definitely lovee talking about my favorites already and the only “negative” / anti-fav video i’ve done was about my pruglies LOL but regrets are def worth talking about!! and so true that it might make you realize oh actually yeah i don’t NEED that lol
You are always up front about what could be a dupe! I appreciate that, you are so good at reminding us that we may already have something in our collection.
Thank you so much for this video! We all have purchased polishes we regret or no longer like. That is why destash videos are popular to watch. My biggest regret was purchasing Dreamland Lacquer Shake Your Shamrock. I didn’t know it was a matte polish. It was a difficult polish to work with and didn’t level out on the nail. I recently made my first Mooncat order and purchased the one polish I wanted since it came out…Flight of the Monarchs. Fingers crossed that I love the nail polish.
So glad you enjoyed! I definitely have been meaning to do a destash again, it’s just such a process 🙈 but I guess this is technically part one lol! And oh noo such a shame about Shake Your Shamrock, I don’t think I knew it was matte either ?? I can totally see that being off putting for the difficult/finicky formula :/ I actually had that one my wishlist for July rewind but now I’m second guessing 🙈 Omg first of all how exciting you made your first mooncat order 🥳 but I really hope you love Flight of the Monarchs!! It’s one of my favorites, but I’ve seen people say they don’t love it lol. Keep me updated!! 😝🤞🏼
Thank you for this! It’s as important as your comparisons because it lets us know we are not alone when we feel let down after a bad purchase decision. I’d love to see and hear your thoughts on Ppu rewind: reflect on any polishes that are coming back that you already have (swatch and compare); and maybe show possible dupes of ones you don’t have. Save us all! You are so appreciated!
of course!! 🤗🤗 i’m definitely looking forward to doing my PPU Rewind video, there’s a couple polishes that I was sooo ready to add to my wishlist but I’ve been trying to talk myself out of them since i have similar shades 🙈 i’ll do my best to show as many comparisons & also not encourage too much fomo on any shades coming back that i’ve tried/loved !
💯 There will definitely be polishes that are a let down for whatever reason. Anytime I end up with lots of visible nail line, but that doesn't show in swatch photos is my biggest annoyance. Also hate when I dupe something in my collection. I also bought the EXACT SAME polish on two different occasions and was so embarrassed when I realized! 🙈🤣It was Emily de Molly's Half Orange. Lol
ahh yeah while i don’t mind VNL i can definitely understand the frustration with that! i wish brands would be more transparent or at least label what kind of base coats are used in swatch photos. and lmaoo i’m sorry to laugh but you buying the sameee polish twice is just so funny 😆 that EdM is a beauty though!! 🤩
@@PolishedYogi it's a beautiful shade and I totally laughed about it later 🤣 I also thought, "dammit, I could've had a different, lovely, new color, but no! I'm a dingbat who bought the same thing twice."
I had to stop shopping PPU. I regretted about half the shades I've bought. I realized the FOMO and need to decide now made me make choices that I shouldn't have. I understand the reason for the short buying window, but that just doesn't work for me.
I love this video so much! I honestly don't even go to polish pickup because I don't want the fomo to push me into a purchase I won't truly love! And I love that all of the polishes you mentioned here are BEAUTIFUL and it's totally fine they weren't right for you for one reason or another. It's a great reminder for me!
Thank you so so much! 🫶🏼 and yeah I know plenty of people just steer all the way clear of PPU/HHC etc bc it really can be so easy to buy something you’d end up regretting 😅 and yes exactly! There’s nothing wrong with just admiring a polish without adding it to your collection!
I feel like I regret the majority of my ppu or hhc purchases 🥴 I started only buying them if they fall into the types of polishes I’m wearing constantly. And I just have to be cutthroat about what i kind of like and what i LOVE lol.
yeah i totally get that! 🙈 I feel like in the beginning you’re just more open to trying new brands/colors/finishes, but then its only after some time that you realize what you REALLY love wearing lol I would say its necessary to be cutthroat!! 🔪
Thank you for addressing FOMO, it is real! I am still fairly new to collecting so I am focusing on not buying similar polishes, and learning what I like (shimmers 👍🏻 glitters meh 🫤 metallics no thank you). Also trying to learn what blues look good on my skin tone which is no easy feat. I have made some mistakes (Blurple Jelly I’m looking at you 😒). Anyhoo, great video as always and looking forward to your next!
and here i was thinking I was stronger lol 🙈 it definitely makes sense to succumb to it when you’re newer to the indie scene, its quite the rabbit hole haha but I’m glad you have a good understanding of what you like & don’t like already esp as far as finishes go! the bad news is that shimmers are having a moment lol so i can see everything being tempting 🤣 but aw noo i’m sorry you didn’t like Blurple jelly!! ugh yeah finding out what shades are flattering vs clashing is also a struggle 😵💫
Thank you so much for this video Stefanie, I actually often wondered about other collectors regrets. With PPU I have wondered if occasionally the mixing of the ordered polishes is identical to the mixing many months earlier for the swatchers due to the different size of the badge or an ingredient that doesn’t come from the same badge 🤔. When WL for PPU, HHC, etc opens, I always compare my wishlist with my untrieds. Since I do this my regrets color or finish wise are close to 0. My regrets are buying full collections or from certain brands. Re Funny Tree: I got this when it was originally released for PPU December 2022 and I have to say it is my least favorite of this kind. These purple/blues are a fav of mine and I allow myself a small collection of them 😉
i’m so glad you enjoyed this one!! yeah it definitely would be fun & interesting to hear more people talk about their regrets. i thankfully feel like since i’m picky with buying to begin with, i don’t have TOO many lol 🙈 and yeah its weird to see some batch discrepancies in PPU, but not as weird as seeing an obvious difference but then the maker doesn’t 🫣 lol.. that’s incredibly smart to compare your wishlist to your untrieds!! i don’t even know how many untrieds i have 🙈 that makes sense your regrets were when you bought full collections! sometimes they can be soo tempting! and ooo interesting to hear Funny Tree is your least favorite out of your shimmery purples 👀i’m glad i’m not alone!
Unfortunately, this is one of those things that I miss about having the big polish sections in the stores, you could actually see what it would look like in person! Really helped cut down on buying stuff you may not actually want. I also really appreciate ILNP for not being part of the FOMO culture. I have found several things that have helped me with purchasing, granted this hasn't stopped me from ever regretting purchases lol: 1. Do I actually like this polish? Not just one picture, but all the different swatches in all the different lightings especially the ones that most closely resemble my skin tone and nail length. 2. Will I actually wear this polish? So many times I see a beautiful nail polish but I know, realistically, that I will never wear it. 3. Do I have a similar polish or can I dupe this polish? If I can easily dupe it then there's no need to buy this new one, unless duping it requires too much effort. Also, if I have one that's similar, am I willing to get rid of the similar one? 4. Am I going to want to wear this polish more than other polishes I already own? Just because it's a polish I will wear does not mean I will pick it over stuff I already have.
omg if onlyyy we could see all of these polishes IRL before buying!! that would be a dream lol. and yeah ILNP is so awesome for that, I also will always appreciate how they haven’t raised their prices when every other brand did over the last few years! it makes them the default for me lol. omg i love thse questions you ask yourself before buying!! it’s so so helpful, especially as our collections grow!
Nice video! I love the balance on your channel that things don't always work out, and there are occasions where we do have regret/s about purchases. I'm quite reliant on swatchers showing polishes in different lighting conditions, because rarely can we trust edited studio photography.
thank you so much!! i know the majority of my videos tend to be more positive, focusing on my favorite blank lol, and i think i don’t share regrets often since i’m picky with buying in the first place 😝 but it definitely is helpful to still talk about it since we all go through it at some point! and ugh yes totally understand what you mean about swatch photos sometimes 😵💫
Try Just Roll with it as a one coat topper it's great that way. I think it's good for polish videos that don't promote fomo so I think window shopping would be good. The only thing I folded on lately was the Polished for Days Day and Night Glo collections but I don't think I will regret those. I am done buying neons though so now I will need to live vicariously LOL. My regrets have come from trying to buy a green leaning turquoise they are all way more blue when I get them.
oh i can see that working as a topper! and omg thOse PFD collections are gonna be the first i talk about in my Window Shopping video lol 🤣 you’re going to love them!! but i’m with you where once you have your quota if neons or whatever finish/color, you just know you don’t need anymore lol. but ahh i’m sorry about the green leaning turquoise shades! those are so tricky since they’re hard to capture on camera 🫤
GG “Goddess of Love” is so pretty! Nailed it “Maya the Bee” is gorgeous as is the Polished for Days one. I would be happy having both because as you said the Nailed It flakies are larger- that’s enough of a difference for me lol😗 I bought the Polish for Days blurring base in the grey shade and yep-it is legit a cream polish. I wear it that way.
so glad you loved that one! i feel like it looks prettier on the swatch stick than it did on me 🤣 and haha yes i can totally understand justifying keeping both! and ooh i forgot they had a grey base!! that definitely works as a very last minute mani honestly lol
Be not ashamed, forgetful regrets happen to all of us 😊 I have a 'serious problem' resisting Purply jellies with red or blue shimmers, too! I have talked myself into some silly duppage.
Love this video! It's nice to hear about Regret Polishes, it helps me recognise that I'm not alone in making less-than-ideal purchases, and that it's normal! In many cases, you can't predict that you'll regret one until you actually wear the shade...other times it's definitely the FOMO, but also buying more than you really want to make shipping "worth it" is another big one 🙈 Some shades I regret are: 1) Mooncat Curiosity's Prey: I was looking forward to it, but it was too chunky for me to apply evenly and it drove me INSANE (might have been a bad batch) 2) ILNP Sugar High/Mint Chip: I shouldn't have bought two speckled finishes in one go without testing to see if I actually like the finish! I was excited but the speckles are a liiiittle underwhelming to me 3) OPI Check Out The Old Geysirs: The grey blue base is a little boring to me, sadly the blue shimmer in the bottle just doesn't translate onto the nails either. I wanted something to dupe Mooncat's Sabertooth (something light bluey) and this was so far off the mark and I should have done more research 😂 It was one of the first polishes I got when getting back into nail polish this year, so I'll learn from that lesson!
I have never bought from PPU. I tend to look at it as a trend board. I love watching other people shop though! Your videos are really fun. If it’s wonderful, something similar will come along or something similar already exists. Thank you ❤
power to you!! i know we tend to see polishes/finishes come around again and its ultimately like a waiting game lol. i’m so glad you enjoy watching me & others shop though! 🤗
@@PolishedYogi I find your comparisons so valuable. In all honesty, I live in Canada so shipping, duty and taxes are a big deterrent to smaller purchases. I don’t have extraordinary willpower or patience 😂
I have a handful of polishes I regret buying. When I first started getting into indie polishes a few years ago I picked up a bunch of I Scream Nails multichromes and they're not terrible by any means, but I bought some very similar ILNP multichromes later and the ILNP formula just better in my opinion (and they're cheaper and the ILNP bottles are bigger!!!). I also picked up two Holo Taco holographic toppers during a Black Friday sale in 2022. I got Flakie Taco and I think I've used it like twice lol. It's just overwhelming for me, BUT I got their Scattered Holo Topper and I love that one. Lastly, I went to Taiwan in 2022 and bought two polishes from the brand Hue Girls (which I don't think are available in any stores) from a little street vendor and they're pretty but they take like four coats to reach good opacity. I don't wear them but at least I have them as a souvenir from the trip.
I love the idea of this video because I have been in this place several times… I started swatching sticks of all my polishes to avoid buying dupes and the first color I have banned from buying again is the purple base/green or blue shimmer because I have too many of that exact same combination (I have funny tree btw 😅)
that’s definitely super helpful to have swatch sticks!! i honestly don’t love the look of them and think they can still look so different vs on the nail (like Maya the Bee had me second guessing myself if its worth keeping lmao) but they really are the best way to quickly compare shades! and omg yess i’m also guilty of purples with blue/green or gold shimmers too 🙈
No need to feel ashamed! If anything, you have an extensive collection, so it’d be harder to really think what is similar to a recent one you’d want. Also, I cave in to exclusivity, but I did have some shades from PPU that were either a letdown or auctions that after spending that much and getting it only to not like it as much… yeah, that speaks a lot to me . 😅 As always, thank you for being as transparent as you’re comfortable with putting out here on the internet. 🥺
appreciate the reassurance!! 🥹🫶🏼 yeah i can def see how PPU alone is dangerous bc the exclusivity and fomo can easily lead to buyers remorse 😵💫 thankfully i feel like i’m already picky with what i buy so my hauls are usually on the smaller side and its easy to justify bc you can always destash lol. and so true! sometimes you just dont knowww until you try it yourself 🤣😅
Yeah, I got Hummingbird by Penelope Luz for the Wild Animals PPU. It appeared more turquoise or teal in pics and videos, but when I wore it, it looked more like a medium blue, and ended up being a dupe for a classic ILNP multi chrome I have that shifts blue, green, and purple. Nothing special or unique, and it changed color when dry. Wet, it appeared turquoise teal, and I had hoped it would be a dupe for a long discontinued polish from Revlon called Tidal Wave. But when it dried, it was just a boring mid blue metallic shade.
so glad you enjoyed!! and righttt i do remember hearing about Hummingbird and how it didn’t live up to swatch pics! that really is a shame bc the turquoise color would be sooo stunning! and especially considering you were trying to dupe a discontinued polish 😩
@@PolishedYogi The happy ending to this story is, I got Guided by the Light by Vanessa Molina for Video Games (I think), sight unseen (no swatch videos for it, nor for her offering for Cartoons, I Will Protect You, which I also got 🥳). It’s a totally different type of polish than Tidal Wave, but it’s the same color and gives off the same turquoise, Caribbean waters shimmer I was expecting Hummingbird to have. So I’m thrilled with that!!
@@PolishedYogi Since I have you here at the moment, I wanted to ask about High Society, from your fave summer polishes video for 2024 you just posted a few days ago. To me, it looks like it could be very close to All In, from Kelli Marissa’s Vegas collab with Cirque. I already have All In, and I expected it to be brighter than it is, more neon leaning. Do you think High Society is a lot brighter and definitely neon compared to All In? I though you’d compare them yourself, but you didn’t. I have Kushy, and I’m wearing it right now, with Blaze Glaze on top. It is darker than High Society, but it was great to see you compare those, because my Kushy is old and although still neon green in the bottle, it darkens rather quickly once on, that’s why I top it with Blaze Glaze. I want a good neon green like Kushy to replace it. I’m halfway through my bottle 😅
Stef, I love the premise of this video! What a refreshing and honest look at the real world of nailpolish addicts! Occasional regret! Dupes! Disappointments! Thank you for representing us and unmasking the truth behind the smile!! ❤🤑😂
LynB’s Bittersweet Chocolate is so beautiful, but not on me! Swatching it made me realize that I have an oddly muted purple undertone. The base is an exact undertone match for my skin tone, although it is a few shades deeper than my skin. It makes me feel like I have corpse fingers and that I am wearing a shimmery nail polish, which is so disconcerting. It’s totally my fault, but it is teaching me about my undertone and what I consider “flattering” for myself.
ahh yeah sometimes there is a silver lining with regrets lol! i’m glad that LynB at least taught you about your undertone and what shades to avoid in the future. i feel like even with finishes sometimes you just don’t know if you’ll like it unless you try it 😅
I have all of my polishes on swatch sticks. Now that I have a fair number of polishes (over 400), I compare what I want with what I have. As far as PPU, I definitely have to look at the swatch videos. Seeing how the polish goes on the nail is important.
that’s so smart! i’ve been cataloguing my polish in a spreadsheet so i can filter by colors and finishes lol 🙈 and yes totally agree with you on watching swatch vids too! application/formula can really make or break a polish
My biggest PPU regret was Zombieclaw’s don’t save it for a rainy day. It did not glow orange in the dark as advertised. I have to hold the flash on a nail for ages to get a barely visible glow that lasts 2 seconds, nothing like the swatches. I don’t trust swatch photos for GITD polishes anymore because of that.
😢 that’s such a shame!! I almost purchased that one too but stopped myself because I was worried about that exact issue 😅 I’d seen on some glow in the dark polishes “works best if a UV light is shown on it directly for 30+ seconds” or something like that. So it kinda scared me away from that type of formula even tho it’d be really cool to glow in the dark! 😂
aw that’s such a bummer!! i would’ve reach out to them honestly 😣 yeah GITD swatch photos are cool but usually edited. it also depends on the type of gitd pigment though, i found the smoother one like in mooncat’s NBC collex or Holo Taco’s GITD taco were actually really strong! but the more speckled/grainy pigment is usually weaker :/
I appreciate that I’m not alone in polish regret! I’m such a creature of habit that I have so many colors (no matter the finish) that are so close to dupes to one I already have I wish I hadn’t bought them! I’ve even bought the same exact ones twice not realizing I have it already! 🤦🏼♀️ Fortunately I have a granddaughter who loves polish too, so I share with her and share with a friend. 😊
Love this video idea! My most recent regret was Cracked Rocky Mtn Iris. It’s beautiful but it’s SO similar to OPI You’re Such a BudaPest that no one would be able to tell them apart on the nail. My biggest PPU regret was Penelope Luz Blue Field. It’s so glowy that I can’t wear it. I’ve swatched it twice but never even worn it on a nail. It’s been sitting in a drawer for over a year 😢
When a polish is too glowy for me, I put on a thin layer of a matching jelly polish to mute the extreme “glowiness” but you still get some of the glow. (I hope this makes sense 😊)
oh noo! ah I don’t have that OPI (even though it’s a classic) but can totally see those being dupes 😣 and wow that Penelope Luz is so stunning! I haven’t heard of “too glowy” being a problem before, but I do like what Kathleen recommended^ with using a thin layer of a matching jelly! Cirque’s Aqua or Lagoon Jelly could work if you have either of those. or maybe even a white/milky jelly!
There aren't too many I actually, legitimately, regret...but I do have this problem where I go through moods of what I gravitate towards. Sometimes I joke that I was a different person when I bought (insert polish) because I am not really digging it now. But I often circle back a year or two later and actually get great enjoyment out of that color. So I don't destash, just put them in holding. I absolutely go through my entire stash first during wishlisting or when seized by a powerful need for something. Or I can tell myself that thats not exactly the thing I am wanting to fill a niche that I have not yet covered. Most times that's enough. Sometimes I get tricked by swatches not quite living up to expectations though. For that, I shrug, and either find some way to still appreciate it, resolve to use it up while intersted in it, or find a good person to gift it to.
i totally get that! i’ve def done something similar where i’m like why did i buy this, but then later on i’m frantically looking for it lmao. that really is so helpful too, to go through your stash first before buying! i need to finish/catch up on my tracking spreadsheet to be able to do the same! and ugh yeah the inaccurate swatch photos really do suck, but right we can either use it, destash or gift it so its not the end of the world
its hard sometimes!! especially when something is new and naturally everyone is excited over it lol i’m sorry you regretted those Zoya neons!! i actually liked that lineup but didn’t grab them myself lol
Thank you so much for making this video! I was just feeling some regret. I got into indie nail polish end of last year and have collected about 80 to date. Im doing my best to be thoughtful in my purchases and not overbuy or fall for FOMO. I've got about 10 regrets and I dont know what to do with them. I doubt they'd entice someone to buy them on these destash pages and my friends aren't into nail polish enough to want them 😢
I’m so glad you liked this! And aw I’m sorry you were feeling som regret recently too. Yeah I feel like when people first discover the indie world it’s almost dangerous with how deep the rabbit hole goes lol 😣 not to mention all the fomo around the LE releases! But you never know about the polishes, I would say to try listing them on Mercari just in case someone is actually interested! 🤞🏼
I love this video, its a good perspective to help kind of "deinfluence" from the fomo buying where I end up spending more then i need to on polishes. I almost got Funny Tree even though i have other similar polishes and am glad i didn't now.
I’m so glad you liked it!! And yeah we’ve all been there 🙈 I’m glad you ended up skipping Funny Tree, I was surprised to see a few other commenters also say they regretted getting it! 😅
thank you so much!! and ahh yeah I can’t imagine getting into indies nowadays, when the market is sooo saturated with brands and LE releases 🥵 i feel like it can be overwhelming sometimes!!
Your videos were recommended by the algorithm and I'm so glad. I love your comparisons and I LOVE this video. It's useful to hear from a polish collector shades they thought they'd love that they were disappointed in. No shame in that! Too bad we can't do a swap meet somewhere where we all exchange polishes we thought we'd adore but don't. Someone else will love them, I bet!
OMG I HATED PFD Plum Taupe! No hate to the brand because I love PFD. But the color was so ugly! It didn't go well with my skintone and, like you said, it changed the color of the polish on top. With that experience, I decided not to buy blurring basecoats. One coat is a patchy base for your polish, and if you build it up, it messes with the color of the top polish. I prefer to either build up a jelly on its own or wear an actual colored polish as an undie. I also agree about Shleeeeeee. (idk how many Es 🙄) I bought 4 of them a few years ago, and was kind of disappointed. They defo were not as intense as they were in the pics. Plus, at the time, she did a release EVERY Friday and you had to be quick to grab what you wanted. I decided that it wasn't worth it. I hard relate to talking yourself into buying a dupe of something you already have. There are 2 basic problems. 1) With buying online, there's no foolproof way to know how a polish will look in person. You could look at 100 swatches and still have a voice in your head telling you..."well maybe this polish is different in person!' when you have that feeling it's a dupe of something else. 2) No matter how similar 2 polishes are, there will always be people in the nail community who will say they are "completely different" and that you "need them both". Try not to be too ashamed about buying dupes. It happens to all of us.
Great video! I have a couple of the same polishes. I reorganized my polishes by color so hoping to lessen the fomo but checking what I already have easier. It’s a process 😂
I really appreciate you sharing this!! Over 1000 polishes is so many! 😮 there’s no way I could keep all of that straight either!! 😂 I think my collection is around 200 different polishes and I’m already finding myself NEVER reaching for a decent amount of shades or formulas I own… and just keep going “ooo pretty!” And buying more before I can try out the last ones I bought more than once! 😅😂😅 Too be completely honest, my first 150-ish polishes were all from Holotaco, and after finding creators here like you and Kelli Marissa I was like “woah wait holotaco isn’t really that special??” 😅 and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying other brands you and Kelli and introduced me to! Which has made me slightly regret more of my holotaco purchases than I’d like to admit 😂 But thank you for being open and honest about your opinions on individual polishes vs brands , and for all the comparison swatches!!! Your a wonderful creator 🙏 😊 ❤
Omg your HT experience is my Sally Hansen experience 😂. I thought I was buying top notch bcs goddamn some of those bottles cost $13. And then I discovered indies for the same price and much prettier!
Aw thank you so much !! 🥰🫶🏼 hahah yeah it can be a lot to keep track of right? 😅 that’s too relatable, going “ooo pretty!!” And adding it to cart LOL I’ve definitely been there too! Do you have a little system like rubber bands on caps for your untrieds? I’ve seen people do that and think it’s so smart! But aw I’m sorry you ended up regretting some of your Holo Tacos 🙈 I can understand the appeal to them if you haven’t experienced other indies before lol they’re like entry level “indie” polishes, which still serve as a great stepping stone for understanding what finishes or colors you like! I do think Holo Taco has put out some really pretty shades, I think the problem is when you compare them to others lol 🙈 but thank you again for such a sweet comment, I really appreciate you being here and hope you continue enjoying my videos 🤗
@@PolishedYogi that’s a smart idea indeed! A Little band on new stuff to remind you to try it! lol. I actually have zero system atm, but I have swatched all of my collection on plastic sticks at least! 😅😅 But you absolutely have a point there. Holotaco is pretty incredible until you see just how many other options there are 😅 🤷♀️ live and learn! 😅 your awesome btw. I can’t believe you take the time to respond to people so thoroughly. It’s so sweet! ☺️ wishing you all the success here and general happiness as well 💝
Buying two pairs of dupes in two different orders and getting them together in a combined shipping package was a point that convinced me to finally catalog my polishes and check there when I see a favourite finish or colour, just in case😅Love this video idea, it's great to hear what people regret buying and why. It's not embarrassing at all imo, even getting dupes, it's just how life is and it's good to know that we are not alone in this
omg nooo thats too funny 😭😭 ugh yeah i need to keep tracking my polishes! i have them in a spreadsheet but I think I might reorganize my other drawers in rainbow order to help find similar shades faster 🙈 greatly appreciate the reassurance though!! 🥹🤗
I only allow myself the number of polishes that fit in my polish case. I regret probably 40% of the polishes I buy….so I either sell them on Reddit or give them away. That way I can buy new ones, lol.
definitely a smart way to go about it! and yess that’s usually why i’m not too hard on myself lol i know someone will buy if i destash.. which makes room to buy more! its a vicious cycle 🤣
Oh I think your regrets are what I categorise as “too busy” polish. The first few at least. Some base colours can take a tonne of flakies but others get overwhelmed by them. It’s also a lighting thing. Summer sun can brighten deep shades and wash out mid tones but in winter they give a different look. Holly Jolly by Rogue Lacquer is like that for me. A winter polish since the green jelly base looks deeper
yes i can totally see that! i think i also realized those first few crellies also had more of a milky kind of base vs a translucent jelly one, which i think better suits being packedd with flakies/glitters etc. that’s true about lighting too! totally makes a huge difference in how the color is perceived
Love the super honest video! And I have similar ebbs and flows in excitement and regret for something I bought. I kinda regret buying ILNP fairy dust and blossom - I should've probably jumped on the EdM shade that you regretted, they seem more opaque and stronger shimmer.
so glad you enjoyed!! wow I think you’re the first person to say they regret Fairy Dust lol 🙈 but yes ILNP tends to be more on the sheer side compared to other brands!
I love this video style! I definitely have had some whoops moments as well. I love collecting and categorizing polish as much as wearing it, so the magpie urges are strong. I’m in the process of swatching my collection on swatch sticks, and I’m scared to see how many dupes I have. 😅 I’m working on being a bit more conscientious of my purchases, so I need to continue that trend.
thank you!! honestly yeah collecting & organizing is its own hobby and i’m really only interested in the latter lol! 🙈 but ahhh yeah the swatch sticks will reveal the truth 😝 well kind of, i feel like even on swatch sticks the polishes can look different lol and you might have two of the same color but just slightly different formula 😅 but its always good to narrow down if you can!
I have to say i have oretty much stopped buying KB Shimmer. The swatches always look so gorgeous, and when I get them... not so much. Plus, their polishes are so thick because of the all the glitters. I have a whole KB Shimmer that I want to love. And the wearablity just isn't there for meon their polishes when I pay that much for polish I want more than a 2 day manicure. I use a good base and top coat so it has to be the polish. I haven't bought that brand since. I love ILNP and Cirque and Holo Taco and Mooncat and several others. I tend to go for indie brands because of the finishes. I've regreted a few purchases. Not many. If it's not my favorite, I'll work it into stamping or nail art in some way. My big one is black. I just don't use a black polish, and every fall, every brand has black in some form or fashion. So I try to pass on those. But I can see why you regretted each polish. This is when I tell my best friend and god daughter... "I'm doing a polish purge on ___. Time for a visit." They come running with smiles. I have a slight nail polish addiction. I had reduced it to 167 bottles. Not counting top and base coats. I had to buy more polish storage. I'm back up to 678 bottles. Not counting base and top coats. I need them all!!!!😅😅 Hello. My name is S. I have a nail polish addiction.
oh wow really! i don’t think i’ve been letdown by a kbshimmer before, i’m sorry to hear that you have 😣 i guess the wearability thing is unfortunately a body chemistry issue :/ but yes those boutique brands are fantastic and offer such a beautiful range of finishes! haha so sweet you’re able to pass along some of your polishes though! it definitely is helpful to do that, i would try to pass some of mine to some family friends but they usually prefer cremes 🙈 and ahh honestly i don’t blame you for going back up 500+ polishes, they really are soooo pretty!!!
Amen on the Shleee! Every polish I’ve tried from them I’ve been disappointed with. They’re my sisters favorite brand and I just don’t get it. Also still laughing at Emily Demolly 😂
doesn’t it suck!! thankfully i did LOVE the other polish i got, Flurry which i shared in my fav periwinkles vid, but i don’t love that its a 50% chance i’ll enjoy her polish 😅 some of her polishes do look beautiful but ugh i don’t wanna take the chance lol and be disappointed 🙈
Ive regretted a few PPU polishes to the point where i may do a destash soon. Beaux Reves Blooming Azalea was so disappointing to me im honestly surprised theyre bringing it back for PPU rewind this year. But we live and learn i guess
destashed are lifesavers lol 🙈 and ahh that’s a shame, i remember hearing a lot of people being excited for that one! i wonder if you got a bad bottle or something? i can’t imagine why they would bring it back if it didn’t do well the first time!
Great video! I regret buying the holo taco chromes and electrostatic, ILNP abracadabra, mooncat Rue Morgue and polished for days painting my roses red unless I use holo taco black flake taco.
A window shopping or even a shopping my stash video would be fun imo! Personally, I have a few regrets as well. My first non-drugstore polishes were from Holo Taco, and I bought the Scattered Holo Taco which has nothing wrong with it, but I've used it literally twice. Plumb Luck from Holo Taco was nice, but I gave it to my sister because it didn't match my expectations of what I thought it would be. This lead to me buying ILNP's Black Orchid which was okay, but still wasn't the deep burgundyish color I was looking for. I ended up getting ILNP's Ava which is more purpley, but quickly became one of my favorite polishes. Controversially, I really disliked Mooncat's House of Hades. It took 4-5 coats for full opacity, very goopy, and was dull. Worth noting that their customer service was nice enough to offer a refund when I reached out to ask if that was normal for their polishes to take so many coats. Lastly, I Scream Nails' ME4U really disappointed me. It was very streaky and difficult to work with. I'm still sad about this polish because the preview pics for it are so cute lol. Also, you mentioned feeling a bit embarrassed by purchasing dupes. With a 1000+ polishes, even if you were to have a very meticulous organizing swatch system it's natural and expected to have a number of dupes imo.
omg i feel like you’re the first person who did like Plumb Luck! I love that one lol 🥹 i’m sorry it let you down but it was nice of you to gift it to your sister! and ohh i remember years ago people had those same complaints about Black Orchid!! where it didn’t quite live up to the swatch photos.. Ava is on my wishlist so i’m glad you ended up loving that one! but i do hope you’re able to find your perfect burgundy 🤞🏼 i’ve seen a few people (mainly on reddit) complain about HoH too, and I was shocked at some of the photos showing 4 coats but its STILL sheer!! i do hate that mooncat has such drastic inconsistencies in their batches, mine was a little thick but within expectation of a micro flakie bomb. but nowhere near as bad as other’s bottles 😭 but definitely great they refunded you! that’s a shame about the ISN, my first/only experience with them wasn’t great and I feel like I just can’t trust them/their swatch photos EVER lol. but that’s so truee! I guess since I started tracking my polish on a spreadsheet I was embarrassed I didn’t double check it before buying LOL but to be fair I don’t have photos of everything.. I guess I should! 🫠
I'm not gonna lie, I probably regret buying like a quarter of the polishes in my collection 😅 a lot were FOMO buys that I should have been able to convince myself not to get, but yeah it's always a struggle with limited edition style drops and major sales (like black friday and stuff)... I try to give myself a bit of grace since most of the indies are online only and you can only go off pics, but I really can't give myself excuses for ones I tried on and bought and instantly am like why tf did I buy that LOL 🤣 also buying polishes above retail from destashes that were on my wishlist and then getting it and being so disappointed cause it doesn't look good on me 💀 I definitely need to destash some polishes
Omg a quarter is crazy!! But it makes sense when it was driven by fomo 😭 and yes so true that some indies don’t always have the best pics, so it can really vary so much. And oof yeah buying marked up, second hand shades that end up being disappointing is another level of sting! But we can always destash too, I’ve definitely been meaning to do more of that 🙈
They all look gorgeous though. P. S. Ironically, I have a similar polish to Sassy's Cock-a-doodle Doom (it's not the one from Potion Polish, but it's very similar to it), so I was holding my fort and refused to buy it, but your comparison looks gorgeous and it blew the Potion Polish out of the water. Now I want the Sassy Sauce. P. P. S. It's worth it to revisit a shade you felt underwhelmed by initially. Sometimes you are just not in the mood for it.
i know! but apparently being gorgeous is not enough lol 😪 I’m glad you’ve convinced yourself to buy the Sassy Sauce! its a super beautiful shade. and that’s definitely true about giving polishes another try!! i’ve definitely put polishes in my destash pile only to frantically look for them a month later lol 😅
Ah your experience with blurring base coats is like exactly my worry when I think about buying them 😅…like too opaque, doesn’t match my shade, just not suited for my uses…..and that’s not something swatches can really help since everyone’s skin tone is different too. I think it’s nice to have videos like these just to remind us to be more mindful, because hitting that purchase button right away can be super tempting! + honestly, the thing w ppl talking about why they might not like this or that polish is that it might be exactly what someone else is looking for 😂 idk, fostering discussions are nice. A personal regret purchase of mine lately is Artemis death kiss from Mooncat. I don’t really have a lot of shimmers, and it’s like the main draw of the polish but in my daily life I’m like 95% always out of direct lighting! so the polish just looks like a light gray with just a hint of purple sooo much of the time to me and I didn’t realize that when I purchased it. Which is kinda lowkey my fault because that is how it shows on the Mooncat site actually? But you live and learn 😅
they’re so weird right lol! and yes exactly, its also one of those things you have to just try for yourself almost similar to base/top coats! that’s such a good point though about having these discussions, bc yeah maybe someone is looking for a dense micro flake formula and now they’ll know to keep an eye out for these brands or something ! and aw i’m sorry you weren’t impressed by Artemis’ Deathkiss, I haven’t worn that one in a whileee but can totally see why you’d be letdown. and yess I had that issue too where i’m like.. oh I guess it DOES look like this in the swatch photos lol 😅🙈 so i totally get it!
One way I found to use up my nail blurring base coats is with polishes I think will probably stain - in my mind, the pigment in the base might create a barrier to help catch any staining before it gets to the nail. Maybe it’s just a placebo and I could be totally wrong, but so far I haven’t had any staining with this method, even with polishes that have stained me before. Though I do still double up sometimes for extra insurance 🤷♀️ just thought I’d throw that out there!
i can definitely see that working! i’ve just used the trick of doing a layer of a sheer pink, but thats rather wasteful since i love sheer pinks for nail art 😅 appreciate the tip though!
I really like this video idea. I'd say please do more of these, but then that would mean more disappointing purchases for you, so nevermind 😆 I think buyer's remorse is very normal and it usually doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the polish. It's also understandable that you change your mind about the polishes you were excited about in previous videos. I think we all need to learn to take responsibility for our own purchases and not blame others for "influencing" us. In the long run, it's much better for us to learn how to spend our money wisely than to keep finding reasons why that purchase went wrong (maker's fault, swatcher's fault etc). FOMO marketing sucks, but it's not going anywhere, so we have to build an immunity towards it. Btw, the window shopping idea sounds great 👍
Thank you so much!! And hahah I know what you mean though 😅 but yes so well said! I think it’s interesting to see how our tastes can change over time too. I do think there’s a fine line though where the brand/swatcher May be at fault since we’ve seen many bring up over-editing photos, but I do generally agree with you about building immunity to FOMO marketing! 🙂↕️ I hope you’ll like my window shopping video 😁
@@PolishedYogi Oh yeah, brands are not faultless when it comes to misleading swatches and over-editing. But since swatching is not an exact science, I do think it's a slippery slope where people start throwing accusations when differences simply come from lighting, camera etc, rather than ill intent.
I've accidentally bought the same shade of a nail polish twice. So when an acquaintance commented she liked my nail polish I said great I have another and gifted it to her.
omg that’s kinda funny you bought the same one twice lol! so sweet you were able to gift it to your friend when she complimented your nails :) it worked out!
I understand that from monitor to monitor the color can look different, but some brands swatches feel like straight up false advertising 😬 i also wish brands would all put the number of coats for their swatches. your comparisons in your swatches video have been so helpful!
Yeah it’s definitely true that some brands just over edit some of their photos which is such a shame! And that would help so much too, to include number of coats. I would also love to see if the swatchers use a blurring base or not bc that makes a huge difference too! But I’m so glad you find my comparisons helpful, I try to be as thorough as possible 🥹
i feel sooooo guilty when i buy a polish that i don’t end up loving! i recently made a destash to try to reduce the guilt😭 like maybe i can find good homes for them and maaaaayne i can make a bit of the money back so it’s less of a total waste! …i just need to figure out how to send packages lol
i feel that 😪 destashing is definitely so helpful, I honestly keep a lot of the original packaging just to destash lol you could also buy bubble mailers/wrap from dollar tree! i’ve done that when i ran out.
One I regret from PPU was Sassy Sauce Glampire. It looked so good on so many people. But not on me. I swear I could not get it opaque enough. I ended up gifting it. And on my friend it looked stunning! 😆🤷🏼♀️
Imo, it looks like a lot of indie's are duping/semi-duping each other lately, esp this year. I've had a few I regretted b/c they ended up looking like foils instead of shimmers.
yeah its bound to happen when everyone is using similar ingredients! 😅 but ahh i totally get what you mean with those, hopefully you were able to pass some of them along!
I love that u share loved as well as disappointed polishes. I also regret the Goddess of Love polish. I don’t love it as a full mani, so I have to wear it as a combo or skittle. I loved SS glampire and got Cock a doodle doom because it was a cousin or sister. Looking back at my collection I have many regrets but glad I have aunts and cousins who I regift my polish to 🥰
so glad you enjoyed this video!! and ooo i can see Goddess of Love being beautiful in a skittle! i felt the same where i didn’t love it as a full mani 🙈 and yes totally understand loving those 2 shades hehe and aww how lucky of your aunts and cousins who sometimes get some beautiful nail polishes !! 🥰
You're not pushing me to buy things I don't need. Actually, it's the opposite! I've been eyeing Emily de Molly Silent Breath, so you're preventing me from duping PFD Blossom. So thank you! 😅
That schlee polish, speaking without any condemnation towards the brand owner, feels like a scam! 😂 like when I saw it in the bottle and that HUGE burst of fiery shimmer showed up I gasped and couldn’t wait to see the swatch, wondering what about it you possibly couldn’t have liked… and then I audibly went “oh” Perfect example of not trusting the bottle
lmao yeah its such a shame!! 😭😭 i did love the other one i tried called Flurry, which i shared in my fav periwinkles vid if you want to see. but yeah just soo much hesitation to ever purchase again 😪
There is a lot I regret buying. Either because I did it on a whim or I did want it but the color is completely different or I already have a color similar to it. I end up putting them in a box and destash them every few weeks. I really regret Holo Taco Solo Mission. It ended up being too brownish on me
yes destashing is such a life saver lol! and ahh yeah i was so confused why so many people thought Solo Mission was more pink?? it was like a rosy milk chocolate shade and i remember seeing sooo many people post on reddit that it’s too brown lol! maybe it was Cristine’s swatches/description ??
@@PolishedYogi on my screens it looked more pink then what it was. It's okay it was destashed and went to a home that someone loves it. I started my "Indie" journey when Holo Taco launched and I was a loyal customer and bought everything that was released even if I wasn't in love with it. I had everything that was released but going through all my swatches I decided to destash stuff. I had quite a few that I wasn't feeling. Fomo got me good but I've been letting things go now
I really regretted buying plum taupe also! I feel like the swatches didn’t look the way it did in person and I really hated how it looked under polishes. I no longer have it in my collection.
I loooove Cock-a-doodle-doom. I also have Midnight Oasis lol. Some people say Cock-a-doodle-doom is a dupe for Cirque's Coronation but while similar, definitely not dupes to me.
sadly i think most of my recommendations aren’t easily available 😅 but even Cirque has a few purples with blue shimmer that I like/wear more, like Ohana or Isle of Capri!
I've come to realize lots of times for PPU I'm looking to buy a nail polish just for the experience of owning an exclusive polish, rather than it being a nail polish I HAVE to have 😔 also wanted to say I really appreciate how you do the comparison swatches and let us know that if we have so and so shade then we should skip it, even trying to dupe it using other nail polishes on the off chance we have them lol thank you for your hard work and trying to save us some coin 🙏
i totally get that!! isn’t it such a silly reason to feel like you “need” to buy something lol 🙈 but aw of course!! i’m so glad everyone loves seeing comparisons and even recreations sometimes 🤗
This is a fantastic video idea! I’d love to see more people vocal about the polishes they regret buying either on youtube or instagram. I think it’s beneficial for us hobbyists to see other people talk about purchase regrets especially when it’s done in a respectful way like in this video.
A few of my polish regrets:
1. Cuticula Meowgical 2.0 from rewind last year - the maker changed the formula and it’s not as pretty as the original. I bought it bc I thought I would regret skipping it, but every time I see the bottle i just grumble grumble lol (and i found the original in a destash recently 😍)
2. DAM Dark Eyes Blossom - I have 28 polishes that look like this, probably
3. The entire 2024 Death Valley Nails Valentine’s Day collection - I should have purchased my top 4 favorites
4. Lumen Beetlejuice mysteries - I LOVED the 3 mystery collections that came out prior to this collection so I went all out and bought a ton of these and they ended up not being my vibe. Wish I would have purchased ALL of the Ethereal Spirited Away mysteries though. So you win some, you lose some lol
5. Glisten & Glow Vein Slayer - I hate red and white together because it reminds me of the Huskers (idc about football but I live in NE so red/white is synonymous with Huskers). I bought this hoping I would want to wear it during February, but it doesn’t scream Valentine’s Day to me at all! I had just discovered glitter crellies though in my defense.
I’m sure there are wayyyy more tbh.
thank you soo much!! yeah I’m sure theres others I could’ve included, but I had already destashed so many last year from the year before lol 🙈 thank you for sharing some of your regrets!! omg there’s nothing i hate more than when a brand is like “we brought this back but CHANGED it” like whyyyy lol i don’t blame you for grumbling over the Cuticula but YAYY for finding the original in a destash!!
and ahh yeah mysteries really can be so hit or miss, i never shopped directly from Lumen so idk if her swatchers would share sneak peeks at least, but for legit blind mysteries i stay away lol 🙈
but wait why do i love that G&G lolll it gives me total peppermint bark vibes!! i can def see it leaning more winter/holiday for me vs Valentine’s day, but yeah if you also realized you don’t like glitter crellies thats totally valid too! sometimes you just have to try some polishes to really figure out what you like.
LOLZ! I have 28 polishes like this. Nail polish deja vu is REAL!
OK, so let's start with your comparisons - they are invaluable, seriously. Because you get to see the brush, the coverage, application (oh I'm so far from being neat haha, and I am talking about myself here) and the actual shade. I personally greatly dislike all of the macro shots and all of the enhanced photos, kind of "blurring to the spot" because they distort the actual color we see most of the time after application, meaninig, not perfect light or even more of the shade, no shine... Also, small nails make a HUGE difference because one has a very tiny canvas to paint, so the polish ends up looking like a colorful blob...
I am perfectly aware of the differences in monitors but I also notice that that is being used as an excuse to cover up enhanced photos. As someone who worked in graphic design for over a decade, I know that if you're editing in RGB, there should not be a crazy difference to justify why lilac one orders looks actually grey upon arrival. That drastic change might occur if you're editing in web colors, CMYK or ha, even Pantone (as it's not meant for web). My main regrets were way off of the color and vibrancy pictured.
With that being said, majority of my regrets have taught me No.1 - think 10 times before clicking that button. Compare, search, watch, then wait overnight and in the morning, if you're still thinking of that polish, buy it.
Now, when it comes with the similar ones, I have a few regrets as well, but now I can tell WHY this happens. I have a picture of a "perfect red / pink / green / etc." in my mind, and when a new launch crosses my electronic path, I get infatuated. Because it looks THAT perfect that the previous buy didn't. Upon arrival, most of the time, sadly, all the color inaccuracies and other things start poking out, and hello disappointment... And I tell myself, "not anymore!", and yet it happens again :) BUT less often, because experience kicks in :)
As to FOMO, I personally am very immune to it, thanks to the graphic design, again. Very very similar items, or even dupes, will ALWAYS appear, because of the same ingredients used. I highly doubt if all makers track the work of others to avoid conflicts, this is very common in the whole field of anything creative. So January's miss will come back in, lets say, September, and in a much better form :)
I've noticed that quite a few swatchers are doing their de-stash sales and I totally justify that and think it is very wise and win-win.
i’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, but omg thank youuu for your kind words!! 🥹 I really do my best when it comes to describing the polishes since my camera quality only takes me so far lol and yes not to mention the whole difference in screens thing! I do agree with you where that does seem to be the default reason brands will give when customers share their concerns or disappointments and it can be so incredibly frustrating! especiallyyy for you having a decade of experience, like why are they lying 🙈
and yes i’m the same too where I NEED to look up some swatch videos before buying too! the application/formula/brush can really make or break a polish. but totally understand becoming infatuated with a new shade lol. but exactly like you said, we will more than likely see it again because brands are using the same ingredients!! it’s definitely helpful to remember that, but i know sometimes waiting for the comeback can be painful too lol i would loveee to see Danglefoot’s Iris-istible again for example 🤩
and yes ive been loving the destash series! i likely will have a few videos talking about shades i’ve been wanting to destash, its just such a process 😅
I really appreciate that Mooncat labels the lighting set up in the swatches on their site so that you know which photo shows the polish in direct / ideal lighting. I live in a country that's almost never sunny, so when i wear shimmer polishes, they rarely look how they do in photos taken in bright, direct light 🥲😂
That being said, I don't love how surprisingly sheer MC polishes can be. The Trouble With Immortality is beautiful but it took me 4 coats to reach opacity, which is crazy for how expensive their polishes are.
Shleee Polish does make my favourite glitter polishes (don't know if glitter is the right term - more like Cirque's shimmergraphic tbh). Would be curious to see what you think of those! Maybe an idea for a window shopping video 💕
I think Mooncat does that because they got called out for their photos not being accurate, particularly for Mercury's Tears.
oh yes definitely love when brands include swatches with different lighting AND when they label them lol! it really is so helpful when it comes to specialty finishes like you mentioned. and yeah I honestly don’t know how Michelle gets her swatches to look so opaque when she usually does 2 coats (at least based off her swatch vids) maybe she uses the pink base to blur VNL. but yeah in general Mooncat polishes aren’t meant to be fully opaque I think, usually specialty finishes are a bit more sheer to let the shimmers/holo etc shine through. i do remember Immortality being a bit sheer, but I only needed 3 coats for that one! i wonder if you happened to get a bad bottle/batch? maybe you can reach out to ask!
and ahh yess I’ve seen those polishes from Shleee!! they do look really sparkly and pretty, definitely would be fun to look at those 🤩
@@tatiana.mp3 Oh, I didn't know that! Glad they pivoted and decided to be transparent about their swatches instead of getting defensive.
@@PolishedYogi I think you're probably right that they don't formulate most(?) of their polishes to be fully opaque; I now try to keep that in mind when purchasing (so that I don't feel regret for basically playing myself 😅). Immortality was the only one lately that I've felt a little bit catfished by, but I'm happy enough to layer it over a base polish so that I don't burn through the bottle. I do wish it were industry standard for brands to state in polish descriptions whether or not a polish will reach full opacity. I don't mind VNL, but I prefer it with certain colours + finishes, so I wish I had a better sense before purchasing whether or not a polish is simply unlikely to ever reach opacity on its own. I don't love having to be a detective and obsessively studying different swatches to figure out what a polish will *really* look like.
My Regrets usually fall into 4 categories: :
1. Falling for FOMO. The Holo Taco Gala set. I bought the whole box and there's two polishes I dislike. Lesson learned: Don't buy entire collections out of FOMO. Just buy the singles I actually love.
Highest Bidder- looks like grey concrete. Blah color, very little holo.
Featured Guest- needs 4 coats for opacity, holo is weak, and it's grey, not white.
2. Regrets because they are dupes for things I already have:
Holo Taco Glamethyst. It's too similar to Glitterally Ourple. If I didn't already have Glitterally Purple, I wouldn't regret Glamethyst.
Holo Taco Royal Crush: It's too similar to ILNP XO. If I didn't already have ILNP XO, I would not regret Royal crush.
Holo Taco Double Dare. Too similar to ILNP Eclipse. Same as above.
3. Doesn't look like the photos. Lesson learned: look for multiple swatch photos.
Holo Taco Bat B*tch: the blue shimmer is barely visible on the nail. I liked the name, it was LE, there was some FOMO too, and it's a dud.
Zoya Midori: The shimmer is barely noticeable IRL. Zoya website photos are the worst. Puddle pics don't tell me anything.
Zoya Metora: Way darker on the nail. Almost black and I have a million 'almost blacks'.
4. Regret because the texture is a sensory nightmare.Usually applies to large novelty shaped of glitter that never lie flat on my nail. Pointy edges stick up and snag on things even with a glitter grabber top coat.
Orly Wing It (bat glitters)
Fright Night "Ghostess with the Mostess" (ghostie shaped glitters.) Lesson learned: novelty glitters look cute but I can't stand wearing them.
I appreciate that you’re one of the few swatchers I watch that admits some regretful purchases. That has certainly happened to me several times, like when the swatch pictures don’t accurately reflect what I end up seeing on my nails.
aw thank you! i feel like i don’t share many regrets o my channel since i’m already so picky with purchasing in the first place 🤣 but definitely worth talking about it esp once my mind changes! and yeah i sadly haven’t been tooo burned by inaccurate swatch photos, that really is soo frustrating though and it’s crazy how often it still happens! 😣
I find PPU and indie collections super overwhelming! With PPU, I never find anything I like based upon their swatches (long nails, different lighting, skintone) then after I find normal people's swatches with short nails and regret not buying. I hate LE!!! That's why I love ILNP
definitely!! the way indies casually release 15pc collections is craaazy lmao. and ugh yeah i feel that with PPU too, i often see swatchers later on reddit and they end up looking soo good!! i wish the swatchers were encouraged to take photos in natural light vs studio :/ and yesss ILNP is the best!! literally have a haul from them on the way lol 🤭
We are all adults here and we all make our own decisions and sometimes we regret them. Your videos always help me make informed choices. Sometimes I just wonder what I was thinking😂
lol very true! 🙈
Thank you for making this video. The worst case of regret for me was when I accidentally bought a dupe of an existing polish that I was already struggling to figure out how to wear 🤦♀️… it’s embarrassing enough to accidentally buy a dupe, but how could I buy a dupe of a polish I don’t even love?! Eventually, I did figure out a skittle that I love that uses the original polish (but I still regret the dupe).
I felt this pain lol 😅 I’ve absolutely been there too!
of course, so glad you enjoyed! and omgg no that’s kinda funny though 🤣 but i get it hahah i’m glad you were able to make them work though! hopefully you were able to destash or gift the dupe to a friend!
Would love window shopping polishes video ❤
yay glad to hear that! 😁
There’s no need to be embarrassed. We’re all human and with owning that many polishes how could you not make some mistakes. When I first restarted my nail polishing journey about two years ago I made some terrible choices but it was a good learning experience. I discovered indie polishes, specifically PPU, June ‘22. I only have one that I regret somewhat, but it was for BCAM so that makes it a little easier. I’ve slowly learned to always look at my polishes and compare before purchasing. It’s help me cut back on spending and FOMO.
I liked this video a lot! We have to stay strong for each other and help one another out. Right here is the perfect place to do that! Appreciate you so much!❤
i’m soo late to replying but what to say thank you for your reassurance!! its truly appreciated 🤗 & yes definitely a good reminder that we’re always learning no matter where we are on our nail journey 🩵 and ahh yes i’ve also “regretted” a few charity polishes too! I always want to support and sometimes the polishes are super pretty too, but then I remembered I can just donate directly to the organization lol.
so glad that you enjoyed this video, i likely will do a part 2 of either my regrets/letdowns or just talk about what i’m destashing and why!
I appreciate videos like this, it makes me feel like I’m not alone in my polish buying decisions 😅 My biggest regret purchases were when I first started buying from PPU, I would buy polishes that I was on the fence about and then later, I would find polishes that I liked even better. Now, I know to wait and a dupe will probably come along. I also regret buying any “mystery” polish or mystery bags. I would rather spend money on a polish I know I will love instead.
definitely not alone!! 😅 and ugh yes i feel like its so easy to end up regretting a PPU purchase just bc you’re on the fence 😵💫 it unfortunately takes some time to realize what we really like/is worth buying! i’m glad you’ve gotten to that point now 🙌🏼
I love this type of video!! It makes so much more real what the every day consumer experiences and love how you share your thoughts which help me a lot in my shopping too!!
thank you so much!! i’m so glad doing these videos can be helpful for others shop smart! 🙏🏼
I feel like regretting a PPU purchase is a right of passage lol
lmaoo so true 🙈
I really like this video idea. I also have a couple of regrets standing on my nail polish shelf 😅
thank you!! oh do share some of your regrets 🙈
love this video! honestly, i have definitely experienced buyer's remorse from shades i got from PPU. whether it's because it's similar to another shade i own or if it was just the hype that got me, i think it happens to everyone.
i always love the content nail polish folks put out that says "hey, you don't need to own everything. it's okay, calm down" so i always look for honest reviews, dupes, live swatches, swatches on all the skin tones. anyway, thanks for always putting out content like this!
thank you soo much, i’m so glad you enjoyed this video 🤗🤗 yeah buyers remorse just seems to happen at some point in our nail journeys lol. but yeah live swatches alone are so so helpful!! seeing how a polish applies can really make or break it for me lol and of course seeing comparisons too since its rare we see actual unique shades!
Since I'm a broke chick, a window shopping/shopping stash video would be appreciated! Also here for more polish lovers to be vocal about their regrets. We've all gotten burned by polishes and it can be frustrating b/c these indie polishes aren't cheap, esp. when you get more than one + shipping costs, so hearing someone state similar makes me feel better, we can heal together, lol. PPU can really induce the fomo for me b/c of how ~exclusive~ it all feels, but once I started seeing the repetition month by month, and eliminating polishes w/ features I'm not keen on (magnetic, reflective, etc.), the fomo lessened immensely for me. I started putting rules on PPU for myself after I did my 2nd one last year, b/c I didn't like all but one polish I got. So will say PPU taught me a lesson on what I like, don't like, and need to avoid in polishes, and how to dupe better, thus PPU weirdly made me a smarter, pickier nail polish shopper and brought out my creativity? lol
My recent regret is the bad times I've had w/ Sassy Sauce's Tropical Heatwave. I've given this polish so many chances. This polish curdled? at every top/base coat, and topping basic cream shades, and even my bare nail. Total dud. Doesn't look like the pics either. It's not smooth at all, too many flakies. So I feel ya on the flakies disappointments. Still, my big disappointment lies in misleading swatch photos and even live swatches too. I want Cock-a-Doodle-Doom w/ a badness, but that one polish experience makes me tread w/ a bit more caution w/ the brand and be on the lookout for a dupe of it.
As always I appreciate your honesty and ideas for videos 😊
Wow I have Tropical Heatwave. I just wore it with no issues at all. I wonder if something happened to your bottle? I don’t remember mine having lots of flakies? I think tiny ghost flakies maybe.
i’m so glad you like this video/concept of my window shopping series! I’m excited to do more of those along with a destash video (coming this weekend!) but yes love that we can heal together by talking about this stuff lol!
oh yeah i feel like it can take a little while to really understand our preferences and not be swayed by every pretty polish we see lol. the fomo can be real for sure, especially this past month with rewind and hearing soo many fan favorites coming back. but someone mentioned if they skipped it the first time, there was probably a good reason for it! im glad you were able to shop smarter thru PPU !
but oh wow, i haven't tried that polish but it curdling sounds like there’s definitely something wrong with it! i hope you were able to reach out to them and get refunded. to be fair cockadoodle doom is definitely a stunner and I didn’t have any issues with application! but i think that color combo is just one we’ve seen so often before so i’m sure you’d be able to find a dupe for it from a brand you’re familiar with or trust.
thank you for such a sweet comment!! 🙏🏼
Flakie balance seems to be an exact science and art that is a challenge to get right. I'm in a super flakie period in my polish life right now and have been let down by a bunch of them. I'm very curious for the new Mooncat flakies and won't consider buying until you swatch them. Happen to be wearing Polished for days Whole New World today LOL. I don't buy polishes as often these days due to things being dupes or close to dupes to ones I already have.
omg yes lol! it’s so funny seeing how picky i am with flakies 🙈 and i can’t wait to share the new mooncat flakies!! My video will be up Friday morning 😁 and yayyy for wearing PFD A Whole New World today !! its sooo magical. yeah we definitely do see a lot of repeat colors/finishes these days!
honestly love videos like this!! i enjoy the usual swatching or raving of fave polishes but sometimes it's good to also talk about purchase regrets! makes me feel better about any I may have wanted but missed out on, or if I did get it and also hate it I can commiserate with you lmao
aw thank you!! yeah i definitely lovee talking about my favorites already and the only “negative” / anti-fav video i’ve done was about my pruglies LOL but regrets are def worth talking about!! and so true that it might make you realize oh actually yeah i don’t NEED that lol
You are always up front about what could be a dupe! I appreciate that, you are so good at reminding us that we may already have something in our collection.
thank you!! i try my best 🥹
Thank you so much for this video! We all have purchased polishes we regret or no longer like. That is why destash videos are popular to watch.
My biggest regret was purchasing Dreamland Lacquer Shake Your Shamrock. I didn’t know it was a matte polish. It was a difficult polish to work with and didn’t level out on the nail.
I recently made my first Mooncat order and purchased the one polish I wanted since it came out…Flight of the Monarchs. Fingers crossed that I love the nail polish.
So glad you enjoyed! I definitely have been meaning to do a destash again, it’s just such a process 🙈 but I guess this is technically part one lol! And oh noo such a shame about Shake Your Shamrock, I don’t think I knew it was matte either ?? I can totally see that being off putting for the difficult/finicky formula :/ I actually had that one my wishlist for July rewind but now I’m second guessing 🙈
Omg first of all how exciting you made your first mooncat order 🥳 but I really hope you love Flight of the Monarchs!! It’s one of my favorites, but I’ve seen people say they don’t love it lol. Keep me updated!! 😝🤞🏼
yes to the window shopping video 🙂 sounds like a lot of fun 😊
so glad you’re excited for it! 😁
Loved this theme. Subscribed!
thank you!! 🤗
Thank you for this! It’s as important as your comparisons because it lets us know we are not alone when we feel let down after a bad purchase decision. I’d love to see and hear your thoughts on Ppu rewind: reflect on any polishes that are coming back that you already have (swatch and compare); and maybe show possible dupes of ones you don’t have. Save us all! You are so appreciated!
of course!! 🤗🤗 i’m definitely looking forward to doing my PPU Rewind video, there’s a couple polishes that I was sooo ready to add to my wishlist but I’ve been trying to talk myself out of them since i have similar shades 🙈 i’ll do my best to show as many comparisons & also not encourage too much fomo on any shades coming back that i’ve tried/loved !
💯 There will definitely be polishes that are a let down for whatever reason. Anytime I end up with lots of visible nail line, but that doesn't show in swatch photos is my biggest annoyance. Also hate when I dupe something in my collection. I also bought the EXACT SAME polish on two different occasions and was so embarrassed when I realized! 🙈🤣It was Emily de Molly's Half Orange. Lol
ahh yeah while i don’t mind VNL i can definitely understand the frustration with that! i wish brands would be more transparent or at least label what kind of base coats are used in swatch photos. and lmaoo i’m sorry to laugh but you buying the sameee polish twice is just so funny 😆 that EdM is a beauty though!! 🤩
@@PolishedYogi it's a beautiful shade and I totally laughed about it later 🤣 I also thought, "dammit, I could've had a different, lovely, new color, but no! I'm a dingbat who bought the same thing twice."
I had to stop shopping PPU. I regretted about half the shades I've bought. I realized the FOMO and need to decide now made me make choices that I shouldn't have. I understand the reason for the short buying window, but that just doesn't work for me.
yeah i totally get that! 😓
I love this video so much! I honestly don't even go to polish pickup because I don't want the fomo to push me into a purchase I won't truly love! And I love that all of the polishes you mentioned here are BEAUTIFUL and it's totally fine they weren't right for you for one reason or another. It's a great reminder for me!
Thank you so so much! 🫶🏼 and yeah I know plenty of people just steer all the way clear of PPU/HHC etc bc it really can be so easy to buy something you’d end up regretting 😅 and yes exactly! There’s nothing wrong with just admiring a polish without adding it to your collection!
I feel like I regret the majority of my ppu or hhc purchases 🥴
I started only buying them if they fall into the types of polishes I’m wearing constantly. And I just have to be cutthroat about what i kind of like and what i LOVE lol.
yeah i totally get that! 🙈 I feel like in the beginning you’re just more open to trying new brands/colors/finishes, but then its only after some time that you realize what you REALLY love wearing lol I would say its necessary to be cutthroat!! 🔪
Thank you for addressing FOMO, it is real! I am still fairly new to collecting so I am focusing on not buying similar polishes, and learning what I like (shimmers 👍🏻 glitters meh 🫤 metallics no thank you). Also trying to learn what blues look good on my skin tone which is no easy feat. I have made some mistakes (Blurple Jelly I’m looking at you 😒). Anyhoo, great video as always and looking forward to your next!
and here i was thinking I was stronger lol 🙈 it definitely makes sense to succumb to it when you’re newer to the indie scene, its quite the rabbit hole haha but I’m glad you have a good understanding of what you like & don’t like already esp as far as finishes go! the bad news is that shimmers are having a moment lol so i can see everything being tempting 🤣 but aw noo i’m sorry you didn’t like Blurple jelly!! ugh yeah finding out what shades are flattering vs clashing is also a struggle 😵💫
Thank you so much for this video Stefanie, I actually often wondered about other collectors regrets. With PPU I have wondered if occasionally the mixing of the ordered polishes is identical to the mixing many months earlier for the swatchers due to the different size of the badge or an ingredient that doesn’t come from the same badge 🤔. When WL for PPU, HHC, etc opens, I always compare my wishlist with my untrieds. Since I do this my regrets color or finish wise are close to 0. My regrets are buying full collections or from certain brands. Re Funny Tree: I got this when it was originally released for PPU December 2022 and I have to say it is my least favorite of this kind. These purple/blues are a fav of mine and I allow myself a small collection of them 😉
i’m so glad you enjoyed this one!! yeah it definitely would be fun & interesting to hear more people talk about their regrets. i thankfully feel like since i’m picky with buying to begin with, i don’t have TOO many lol 🙈 and yeah its weird to see some batch discrepancies in PPU, but not as weird as seeing an obvious difference but then the maker doesn’t 🫣 lol.. that’s incredibly smart to compare your wishlist to your untrieds!! i don’t even know how many untrieds i have 🙈 that makes sense your regrets were when you bought full collections! sometimes they can be soo tempting! and ooo interesting to hear Funny Tree is your least favorite out of your shimmery purples 👀i’m glad i’m not alone!
Unfortunately, this is one of those things that I miss about having the big polish sections in the stores, you could actually see what it would look like in person! Really helped cut down on buying stuff you may not actually want. I also really appreciate ILNP for not being part of the FOMO culture. I have found several things that have helped me with purchasing, granted this hasn't stopped me from ever regretting purchases lol:
1. Do I actually like this polish? Not just one picture, but all the different swatches in all the different lightings especially the ones that most closely resemble my skin tone and nail length.
2. Will I actually wear this polish? So many times I see a beautiful nail polish but I know, realistically, that I will never wear it.
3. Do I have a similar polish or can I dupe this polish? If I can easily dupe it then there's no need to buy this new one, unless duping it requires too much effort. Also, if I have one that's similar, am I willing to get rid of the similar one?
4. Am I going to want to wear this polish more than other polishes I already own? Just because it's a polish I will wear does not mean I will pick it over stuff I already have.
omg if onlyyy we could see all of these polishes IRL before buying!! that would be a dream lol. and yeah ILNP is so awesome for that, I also will always appreciate how they haven’t raised their prices when every other brand did over the last few years! it makes them the default for me lol. omg i love thse questions you ask yourself before buying!! it’s so so helpful, especially as our collections grow!
Nice video! I love the balance on your channel that things don't always work out, and there are occasions where we do have regret/s about purchases. I'm quite reliant on swatchers showing polishes in different lighting conditions, because rarely can we trust edited studio photography.
thank you so much!! i know the majority of my videos tend to be more positive, focusing on my favorite blank lol, and i think i don’t share regrets often since i’m picky with buying in the first place 😝 but it definitely is helpful to still talk about it since we all go through it at some point! and ugh yes totally understand what you mean about swatch photos sometimes 😵💫
Try Just Roll with it as a one coat topper it's great that way. I think it's good for polish videos that don't promote fomo so I think window shopping would be good. The only thing I folded on lately was the Polished for Days Day and Night Glo collections but I don't think I will regret those. I am done buying neons though so now I will need to live vicariously LOL. My regrets have come from trying to buy a green leaning turquoise they are all way more blue when I get them.
oh i can see that working as a topper! and omg thOse PFD collections are gonna be the first i talk about in my Window Shopping video lol 🤣 you’re going to love them!! but i’m with you where once you have your quota if neons or whatever finish/color, you just know you don’t need anymore lol. but ahh i’m sorry about the green leaning turquoise shades! those are so tricky since they’re hard to capture on camera 🫤
GG “Goddess of Love” is so pretty!
Nailed it “Maya the Bee” is gorgeous as is the Polished for Days one. I would be happy having both because as you said the Nailed It flakies are larger- that’s enough of a difference for me lol😗
I bought the Polish for Days blurring base in the grey shade and yep-it is legit a cream polish. I wear it that way.
so glad you loved that one! i feel like it looks prettier on the swatch stick than it did on me 🤣 and haha yes i can totally understand justifying keeping both! and ooh i forgot they had a grey base!! that definitely works as a very last minute mani honestly lol
Be not ashamed, forgetful regrets happen to all of us 😊
I have a 'serious problem' resisting
Purply jellies with red or blue shimmers, too!
I have talked myself into some silly duppage.
thank you for the reassurance hehe 🥹 gosh its always the purples!! 😝
I've watched a few of your videos, and now I'm a subscriber. Great video!
aw thank you so much for joining! 🤗
Love this video! It's nice to hear about Regret Polishes, it helps me recognise that I'm not alone in making less-than-ideal purchases, and that it's normal! In many cases, you can't predict that you'll regret one until you actually wear the shade...other times it's definitely the FOMO, but also buying more than you really want to make shipping "worth it" is another big one 🙈
Some shades I regret are:
1) Mooncat Curiosity's Prey: I was looking forward to it, but it was too chunky for me to apply evenly and it drove me INSANE (might have been a bad batch)
2) ILNP Sugar High/Mint Chip: I shouldn't have bought two speckled finishes in one go without testing to see if I actually like the finish! I was excited but the speckles are a liiiittle underwhelming to me
3) OPI Check Out The Old Geysirs: The grey blue base is a little boring to me, sadly the blue shimmer in the bottle just doesn't translate onto the nails either. I wanted something to dupe Mooncat's Sabertooth (something light bluey) and this was so far off the mark and I should have done more research 😂 It was one of the first polishes I got when getting back into nail polish this year, so I'll learn from that lesson!
I have never bought from PPU. I tend to look at it as a trend board. I love watching other people shop though! Your videos are really fun. If it’s wonderful, something similar will come along or something similar already exists. Thank you ❤
power to you!! i know we tend to see polishes/finishes come around again and its ultimately like a waiting game lol. i’m so glad you enjoy watching me & others shop though! 🤗
@@PolishedYogi I find your comparisons so valuable. In all honesty, I live in Canada so shipping, duty and taxes are a big deterrent to smaller purchases. I don’t have extraordinary willpower or patience 😂
I have a handful of polishes I regret buying. When I first started getting into indie polishes a few years ago I picked up a bunch of I Scream Nails multichromes and they're not terrible by any means, but I bought some very similar ILNP multichromes later and the ILNP formula just better in my opinion (and they're cheaper and the ILNP bottles are bigger!!!). I also picked up two Holo Taco holographic toppers during a Black Friday sale in 2022. I got Flakie Taco and I think I've used it like twice lol. It's just overwhelming for me, BUT I got their Scattered Holo Topper and I love that one. Lastly, I went to Taiwan in 2022 and bought two polishes from the brand Hue Girls (which I don't think are available in any stores) from a little street vendor and they're pretty but they take like four coats to reach good opacity. I don't wear them but at least I have them as a souvenir from the trip.
I love the idea of this video because I have been in this place several times… I started swatching sticks of all my polishes to avoid buying dupes and the first color I have banned from buying again is the purple base/green or blue shimmer because I have too many of that exact same combination (I have funny tree btw 😅)
that’s definitely super helpful to have swatch sticks!! i honestly don’t love the look of them and think they can still look so different vs on the nail (like Maya the Bee had me second guessing myself if its worth keeping lmao) but they really are the best way to quickly compare shades! and omg yess i’m also guilty of purples with blue/green or gold shimmers too 🙈
No need to feel ashamed! If anything, you have an extensive collection, so it’d be harder to really think what is similar to a recent one you’d want.
Also, I cave in to exclusivity, but I did have some shades from PPU that were either a letdown or auctions that after spending that much and getting it only to not like it as much… yeah, that speaks a lot to me . 😅
As always, thank you for being as transparent as you’re comfortable with putting out here on the internet. 🥺
Also, with the shame you said about dupes, at least you got that feeling out of the way of missing out… cus you had it at one point now. 😅
appreciate the reassurance!! 🥹🫶🏼 yeah i can def see how PPU alone is dangerous bc the exclusivity and fomo can easily lead to buyers remorse 😵💫 thankfully i feel like i’m already picky with what i buy so my hauls are usually on the smaller side and its easy to justify bc you can always destash lol. and so true! sometimes you just dont knowww until you try it yourself 🤣😅
Ha! What a great video idea! Just got the notification that you just posted this. Getting in super early on this one 🥳
Yeah, I got Hummingbird by Penelope Luz for the Wild Animals PPU. It appeared more turquoise or teal in pics and videos, but when I wore it, it looked more like a medium blue, and ended up being a dupe for a classic ILNP multi chrome I have that shifts blue, green, and purple. Nothing special or unique, and it changed color when dry. Wet, it appeared turquoise teal, and I had hoped it would be a dupe for a long discontinued polish from Revlon called Tidal Wave. But when it dried, it was just a boring mid blue metallic shade.
so glad you enjoyed!! and righttt i do remember hearing about Hummingbird and how it didn’t live up to swatch pics! that really is a shame bc the turquoise color would be sooo stunning! and especially considering you were trying to dupe a discontinued polish 😩
@@PolishedYogi The happy ending to this story is, I got Guided by the Light by Vanessa Molina for Video Games (I think), sight unseen (no swatch videos for it, nor for her offering for Cartoons, I Will Protect You, which I also got 🥳). It’s a totally different type of polish than Tidal Wave, but it’s the same color and gives off the same turquoise, Caribbean waters shimmer I was expecting Hummingbird to have. So I’m thrilled with that!!
@@PolishedYogi Since I have you here at the moment, I wanted to ask about High Society, from your fave summer polishes video for 2024 you just posted a few days ago. To me, it looks like it could be very close to All In, from Kelli Marissa’s Vegas collab with Cirque. I already have All In, and I expected it to be brighter than it is, more neon leaning. Do you think High Society is a lot brighter and definitely neon compared to All In? I though you’d compare them yourself, but you didn’t. I have Kushy, and I’m wearing it right now, with Blaze Glaze on top. It is darker than High Society, but it was great to see you compare those, because my Kushy is old and although still neon green in the bottle, it darkens rather quickly once on, that’s why I top it with Blaze Glaze. I want a good neon green like Kushy to replace it. I’m halfway through my bottle 😅
Stef, I love the premise of this video! What a refreshing and honest look at the real world of nailpolish addicts! Occasional regret! Dupes! Disappointments! Thank you for representing us and unmasking the truth behind the smile!! ❤🤑😂
thank you so much!! I know I can get very caught up in the excitement of new releases and pretty colors/finishes lol 🙈
LynB’s Bittersweet Chocolate is so beautiful, but not on me! Swatching it made me realize that I have an oddly muted purple undertone. The base is an exact undertone match for my skin tone, although it is a few shades deeper than my skin. It makes me feel like I have corpse fingers and that I am wearing a shimmery nail polish, which is so disconcerting. It’s totally my fault, but it is teaching me about my undertone and what I consider “flattering” for myself.
ahh yeah sometimes there is a silver lining with regrets lol! i’m glad that LynB at least taught you about your undertone and what shades to avoid in the future. i feel like even with finishes sometimes you just don’t know if you’ll like it unless you try it 😅
loved this video! more videos like this! i get serious FOMO sometimes so i know the struggle lol
thank you! yeah it can be super hard sometimes 🙈
I have all of my polishes on swatch sticks. Now that I have a fair number of polishes (over 400), I compare what I want with what I have. As far as PPU, I definitely have to look at the swatch videos. Seeing how the polish goes on the nail is important.
that’s so smart! i’ve been cataloguing my polish in a spreadsheet so i can filter by colors and finishes lol 🙈 and yes totally agree with you on watching swatch vids too! application/formula can really make or break a polish
My biggest PPU regret was Zombieclaw’s don’t save it for a rainy day. It did not glow orange in the dark as advertised. I have to hold the flash on a nail for ages to get a barely visible glow that lasts 2 seconds, nothing like the swatches. I don’t trust swatch photos for GITD polishes anymore because of that.
Oh I’ve been considering purchasing some gitd from them, so I’m glad I saw this comment
😢 that’s such a shame!! I almost purchased that one too but stopped myself because I was worried about that exact issue 😅 I’d seen on some glow in the dark polishes “works best if a UV light is shown on it directly for 30+ seconds” or something like that. So it kinda scared me away from that type of formula even tho it’d be really cool to glow in the dark! 😂
aw that’s such a bummer!! i would’ve reach out to them honestly 😣 yeah GITD swatch photos are cool but usually edited. it also depends on the type of gitd pigment though, i found the smoother one like in mooncat’s NBC collex or Holo Taco’s GITD taco were actually really strong! but the more speckled/grainy pigment is usually weaker :/
I appreciate that I’m not alone in polish regret! I’m such a creature of habit that I have so many colors (no matter the finish) that are so close to dupes to one I already have I wish I hadn’t bought them! I’ve even bought the same exact ones twice not realizing I have it already! 🤦🏼♀️ Fortunately I have a granddaughter who loves polish too, so I share with her and share with a friend. 😊
ahh yess this can be so hard to get out of!! but i’m glad you can share some of those “regrets” with your granddaughter, she’s so lucky!! 😆
Love this video idea! My most recent regret was Cracked Rocky Mtn Iris. It’s beautiful but it’s SO similar to OPI You’re Such a BudaPest that no one would be able to tell them apart on the nail. My biggest PPU regret was Penelope Luz Blue Field. It’s so glowy that I can’t wear it. I’ve swatched it twice but never even worn it on a nail. It’s been sitting in a drawer for over a year 😢
When a polish is too glowy for me, I put on a thin layer of a matching jelly polish to mute the extreme “glowiness” but you still get some of the glow. (I hope this makes sense 😊)
oh noo! ah I don’t have that OPI (even though it’s a classic) but can totally see those being dupes 😣 and wow that Penelope Luz is so stunning! I haven’t heard of “too glowy” being a problem before, but I do like what Kathleen recommended^ with using a thin layer of a matching jelly! Cirque’s Aqua or Lagoon Jelly could work if you have either of those. or maybe even a white/milky jelly!
There aren't too many I actually, legitimately, regret...but I do have this problem where I go through moods of what I gravitate towards. Sometimes I joke that I was a different person when I bought (insert polish) because I am not really digging it now. But I often circle back a year or two later and actually get great enjoyment out of that color. So I don't destash, just put them in holding.
I absolutely go through my entire stash first during wishlisting or when seized by a powerful need for something. Or I can tell myself that thats not exactly the thing I am wanting to fill a niche that I have not yet covered. Most times that's enough.
Sometimes I get tricked by swatches not quite living up to expectations though. For that, I shrug, and either find some way to still appreciate it, resolve to use it up while intersted in it, or find a good person to gift it to.
i totally get that! i’ve def done something similar where i’m like why did i buy this, but then later on i’m frantically looking for it lmao. that really is so helpful too, to go through your stash first before buying! i need to finish/catch up on my tracking spreadsheet to be able to do the same!
and ugh yeah the inaccurate swatch photos really do suck, but right we can either use it, destash or gift it so its not the end of the world
Thanks for talking sense. I have stupidly bought entire collections before watching reviews. Looking at that horrible Zoya neon collection:(
its hard sometimes!! especially when something is new and naturally everyone is excited over it lol i’m sorry you regretted those Zoya neons!! i actually liked that lineup but didn’t grab them myself lol
Thank you so much for making this video! I was just feeling some regret. I got into indie nail polish end of last year and have collected about 80 to date. Im doing my best to be thoughtful in my purchases and not overbuy or fall for FOMO. I've got about 10 regrets and I dont know what to do with them. I doubt they'd entice someone to buy them on these destash pages and my friends aren't into nail polish enough to want them 😢
I’m so glad you liked this! And aw I’m sorry you were feeling som regret recently too. Yeah I feel like when people first discover the indie world it’s almost dangerous with how deep the rabbit hole goes lol 😣 not to mention all the fomo around the LE releases! But you never know about the polishes, I would say to try listing them on Mercari just in case someone is actually interested! 🤞🏼
I love this video, its a good perspective to help kind of "deinfluence" from the fomo buying where I end up spending more then i need to on polishes. I almost got Funny Tree even though i have other similar polishes and am glad i didn't now.
I’m so glad you liked it!! And yeah we’ve all been there 🙈 I’m glad you ended up skipping Funny Tree, I was surprised to see a few other commenters also say they regretted getting it! 😅
Great video! Love hearing your thoughts. I just started collecting indies at the beginning of this year and it’s definitely a learning process.
thank you so much!! and ahh yeah I can’t imagine getting into indies nowadays, when the market is sooo saturated with brands and LE releases 🥵 i feel like it can be overwhelming sometimes!!
I would love to see a window shopping video 😂 i do that all tbe time online
yesss maybe this will be a new little series lol! 😝
Your videos were recommended by the algorithm and I'm so glad. I love your comparisons and I LOVE this video. It's useful to hear from a polish collector shades they thought they'd love that they were disappointed in. No shame in that! Too bad we can't do a swap meet somewhere where we all exchange polishes we thought we'd adore but don't. Someone else will love them, I bet!
aw thank you so much!! that really means so much 🥰 and omg yes a local swap meet would be amazinggg! so much easier than shipping polishes out lol
OMG I HATED PFD Plum Taupe! No hate to the brand because I love PFD. But the color was so ugly! It didn't go well with my skintone and, like you said, it changed the color of the polish on top. With that experience, I decided not to buy blurring basecoats. One coat is a patchy base for your polish, and if you build it up, it messes with the color of the top polish. I prefer to either build up a jelly on its own or wear an actual colored polish as an undie.
I also agree about Shleeeeeee. (idk how many Es 🙄) I bought 4 of them a few years ago, and was kind of disappointed. They defo were not as intense as they were in the pics. Plus, at the time, she did a release EVERY Friday and you had to be quick to grab what you wanted. I decided that it wasn't worth it.
I hard relate to talking yourself into buying a dupe of something you already have. There are 2 basic problems. 1) With buying online, there's no foolproof way to know how a polish will look in person. You could look at 100 swatches and still have a voice in your head telling you..."well maybe this polish is different in person!' when you have that feeling it's a dupe of something else. 2) No matter how similar 2 polishes are, there will always be people in the nail community who will say they are "completely different" and that you "need them both".
Try not to be too ashamed about buying dupes. It happens to all of us.
Great video! I have a couple of the same polishes. I reorganized my polishes by color so hoping to lessen the fomo but checking what I already have easier. It’s a process 😂
thank you!! and ahh yeah thats so smart to organize by color, it makes finding comparisons/potential dupes so much easier!
I totally agree about shelee. I wasn’t impressed with any of her polishes. Her swatches are not accurate.
I really appreciate you sharing this!! Over 1000 polishes is so many! 😮 there’s no way I could keep all of that straight either!! 😂
I think my collection is around 200 different polishes and I’m already finding myself NEVER reaching for a decent amount of shades or formulas I own… and just keep going “ooo pretty!” And buying more before I can try out the last ones I bought more than once! 😅😂😅
Too be completely honest, my first 150-ish polishes were all from Holotaco, and after finding creators here like you and Kelli Marissa I was like “woah wait holotaco isn’t really that special??” 😅 and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying other brands you and Kelli and introduced me to! Which has made me slightly regret more of my holotaco purchases than I’d like to admit 😂
But thank you for being open and honest about your opinions on individual polishes vs brands , and for all the comparison swatches!!! Your a wonderful creator 🙏 😊 ❤
Omg your HT experience is my Sally Hansen experience 😂. I thought I was buying top notch bcs goddamn some of those bottles cost $13. And then I discovered indies for the same price and much prettier!
@@pamelabeth The struggle is real!! At least we know better now, right? Lol 😅
Yes 😅
Aw thank you so much !! 🥰🫶🏼 hahah yeah it can be a lot to keep track of right? 😅 that’s too relatable, going “ooo pretty!!” And adding it to cart LOL I’ve definitely been there too! Do you have a little system like rubber bands on caps for your untrieds? I’ve seen people do that and think it’s so smart!
But aw I’m sorry you ended up regretting some of your Holo Tacos 🙈 I can understand the appeal to them if you haven’t experienced other indies before lol they’re like entry level “indie” polishes, which still serve as a great stepping stone for understanding what finishes or colors you like! I do think Holo Taco has put out some really pretty shades, I think the problem is when you compare them to others lol 🙈 but thank you again for such a sweet comment, I really appreciate you being here and hope you continue enjoying my videos 🤗
@@PolishedYogi that’s a smart idea indeed! A Little band on new stuff to remind you to try it! lol.
I actually have zero system atm, but I have swatched all of my collection on plastic sticks at least! 😅😅
But you absolutely have a point there. Holotaco is pretty incredible until you see just how many other options there are 😅 🤷♀️ live and learn! 😅
your awesome btw. I can’t believe you take the time to respond to people so thoroughly. It’s so sweet! ☺️ wishing you all the success here and general happiness as well 💝
Omg Funny Tree is also on my regrets list 😅
no way!! is it for the same reason lol or did you have a bad experience with yours?
@@PolishedYogi same exact reason. I kinda think the pics made it look different.
Buying two pairs of dupes in two different orders and getting them together in a combined shipping package was a point that convinced me to finally catalog my polishes and check there when I see a favourite finish or colour, just in case😅Love this video idea, it's great to hear what people regret buying and why. It's not embarrassing at all imo, even getting dupes, it's just how life is and it's good to know that we are not alone in this
omg nooo thats too funny 😭😭 ugh yeah i need to keep tracking my polishes! i have them in a spreadsheet but I think I might reorganize my other drawers in rainbow order to help find similar shades faster 🙈 greatly appreciate the reassurance though!! 🥹🤗
I only allow myself the number of polishes that fit in my polish case. I regret probably 40% of the polishes I buy….so I either sell them on Reddit or give them away. That way I can buy new ones, lol.
definitely a smart way to go about it! and yess that’s usually why i’m not too hard on myself lol i know someone will buy if i destash.. which makes room to buy more! its a vicious cycle 🤣
Oh I think your regrets are what I categorise as “too busy” polish. The first few at least. Some base colours can take a tonne of flakies but others get overwhelmed by them. It’s also a lighting thing. Summer sun can brighten deep shades and wash out mid tones but in winter they give a different look. Holly Jolly by Rogue Lacquer is like that for me. A winter polish since the green jelly base looks deeper
yes i can totally see that! i think i also realized those first few crellies also had more of a milky kind of base vs a translucent jelly one, which i think better suits being packedd with flakies/glitters etc. that’s true about lighting too! totally makes a huge difference in how the color is perceived
@@PolishedYogi ooh I didn't pick up on the milkiness of the base. I'll add that to the list of criteria for flakie polishes in future!
Love the super honest video! And I have similar ebbs and flows in excitement and regret for something I bought.
I kinda regret buying ILNP fairy dust and blossom - I should've probably jumped on the EdM shade that you regretted, they seem more opaque and stronger shimmer.
so glad you enjoyed!! wow I think you’re the first person to say they regret Fairy Dust lol 🙈 but yes ILNP tends to be more on the sheer side compared to other brands!
I love this video style!
I definitely have had some whoops moments as well. I love collecting and categorizing polish as much as wearing it, so the magpie urges are strong. I’m in the process of swatching my collection on swatch sticks, and I’m scared to see how many dupes I have. 😅 I’m working on being a bit more conscientious of my purchases, so I need to continue that trend.
thank you!! honestly yeah collecting & organizing is its own hobby and i’m really only interested in the latter lol! 🙈 but ahhh yeah the swatch sticks will reveal the truth 😝 well kind of, i feel like even on swatch sticks the polishes can look different lol and you might have two of the same color but just slightly different formula 😅 but its always good to narrow down if you can!
Emoly Demoly makes me smile every time you say it. 😅
lmao so glad you enjoy that 😝
Love ur videos, they are so calming❤ which reddits were you talking about?
aw thank you! i mainly follow the subreddit r/RedditLaqueristas, i think i can link it here: www.reddit.com/r/RedditLaqueristas/
I have to say i have oretty much stopped buying KB Shimmer. The swatches always look so gorgeous, and when I get them... not so much. Plus, their polishes are so thick because of the all the glitters. I have a whole KB Shimmer that I want to love. And the wearablity just isn't there for meon their polishes when I pay that much for polish I want more than a 2 day manicure. I use a good base and top coat so it has to be the polish. I haven't bought that brand since. I love ILNP and Cirque and Holo Taco and Mooncat and several others. I tend to go for indie brands because of the finishes. I've regreted a few purchases. Not many. If it's not my favorite, I'll work it into stamping or nail art in some way. My big one is black. I just don't use a black polish, and every fall, every brand has black in some form or fashion. So I try to pass on those. But I can see why you regretted each polish. This is when I tell my best friend and god daughter... "I'm doing a polish purge on ___. Time for a visit." They come running with smiles.
I have a slight nail polish addiction. I had reduced it to 167 bottles. Not counting top and base coats. I had to buy more polish storage. I'm back up to 678 bottles. Not counting base and top coats. I need them all!!!!😅😅
Hello. My name is S. I have a nail polish addiction.
oh wow really! i don’t think i’ve been letdown by a kbshimmer before, i’m sorry to hear that you have 😣 i guess the wearability thing is unfortunately a body chemistry issue :/ but yes those boutique brands are fantastic and offer such a beautiful range of finishes! haha so sweet you’re able to pass along some of your polishes though! it definitely is helpful to do that, i would try to pass some of mine to some family friends but they usually prefer cremes 🙈 and ahh honestly i don’t blame you for going back up 500+ polishes, they really are soooo pretty!!!
I love these chatty videos ❤
i’m so glad you do!! i want to do more so hopefully the window shopping one will be fun lol
Amen on the Shleee! Every polish I’ve tried from them I’ve been disappointed with. They’re my sisters favorite brand and I just don’t get it. Also still laughing at Emily Demolly 😂
doesn’t it suck!! thankfully i did LOVE the other polish i got, Flurry which i shared in my fav periwinkles vid, but i don’t love that its a 50% chance i’ll enjoy her polish 😅 some of her polishes do look beautiful but ugh i don’t wanna take the chance lol and be disappointed 🙈
Ive regretted a few PPU polishes to the point where i may do a destash soon. Beaux Reves Blooming Azalea was so disappointing to me im honestly surprised theyre bringing it back for PPU rewind this year. But we live and learn i guess
destashed are lifesavers lol 🙈 and ahh that’s a shame, i remember hearing a lot of people being excited for that one! i wonder if you got a bad bottle or something? i can’t imagine why they would bring it back if it didn’t do well the first time!
Great video! I regret buying the holo taco chromes and electrostatic, ILNP abracadabra, mooncat Rue Morgue and polished for days painting my roses red unless I use holo taco black flake taco.
thank you so much! and omg some of those are soo good, did you dupe yourself with them or just have bad experiences with formula?
@PolishedYogi all but the chromes just weren't what I expected. The chromes are kinda frustrating to work with.
A window shopping or even a shopping my stash video would be fun imo!
Personally, I have a few regrets as well. My first non-drugstore polishes were from Holo Taco, and I bought the Scattered Holo Taco which has nothing wrong with it, but I've used it literally twice.
Plumb Luck from Holo Taco was nice, but I gave it to my sister because it didn't match my expectations of what I thought it would be. This lead to me buying ILNP's Black Orchid which was okay, but still wasn't the deep burgundyish color I was looking for. I ended up getting ILNP's Ava which is more purpley, but quickly became one of my favorite polishes.
Controversially, I really disliked Mooncat's House of Hades. It took 4-5 coats for full opacity, very goopy, and was dull. Worth noting that their customer service was nice enough to offer a refund when I reached out to ask if that was normal for their polishes to take so many coats.
Lastly, I Scream Nails' ME4U really disappointed me. It was very streaky and difficult to work with. I'm still sad about this polish because the preview pics for it are so cute lol.
Also, you mentioned feeling a bit embarrassed by purchasing dupes. With a 1000+ polishes, even if you were to have a very meticulous organizing swatch system it's natural and expected to have a number of dupes imo.
omg i feel like you’re the first person who did like Plumb Luck! I love that one lol 🥹 i’m sorry it let you down but it was nice of you to gift it to your sister! and ohh i remember years ago people had those same complaints about Black Orchid!! where it didn’t quite live up to the swatch photos.. Ava is on my wishlist so i’m glad you ended up loving that one! but i do hope you’re able to find your perfect burgundy 🤞🏼
i’ve seen a few people (mainly on reddit) complain about HoH too, and I was shocked at some of the photos showing 4 coats but its STILL sheer!! i do hate that mooncat has such drastic inconsistencies in their batches, mine was a little thick but within expectation of a micro flakie bomb. but nowhere near as bad as other’s bottles 😭 but definitely great they refunded you! that’s a shame about the ISN, my first/only experience with them wasn’t great and I feel like I just can’t trust them/their swatch photos EVER lol.
but that’s so truee! I guess since I started tracking my polish on a spreadsheet I was embarrassed I didn’t double check it before buying LOL but to be fair I don’t have photos of everything.. I guess I should! 🫠
I'm not gonna lie, I probably regret buying like a quarter of the polishes in my collection 😅 a lot were FOMO buys that I should have been able to convince myself not to get, but yeah it's always a struggle with limited edition style drops and major sales (like black friday and stuff)... I try to give myself a bit of grace since most of the indies are online only and you can only go off pics, but I really can't give myself excuses for ones I tried on and bought and instantly am like why tf did I buy that LOL 🤣 also buying polishes above retail from destashes that were on my wishlist and then getting it and being so disappointed cause it doesn't look good on me 💀 I definitely need to destash some polishes
Omg a quarter is crazy!! But it makes sense when it was driven by fomo 😭 and yes so true that some indies don’t always have the best pics, so it can really vary so much. And oof yeah buying marked up, second hand shades that end up being disappointing is another level of sting! But we can always destash too, I’ve definitely been meaning to do more of that 🙈
They all look gorgeous though.
P. S. Ironically, I have a similar polish to Sassy's Cock-a-doodle Doom (it's not the one from Potion Polish, but it's very similar to it), so I was holding my fort and refused to buy it, but your comparison looks gorgeous and it blew the Potion Polish out of the water. Now I want the Sassy Sauce.
P. P. S. It's worth it to revisit a shade you felt underwhelmed by initially. Sometimes you are just not in the mood for it.
i know! but apparently being gorgeous is not enough lol 😪 I’m glad you’ve convinced yourself to buy the Sassy Sauce! its a super beautiful shade. and that’s definitely true about giving polishes another try!! i’ve definitely put polishes in my destash pile only to frantically look for them a month later lol 😅
I want Still Alive from Shleee even when I know their polishes are not that glowy IRL 😂 I just love the base color
i totally get that!! sometimes a polish can still look pretty even if it’s different than what you expected 😝
I feel like if I ever get anything from PPU, it would be nail care stuff like kbshimmer scrubs lol
yess those are my fav lol!!
Wow, it’s really nice to hear that other people duped themselves too 😉
haha its bound to happen at some point! 🙈
Ah your experience with blurring base coats is like exactly my worry when I think about buying them 😅…like too opaque, doesn’t match my shade, just not suited for my uses…..and that’s not something swatches can really help since everyone’s skin tone is different too.
I think it’s nice to have videos like these just to remind us to be more mindful, because hitting that purchase button right away can be super tempting! + honestly, the thing w ppl talking about why they might not like this or that polish is that it might be exactly what someone else is looking for 😂 idk, fostering discussions are nice.
A personal regret purchase of mine lately is Artemis death kiss from Mooncat. I don’t really have a lot of shimmers, and it’s like the main draw of the polish but in my daily life I’m like 95% always out of direct lighting! so the polish just looks like a light gray with just a hint of purple sooo much of the time to me and I didn’t realize that when I purchased it. Which is kinda lowkey my fault because that is how it shows on the Mooncat site actually? But you live and learn 😅
they’re so weird right lol! and yes exactly, its also one of those things you have to just try for yourself almost similar to base/top coats!
that’s such a good point though about having these discussions, bc yeah maybe someone is looking for a dense micro flake formula and now they’ll know to keep an eye out for these brands or something !
and aw i’m sorry you weren’t impressed by Artemis’ Deathkiss, I haven’t worn that one in a whileee but can totally see why you’d be letdown. and yess I had that issue too where i’m like.. oh I guess it DOES look like this in the swatch photos lol 😅🙈 so i totally get it!
One way I found to use up my nail blurring base coats is with polishes I think will probably stain - in my mind, the pigment in the base might create a barrier to help catch any staining before it gets to the nail.
Maybe it’s just a placebo and I could be totally wrong, but so far I haven’t had any staining with this method, even with polishes that have stained me before. Though I do still double up sometimes for extra insurance 🤷♀️ just thought I’d throw that out there!
i can definitely see that working! i’ve just used the trick of doing a layer of a sheer pink, but thats rather wasteful since i love sheer pinks for nail art 😅 appreciate the tip though!
I really like this video idea. I'd say please do more of these, but then that would mean more disappointing purchases for you, so nevermind 😆 I think buyer's remorse is very normal and it usually doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the polish. It's also understandable that you change your mind about the polishes you were excited about in previous videos. I think we all need to learn to take responsibility for our own purchases and not blame others for "influencing" us. In the long run, it's much better for us to learn how to spend our money wisely than to keep finding reasons why that purchase went wrong (maker's fault, swatcher's fault etc). FOMO marketing sucks, but it's not going anywhere, so we have to build an immunity towards it.
Btw, the window shopping idea sounds great 👍
Thank you so much!! And hahah I know what you mean though 😅 but yes so well said! I think it’s interesting to see how our tastes can change over time too. I do think there’s a fine line though where the brand/swatcher May be at fault since we’ve seen many bring up over-editing photos, but I do generally agree with you about building immunity to FOMO marketing! 🙂↕️ I hope you’ll like my window shopping video 😁
@@PolishedYogi Oh yeah, brands are not faultless when it comes to misleading swatches and over-editing. But since swatching is not an exact science, I do think it's a slippery slope where people start throwing accusations when differences simply come from lighting, camera etc, rather than ill intent.
I've accidentally bought the same shade of a nail polish twice. So when an acquaintance commented she liked my nail polish I said great I have another and gifted it to her.
omg that’s kinda funny you bought the same one twice lol! so sweet you were able to gift it to your friend when she complimented your nails :) it worked out!
I understand that from monitor to monitor the color can look different, but some brands swatches feel like straight up false advertising 😬 i also wish brands would all put the number of coats for their swatches. your comparisons in your swatches video have been so helpful!
Yeah it’s definitely true that some brands just over edit some of their photos which is such a shame! And that would help so much too, to include number of coats. I would also love to see if the swatchers use a blurring base or not bc that makes a huge difference too! But I’m so glad you find my comparisons helpful, I try to be as thorough as possible 🥹
i feel sooooo guilty when i buy a polish that i don’t end up loving! i recently made a destash to try to reduce the guilt😭 like maybe i can find good homes for them and maaaaayne i can make a bit of the money back so it’s less of a total waste! …i just need to figure out how to send packages lol
i feel that 😪 destashing is definitely so helpful, I honestly keep a lot of the original packaging just to destash lol you could also buy bubble mailers/wrap from dollar tree! i’ve done that when i ran out.
One I regret from PPU was Sassy Sauce Glampire. It looked so good on so many people. But not on me. I swear I could not get it opaque enough. I ended up gifting it. And on my friend it looked stunning! 😆🤷🏼♀️
Imo, it looks like a lot of indie's are duping/semi-duping each other lately, esp this year.
I've had a few I regretted b/c they ended up looking like foils instead of shimmers.
yeah its bound to happen when everyone is using similar ingredients! 😅 but ahh i totally get what you mean with those, hopefully you were able to pass some of them along!
I love that u share loved as well as disappointed polishes. I also regret the Goddess of Love polish. I don’t love it as a full mani, so I have to wear it as a combo or skittle.
I loved SS glampire and got Cock a doodle doom because it was a cousin or sister. Looking back at my collection I have many regrets but glad I have aunts and cousins who I regift my polish to 🥰
so glad you enjoyed this video!! and ooo i can see Goddess of Love being beautiful in a skittle! i felt the same where i didn’t love it as a full mani 🙈 and yes totally understand loving those 2 shades hehe and aww how lucky of your aunts and cousins who sometimes get some beautiful nail polishes !! 🥰
This was a great video and I thank you for sharing!
so glad you enjoyed! 🤗
I have a dupe for ILNP jinx and IlNP nocturnal. We all do it. I'm a pro at polish window shopping at this point. 😅
ah those are such great shades! but yess isn’t window shopping so fun lol
You're not pushing me to buy things I don't need. Actually, it's the opposite! I've been eyeing Emily de Molly Silent Breath, so you're preventing me from duping PFD Blossom. So thank you! 😅
omg yay! i’m happy I saved you that dupe lol I was kicking myself for forgetting the EdM when doing comparisons of PFD a few weeks ago 😅
That schlee polish, speaking without any condemnation towards the brand owner, feels like a scam! 😂 like when I saw it in the bottle and that HUGE burst of fiery shimmer showed up I gasped and couldn’t wait to see the swatch, wondering what about it you possibly couldn’t have liked… and then I audibly went “oh”
Perfect example of not trusting the bottle
lmao yeah its such a shame!! 😭😭 i did love the other one i tried called Flurry, which i shared in my fav periwinkles vid if you want to see. but yeah just soo much hesitation to ever purchase again 😪
There is a lot I regret buying. Either because I did it on a whim or I did want it but the color is completely different or I already have a color similar to it. I end up putting them in a box and destash them every few weeks. I really regret Holo Taco Solo Mission. It ended up being too brownish on me
yes destashing is such a life saver lol! and ahh yeah i was so confused why so many people thought Solo Mission was more pink?? it was like a rosy milk chocolate shade and i remember seeing sooo many people post on reddit that it’s too brown lol! maybe it was Cristine’s swatches/description ??
@@PolishedYogi on my screens it looked more pink then what it was. It's okay it was destashed and went to a home that someone loves it. I started my "Indie" journey when Holo Taco launched and I was a loyal customer and bought everything that was released even if I wasn't in love with it. I had everything that was released but going through all my swatches I decided to destash stuff. I had quite a few that I wasn't feeling. Fomo got me good but I've been letting things go now
I really regretted buying plum taupe also! I feel like the swatches didn’t look the way it did in person and I really hated how it looked under polishes. I no longer have it in my collection.
aw sorry to hear that!! yeah I’m curious what undertone the swatchers had bc it really seemed to clash with mine 😵💫
I loooove Cock-a-doodle-doom. I also have Midnight Oasis lol. Some people say Cock-a-doodle-doom is a dupe for Cirque's Coronation but while similar, definitely not dupes to me.
omg yeah I even forgot to mention Coronation too! i do agree they’re not dupes, but its just another purple with red shimmer that I already have 🤣
Agreed: polishes cannot travel alone! 😂
😝😝
Do you ever test Olive and June polishes. I really like them
i’ve tried them years ago, they weren’t my favorite personally!
Me trying to buy a navy blue that doesn't look practically black on the nail...took a few triesss
lmao sameee though!! how many deep navy blues do i really need 🙈
what would you recommend over funny tree?
sadly i think most of my recommendations aren’t easily available 😅 but even Cirque has a few purples with blue shimmer that I like/wear more, like Ohana or Isle of Capri!
I have a tendency to purchase similar color polishes as well.
we just like what we like, right? 😅🙈