Cosmetic Cupcake

Edit: See my updated nail polish storage from October 2010 here.

When I posted about my awesome swaps recently, Nur from Nur KissKat commented that I had a number of polishes and requested I do a post about how I store them. I love reading how others store their polishes (I love storage options haha) and was intending to do one but never got around to it so here goes. Thanks for the request Nur!

I actually don't have many polishes - especially compared to the hardcore nail bloggers - but I have WAAAAY more than I ever intended to accumulate! I'm an addict now haha. My family and I are currently renovating our house and are in rental accommodation at the moment, so this is my very temporary setup for all my nail bits and bobs until I move home and can set up a more permanent solution. I'd love to get a Helmer but we'll see.

My nail area:

Top shelf:

Nail storage box, nail art storage box, nail plate books and manicure essentials.

Bottom shelf:

Nail storage boxes, nail polish removers and other nail bits and pieces.

Nail polish storage:

I currently use these clear Homemaker storage boxes which I got from Kmart for only $6. They come with a clip on lid which makes transporting them easy and they are stackable which is fantastic. It also keeps your polishes dust free too and hold up to 45 China Glaze/OPI/Orly polishes or more if the bottles are smaller. I have 3 of these currently but I need another one to store my new swap polishes and others lying around without a home!

* I forgot to mention the dimensions of the containers as they come in many different sizes. This is the 7L container which is 33cm(w) x 22.5cm (d) x 15cm(h) if you're looking for them =)

China Glaze and OPI polishes:
Looking a bit empty because I'm lending to girls at work =p
Color Club, Orly, Essie, Nubar etc.

Miscellaneous polishes - Ulta 3, BYS, Sinful Colors and my lovely European lacquers.

My nail art box:

I love this storage box. I bought it at Riot Art and Craft a few months back (see my post here) and now use it to store all nail art stuff. It comes with 2 layers - the first is divided into little compartments in which I store nail dividers, droppers for Seche Restore and OPI Drip Dry, extra Konad stampers and scrapers, nail glue and blade for cutting fimo clay.
The bottom compartment I use to store all the polishes I use for Konading, striping polishes, nail stickers, rhinestones and fimo clay.

My nail plate storage:

I've been trying to find a way to store my nail stamping plates for quite some time now. My collection is getting larger and it was really annoying not having a quick and easy way to choose what design I want while trying not to ruin my freshly polished nails! I saw this great storage option by Susie but I couldn't find anything like this at all in Sydney. Her way of storing plates is perfect because it's small and compact. I went to Kings Comics, Games Paradise, The Collectibles Fair in Parramatta, dollar shops.. nothing like the one she uses. All I seemed to find were the A4 cardholders that hold 9 cards and I didn't want that. I finally found my perfect nail plate storage solutions at Office works and a dollar store.


It's a 4 to a page card holder and I can flip through my Konad, fauxnad and Bundle Monster plates like a menu, it's great!

Next are the essentials I use for every manicure:

I use Swisspers make-up pads to remove my nail polish which I cut in half and then store in an old Ferrero Rocher container along with cotton buds =p I like to reuse and recycle ok! I'm always in a rush so I use my trusty Manicare polish dryer (love this thing!!). I store my manicure essentials like topcoat, basecoat, Seche Prep, Seche Soft, Konad double sided stamper and plastic scraper, crystal nail file, tweezers, cuticle stick and my fave nail polish corrector in a plastic lipstick holder I found in a dollar store.

And lastly my nail polish removers which I use:

Nailene Artificial Nail & Polish Remover for removing glitter polishes (works fantastic and I'll have to do a review soon), Manicare polish remover, Konad One Touch remover and little travel size bottle of polish remover I got in my swap with Anita.

I hope that helped you a little Nur =)

Thanks for looking! Don't forget to enter my 200 followers giveaway here!