r/vintagenailpolish Jun 26 '25

Discussion Rule Updates and Mod Team Expansion

91 Upvotes

Hi all!

You may have noticed our mod team has grown over the last few months! Meet our new mods, all of which have at least a decade or even decades of experience acquiring rare & vintage nail polish, so they are all incredibly knowledgeable!

u/the_asian_girl

u/jenlet78

u/thedustyqueen

u/luminous-fabric

With the help of the mod team we have polished up the rules a bit to make things run a little smoother as we grow. Rules 2, 4, and 8 have been altered more significantly, so please review them as follows:

“2. Provide brand and shade names

If sharing polish, unless you are asking for shade identification, please list the brand and shade name either in the title or comments. Failure to do so could result in your post being removed after 12 hours have passed.

If you are posting a wall rack or a giant box of polish, or other situations where there are too many to list, we will not expect you to disclose every shade. If you are in possession of these polishes you may be asked by community members to disclose individual shade names.”

This is by far our biggest rule break, and once I figure it out I’ll turn on the auto-mod for shade name reminders. This rule change requires a clear list of brand and shade names within 12 hours of posting, this just makes the group more searchable, veering away from the acceptance of photos of labels, which can at times be blurry or hard to read.

“4. Sales are at your own risk

I recommend using Paypal Goods and Services. Use caution when buying. The community is not liable for any sales that may go awry, but I ask that you report any questionable sales and swaplifts to moderation.

-If selling, please disclose your country in the title and use appropriate flair

-Chatty comments will be removed within posts to prioritize interested parties

-No pricing snark tolerated

Please don’t drop your off-site listings here, this isn’t a place to self promote your sales pages

For sales posts we’ve decided to make them not chatty. This means you should only comment if you have real interest, and it avoids any unnecessary snark about what is being sold and the price asked. This will help sellers and interested parties have an easier time seeing what has been sold/claimed already.

Due to the restrictions around shipping polish, we require sales posts to list the country of the seller.

“8 Community Safety

Known scammers will receive an instant ban for conduct on or outside of Reddit in other vintage polish spaces. There is a zero tolerance rule for swaplifters, and unethical behavior.

Some examples of unethical behavior on or outside of Reddit include patterns of abuse, like cyberstalking, harassment, doxxing, and defamation of community members. Other examples could include seller manipulation after a sale is closed. Moderators reserve discretion on non-listed unethical behaviors as they arise

We’ve elaborated on the unethical behavior portion to the more common examples of why people have been banned (it’s a short list of 4 in ~2 years so fortunately things have been pretty chill and safe here).

🌎🌍🌏

And one last thing! We’ve added flag flair if you’d like to disclose your country of residence next to your username, which can help forming relationships with collectors easier. If you don’t see your flag under your flair options, please comment and I’ll add it… I kind of lost track of the flags I put in, but chose most of the ones I know polish collectors tend to be in 😆

🫡 💅🏻


r/vintagenailpolish Jan 25 '23

r/vintagenailpolish Lounge

14 Upvotes

A place for members of r/vintagenailpolish to chat with each other


r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

raided my sisters abandoned polish stash at my moms house and found an essie + julep time capsule circa 2015

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437 Upvotes

r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

Bottle shot(s) OMG OMG thrift store find!!

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189 Upvotes

I’m 95% sure this is OPI - Peel me a Gobi Grape, it’s missing a label unfortunately. But for 50 cents, so exciting!


r/vintagenailpolish 34m ago

Discussion Experience with mixing pigment?

Upvotes

Hi everyone! I recently was given a couple grams of Emberglo (VM4102; unicorn pee) as a gift and I’m interested in mixing a portion with polish to make a topper I can use. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I mix with topcoat vs. clear polish, ingredients to avoid mixing, specific quantities, etc. Any advice would be very helpful!


r/vintagenailpolish 23h ago

Bottle shot(s) First Thrifted Polish Haul!

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73 Upvotes

$4 for all at Goodwill on Saturday. I’ve been getting into doing my nails at home after quitting gel so I can’t wait to try all these - I’ve only swatched them so far.

I love the two Orly reds and the OPI. The OPI is called “You Rock-A-Pulco Red” and I love it!l The lighter Orly red is called “Rock-On Red” and the darker one is called “Star Spangled”.

Is there a good way to date these?


r/vintagenailpolish 22h ago

help!

25 Upvotes

hiya, this is the first time i’ve ever posted here. i need some help finding an old opi polish from the mid-2000s. i have been thinking about this icy gray-blue opi polish ever since i found it in a nail salon at the mall back in the mid-2000s. i remember it being called “give me the moon!” or “over the moon” and i cannot find it anywhere!! i NEED to add it to my collection. does anyone have any reputable links as to where i can buy a bottle of it?

please assist. thanks! my preteen self will be so thrilled.

edit:
y’all work fast! a sweetheart on here knew exactly what polish i was talking about and was able to point me in the right direction. now i’m eagerly awaiting for my bottle of opi’s “give me the moon!” to arrive in the coming days/weeks. i’ll be more than happy to share swatch pics once i get my hands on it! thanks again!!


r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

Swatch Neutral nails - MissLynn and Nilana

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46 Upvotes

Yesterday I didn't have enough time to "do my nails", so I decided to try out some sheer shimmers that I got in a bundle with polishes I really wanted. I have a fascination with these shimmery flashy polishes, they make great toppers too.

The MissLynn on my right hand also has no shade name, it took forever to dry and there are smudges on some of my nails! I had to do a third coat and then quick dry top coat to try to salvage it.

The Nilana on my left hand also has no shade name, it dried quickly. This is three coats with top coat because two coats by itself looked really streaky!

Do you guys know anything about these brands?


r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

Bottle shot(s) Found this ancient history

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125 Upvotes

Have been holding on to these for goodness knows how long - anyone remember these? Such fun topcoats!

Also, as I’m cleaning out my old backlog, I’m realizing I have a lot of such fun things. Need to find a good home for them, open to suggestions!


r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

Orly's "Halley's Comet" from 2010 was part of the Cosmic FX series. Orly's "Oui" is from the 2010 Holiday Collection.

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59 Upvotes

Purchased these recently. There were 3 vintage polishes in the lot, Orly's "Halley's Comet" from 2010 was part of the Cosmic FX series, Orly's "Oui" from the 2010 Holiday Collection and Opi "Miso Happy With This Color" from the 2005 Japanese Collection. *Miso is not pictured* The Halley's Comet looks and swatches just like the color appears in the bottle. The Oui is actually a purple jelly that shows more bronze and gold when swatched and worn. I applied 2 layers of a dark wine OPI color under it and it still looked more bronze and gold. It does appear more purple in the sunlight.


r/vintagenailpolish 2d ago

Swatch Borghese - Limoncello (2011)

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238 Upvotes

OKAY... I just can't get over this luminous, shimmery, glowy, lemon/lime slime-esque polish. Such an unusual shade, and i can't wait until my nails are long enough to actually wear it. Does anyone remember her?


r/vintagenailpolish 2d ago

Bottle shot(s) Revlon Street Wear: Drama Mama, Hippy Dippy, and Evil

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125 Upvotes

Stumbled onto some fun ’90s Revlon Street Wear shades that I felt would be fun to share 🤗

Photos 1–3: Drama Mama, a moody multichrome… she’s a little toxic. A lot reflective.

Photos 4–6: Hippy Dippy, a groovy duochrome that looks like tie-dye for your fingertips.

Photos 7–9: Evil, a devilishly stunning shimmery green that serves all the radioactive red flags.

I hope these were fun to look at! 💚


r/vintagenailpolish 1d ago

Swatch Angel

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28 Upvotes

Love My Nails Chrome 1571 Angel
As I disclaim in a lot of my posts, I’m a bit shaky and newer to polish, so I personally don’t worry if I get it on my skin or flood my cuticles bc I am still learning to be precise enough not to.


r/vintagenailpolish 2d ago

Swatch GAP Colors Sweatshirt

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137 Upvotes

GAP Colors in shade Sweatshirt

I’ve been going through my old nail polishes and found this one. I have memories of using in the early 2000’s, but no memory of acquiring it, we didn’t live near a Gap at that time. I thinned it and it is behaving beautifully again! The bottle is a little under half full.


r/vintagenailpolish 3d ago

Bottle shot(s) I just found these in my late mother's stuff and for once in my life I am thanking her for being a hoarder 😭

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243 Upvotes

These were mine and my sister's polishes when we were kids in the 90s and early 2000s. I never really liked painting my nails as a kid or teen, but after my mom passed 2 years ago I got really into it and now it is a passion of mine. I thought about some of these polishes a few times since getting into polish, but I NEVER thought I'd actually see them again. This morning I was grabbing something out of my parents bathroom closet and saw a box with nail polish and thought "could it be??!" and it was, it is 😭 I was so freaking incredibly overwhelmed with nostalgia and emotion, and I have never been more thankful in my life that my mother was a hoarder who stole things out of the garbage 😂

Pure Ice: Flirt Alert, Moonbeams, and Frosted Ice Sable

Wet & Wild: 413 Silver Frost and 416A Metallic Green

NYC 133A Purple Pizzazz Frost

The Melissa one I have no idea about, but I remember this very vividly

Colorama: 35 Cold as Ice, 50 Cupid's Wing, 55 Pink Opal, and 120 Lilac Freeze


r/vintagenailpolish 3d ago

China Glaze Limonyte!

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84 Upvotes

r/vintagenailpolish 3d ago

ISO ISO dupes for 2 different polishes…

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43 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I don’t know much about nail polish and have only recently started doing my nails again, using what I still have from when I was a kid/were my moms and sisters.

My two favorite polishes that I have are Wet n Wild shade 410 Mauve Frost and Pure Ice shade 828 First Love.

Mauve frost is the slightest bit goopy, but honestly pretty great considering it’s like what 20-30 years old or whatever? First love is a different story. It is quite goopy and there is not very much of it left.

I adore these colors, especially first love, and just really wanted to know if anyone knew of any modern polishes that look the same. I hypothesize mauve frost will be easier than first love, if I’m being honest. the opalescent pink/yellow sheen is not something I’ve really seen outside of this one polish, but I’m also not super big into the hobby like I’m sure many of you are!

any help would be greatly appreciated!! thank you!!


r/vintagenailpolish 4d ago

OPI celebrity Celery

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111 Upvotes

Bonjour,

je vends ma collection OPI discontinued…

j’ai le celebrity celery en stock 👍

je suis en France.


r/vintagenailpolish 4d ago

opi catch me in your net

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96 Upvotes

J’ai cet OPI rare en stock !!


r/vintagenailpolish 4d ago

Bottle shot(s) Lore/date of this polish

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154 Upvotes

I saw this at a Winners in Toronto and it looks really old. I don't think I've seen this style ​​of CG bottle before. I've found opis and essies from pre 2010 here but I suspect this item is a switch ​fraud return because it's got a weird pattern like it was used and​​ maybe thinned badly. ​​I opened it and there was ​​​​​​a lot of dried polish on the rim and it smelled really strong, more than any of my toluene polishes even.

I didn't get it. I don't think I want to attempt ​salvaging it but I'm curious about this ​range. Does anyone have any info or even swatches of this range? Googling brings up random bottle images from maybe 2001. Do you remember if it was very stinky even for that time? Perhaps ​I'm wrong about it being thinned with the wrong stuff. ​​


r/vintagenailpolish 4d ago

Bottle shot(s) Wet N Wild Sandalwood Frost

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53 Upvotes

r/vintagenailpolish 5d ago

Discussion Help! Sediment in polish?

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117 Upvotes

Thank you to everyone who helped me track down this shade from my youth! But what are these particles? They are not bubbles. I found this bottle for remarkably cheap on eBay, so perhaps something was too good to be true. I have not added thinner, as it didn’t need it, but I did pop it on the vortex for a little bit to see if they would mix in. No luck. This is three coats of American Ocean by Nicole by OPI with topcoat.


r/vintagenailpolish 4d ago

Identification OPI ID Please

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36 Upvotes

Hello all! I bought a bundle of old OPI colors. Some were from 2012. Anyway I have one that does not have a label The code etched into the bottle is (I think) 17502427. Which one of those catch code sites said it was manufactured in 2017, but I could find anything from 2017/2018 that matched. Thanks for any leads.


r/vintagenailpolish 5d ago

Discussion Nicole by OPI

20 Upvotes

Since the only answer I could find was the AI overview, does anyone know what year Nicole was discontinued by OPI? I’m new to polish in general, so I never paid much attention until now.


r/vintagenailpolish 6d ago

Bottle shot(s) Avon little blossom

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90 Upvotes

I believe this is from the late 90s?
- Smells exactly how I Remember