Tips for great polish finds

1.   ALWAYS check the brush and neck of the bottle.
• Before buying a polish make sure you open it and examine the neck of the bottle and the brush. If the bottle has leaked but been cleaned, you will still be able to see residue polish caked around the neck of the bottle.
• NEVER buy a polish without looking at the brush. Make sure to wipe excess polish off and make sure that the brush is not deformed, does not have bristles sticking out at odd angles, does not have one or two longer than the rest etc.
2. Be prepared when traveling
• Different places carry different things and at different prices. For instance I love If you truly want to grow your collection be ready when traveling. The trick is making sure you can get whatever you buy back home. I take a small tin, it looks like a smaller version of a lunchbox. Whatever polishes I buy I pack in there and fill the rest of it with plastic Walmart bags so if something DOES leak, it isn't a big deal. If I am flying I pack this in my checked bag.
• I have never tried flying with polish in my carry on bag, but if you do try, make sure to put it in a resealable plastic bag. Polish is flammable so I have never wanted to risk one that I just bought being confiscated. 
3. Don't overlook clearance racks/bins.

• Everyone loves a good deal, but often if we don't see something we like right away we move on. Fight this urge! Clearance bins/racks/sections etc. are often not kept as tidy or organized as well as regular displays. This means that, often times, things get really mixed up and gems could be hiding among the bottles you have no interest in.

     4.  Don't be married to a store

• Different stores in different areas of your city will have the same corporate sales, meaning the inserts that go out on Sundays and can be found in the front of the store, but will often have different STORE sales. If a store is doing poorly in sales while others in the area are doing well, that store will often put things on sale to get numbers up. This is great because they still have to honor the corporate sales and coupons.

• For example I usually shop at a Walgreens by my house. There was a deal in the flyer for the week where for every two bottles of Sinful Colors Nail Polish bought, you get 1000 points back. Since Sinful Colors was $1.99, it was like getting $1 back. Well I went to a different Walgreens and they had an extended sale on Sinful Colors Polish for $0.99 a bottle. I was still able to use the flyer to get 1000 points back for every two bottles, so it was pretty much buying one and getting one for free.

So if you get a chance, check out other drugstores while you are out running errands, you might find some great deals!

     5. Don't dismiss store brand polish

• Clair's, Icing, Hot Topic, Forever 21, Rue 21 etc. often have nail items with their store name. Don't just pass these by, if you are looking for true neon polishes Hot Topic has some of the best! Need some really packed glitter polishes that will be opaque in just about 2 coats? Clair's and Icing are often the place to go. Often times they will also have dupes for "brand" polishes like Sally Hansen, China Glaze and OPI. HOWEVER, be sure to check the price. Some of these stores can charge even MORE than what you would pay for the "brand name" polish.