Trying on Nailpolish before buying - rude?

[spaceheatersusan]

I have opened a bottle before (they're not sealed) to see if the color was sheer or thick. You can tell by the polish sticking to the brush. I never touched the polish or the brush to my nail though.

I do this too!  I open it to see the opacity of the colour, but I don't actually use it.

[spaceheatersusan]

The problem with that, IMO, is that opening them the first time seems to hasyen consistancy issues. If I buy a bottle you opened before I might have issues, especially if I wait a bit to use it.

Just to let you know, nail polish never goes bad.  If it starts getting a little thick, add a few drops of nail polish thinner.  What happens is over time chemicals in the polish evaporate, causing it to thicken.  Just add a couple drops of thinner and you are replenishing those chemicals that evaporate, and your nailpolish is like new again!

[Rohanna]

Check to make sure bottles you buy are tight then? As long as its tightened you shouldn't see any problems. t=The polish will eventually dry out and settle/separate, opened or not, so you may just be running into old polish that's thickening up with time or bottles where someone hasn't sealed it up tight. If it's consistantly a problem for you at particular stores, take one from the back of a row, since most stores "face" new product by rotatating the old stuff to the front.

[Sharnita]

The problem with that, IMO, is that opening them the first time seems to hasyen consistancy issues. If I buy a bottle you opened before I might have issues, especially if I wait a bit to use it.

Just to let you know, nail polish never goes bad.  If it starts getting a little thick, add a few drops of nail polish thinner.  What happens is over time chemicals in the polish evaporate, causing it to thicken.  Just add a couple drops of thinner and you are replenishing those chemicals that evaporate, and your nailpolish is like new again!

I shouldn't be forced to do this because your in store check of "opacity" caused evaporation to speed up, though.

[snowdragon]

The problem with that, IMO, is that opening them the first time seems to hasyen consistancy issues. If I buy a bottle you opened before I might have issues, especially if I wait a bit to use it.

Just to let you know, nail polish never goes bad.  If it starts getting a little thick, add a few drops of nail polish thinner.  What happens is over time chemicals in the polish evaporate, causing it to thicken.  Just add a couple drops of thinner and you are replenishing those chemicals that evaporate, and your nailpolish is like new again!

I shouldn't be forced to do this because your in store check of "opacity" caused evaporation to speed up, though.

That is what  I was thinking. It still seems like the purchaser os getting ripped off for some reason.

[peaches]

I wouldn't do it. You've used up part of the product (minute, I realize), and what if the top isn't screwed on securely after sampling? Then it could leak later on, after being purchased, and make a mess. 

In general, I think it's wrong and icky to try any product that someone else will buy not knowing it was used.

[Seraphine1]

I'm a nail tech.

Bacterial and fungus will not grow in a bottle of polish - it is made up of solvents.  However, nail techs only work on hands that are squeaky clean and sanitized with alcohol-based prepping solutions, while that can't be said for people putting it on while standing in a drugstore. 

I don't like the idea of opening a bottle and trying it on, simply because I don't think most people are very careful about how they do it.  If they get polish on the threads of the lid, it will gum up the bottle and make it sticky.  This is what will cause damage - the little dried bits of polish make flecks in the otherwise smooth finish.

Nail polish doesn't go bad if it's cared for properly.  It's also not going to evaporate if the bottle is opened a few times!  I've got polishes that I've cared for for 4 or 5 years that are still fantastic (they are colours that aren't very popular, that's why I still have them after that many years).  But then I also clean the bottle threads with alcohol each time.  I also buy very good polishes - the cheap stuff isn't going to hold up as well.

The nail polish manufacturers could seal the bottles with a plastic sleeve, but by not doing so they are taking the risk of this happening, and risk having returns of sticky bottles.  All I would suggest is take a bottle from the back of the display if you are concerned.

[peaches]

Very interesting information, Seraphine! 

[Lady Snowdon]

I think it's stealing, and shouldn't be done.  I also don't think people should open the bottles beforehand either.  If a store keeps having to damage out the nail polish because it's been opened and the plastic is gone, or because someone complained that the threads were gunked up and it wasn't usable or whatever, then the store's costs will go up.  And most stores react to increasing costs of that nature by raising the price of stuff in the store to make up for that loss.  I'd rather not end up paying additional money for the things I want because other people wanted to play with stuff that wasn't theirs (it may be only a few cents most of the time, but one grocery store I worked at ended up having to increase the price of a certain product by some incredible amount, like .75 or 1.00, because of how often it was damaged/stolen while on the shelf). 

[cicero]

I think it's stealing. Doesn't matter if you can or not cause infefction to someone else, doesn't matter if this dfoies or doesn't somehow ruin the polish. The point is we, the run-of-the-mill consumers have a reasonable expectation of buying a never-been-opened bottle.

I do want to thank all the tech people for enlightening us. I am surprised that stores don't have those palettes that they used to have. That would make things easier

I wouldn't want to buy an opened, tested polish, and I don't think anyone else would, either. Since I wouldn't buy it, I wouldn't do it. Also, depending on how whomever sampled it, it gets all gunked up around the neck of the bottle.

Nail polish seems to be a weird product, though. No one would dream of opening a lipstick or foundation or a even hairbrush to test.

yeah, well i,'ve seen brushes with hair on them . lipsticks usually are sealed

[Cami]

OP here..

The reason I ask... My friend and I were out shopping and we stopped to get her prescriptions in the drugstore.. While waiting for the prescription to be filled, we started browsing the makeup aisle. I was looking at some manicure products and I looked up to see her open a bottle of nail polish and paint it on her nail. I was stunned. She is a very classy lady and I was surprised that she did this. She eventually did purchase the bottle she tried on from. I would never do this and I thought I would ask what e-hell members think of this.

She's not a classy lady! LOL 

Seriously, that's totally unacceptable. She's putting her germs in every bottle she uses. Disgusting.

How would she like it if someone with a fungal infection did that to a bottle she bought?

[WillyNilly]

I just have to say while I don't do this (seriously I haven't bought nail polish in over a decade) if I did buy polish I really honestly wouldn't give a hoot if someone had sampled it. I don't think its gross, nor do i think its going to be an amount I'd notice or care was gone. And when it comes down to it, I'd rather they sample the polish in store then take up time making everyone wait in line longer when they come to return a polish that wasn't true to the color it seemed it would be.

[Softly Spoken]

Just got back from my local drugstore where they were on the last day of their makeup sale. On the bottom of every shelf they had a notice that said something like "Due to Health Regulations, please do not open/use any of the cosmetics."

So...yeah.

That is usually considered the trade off when shopping the drugstore vs. the department store cosmetics - lower price but you can't sample so it's a bit of a crapshoot unless you have either tried stuff before or know what colors look good on you (and have done your homework on products and brands). You should also know your drugstores return policy. I bought about 10 things - one is already going back for sure because it wasn't true to color (i.e. looked good in the bottle but didn't look the same on me! )

Unless the store has an obvious sample policy/obviously marked sample container - don't try before you buy. Resign yourself to either returning it, or sucking it up and absorbing the cost of a bad choice. Or, you know, don't buy the darn thing if you aren't sure you'll like it! Obviously you have plenty of choices that don't include mangling the merchandise.