The Right (and easy) Way to Use And Store Nail Polish Remover

I paint my nails a lot. And by a lot, I mean every other day. I absolutely adore painting my nails. It calms me and really does act as a stress reliever- and hey, my nails always look good!

There is one thing that annoys me though. The nail polish remover, and the bottle it's stored in. For some reason I perceive the bottle as a hindrance to my routine. Something about taking the time to unscrew the cap, putting the cotton ball on the opening, tilting the bottle over, and again setting the bottle down- and putting the cap back on- (finally learned my lesson after many spills) just kills me.

What's really odd is that we have all just accepted this as the only way. Sure there are those little spongy tubs that are already soaked in remover, but let's all be honest. Those tubs do not work out the way you imagine it to. Yes, it's a different option, but not necessarily a better one.

In the midst of my unhappiness, I actively sought after a solution. This couldn't be it. There had to be some other way. Surely I couldn't be destined for a life full of this nonsense (and don't call me Shirley). I had to find a solution before my stress reliever became a stress inducer.

And then, out of the blue clear sky, it hit me. I had found a solution, one that is so simple I honestly did smack myself for not thinking of it before.

I marched into my bathroom, snatched up an old face wash bottle that had a pump, rinsed it out, got my nail polish remover, and then proceeded to pour it into the face wash bottle. I screwed on the pump, chucked the polish remover bottle, and warily tried my new invention out on a poor and unsuspecting cotton ball. Do I have you on the edge of your seat yet? Do you really want to know what happened next? Are you sure you can handle it? Get ready for this...

IT WORKED and the cotton ball lived ( I'm a little melodramatic if you couldn't tell already) It was kinda awesome.Two easy squirts onto a cotton ball and you’re done. No unscrewing or tilting or screwing back on- just a little push and ta-da! Easy nail polish remover at your disposal.

Something else that you might want to do is to make a label for your new container. If you keep it around your other beauty items, you may accidentally mistake it for something else- and that could potentially be very un-pretty.

To make mine look a little decorative, I gathered a few old magazines together and cut out some decent sized letters. I then took a strip of packing tape and applied the front of the letter to the sticky side of the tape (spelling out nail polish remover), and then placed the tape sticky side down to a piece of paper. From there I taped the label onto the bottle (being sure to cover all of the paper with tape so it doesn't tear). Voila! A super cute, clean, and effective way to store your nail polish remover.

I realize that flipping the bottle to the side and letting the cotton ball soak isn’t hard to do, but this method is just that much easier- and hey, you can’t argue with that.

Do you have any “smack yourself on the head because you didn’t think of it before” ideas? Let us know!

Comments

Kymberly on March 16, 2014:

Does this work with aciton free nail polish

Amy Chadbourne on March 05, 2014:

I have seen the glass soap dispensers at the Dollar Tree recently. Think I might try that. As long as the acetone doesn't eat through the plastic of the pumping mechanism, it should be great. Thanks for the idea!

shelbytaylor (author) on December 14, 2013:

@Daphne- Ahh! I'm so sorry about that! I would not be a happy camper if that happened to me. Did you put 100% acetone in the bottle? I just did this with regular walmart nail polish remover. If you did use something different (or if you didn't), I would love to know. I think a few people have had issues with 100% acetone, so I'm thinking of revising this page and adding a warning or something. I hope you were able to fix it! :)

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@Senorita Papaya- I'm not sure. I don't see why it would. I keep mine in the bottle and I don't notice it running out any faster than usual. If you try this, let me know! :)

Señorita Papaya on November 25, 2013:

Hi, doesn't that kind of storage helps the remover to evaporate faster?

Daphne on October 24, 2013:

Just be careful when doing this! I tried it last week but didn't put a label on it. It looked gorgeous on my DIY vanity table.. When I woke up the next morning I saw that the fingernail polish had almost eaten through the entire bottle! I haven't tried putting it in a glass container but I imagine that it would work much better. I had used one of the $5 plastic soap pumps like they sell at walmart. Just be careful. :( wonderful idea tho.

shelbytaylor (author) on September 28, 2013:

@Karla- IF I COULD I WOULD. Haha, I always eye those during checkups.

@Whitnry- Let me know how that works! I'm always wondering what to do with my empty perfume bottles. They're so pretty... I feel guilty just tossing them.

@meemaw crochets- I'm glad this worked for you! :)

@Brittany- I don't see why not! That might even be better because I think it might squeeze (? pump? word?) out less- thus ensuring no messy accidents. I'd love to know how it works for you!

Brittany on September 02, 2013:

Can you use the foaming anti-bacterial gentle foaming hand soap bottle from bath and body works with non-acetone polish remover? I have a couple empty bottles and tried squirting just water, it foams slightly but does come out as mostly non-foamy water. What do you think? I'd like to try this!

meemaw crochets on July 30, 2013:

just tried this tip and it is marvelous! Yes such an obvious solution to an obvious problem:) Had a pump bottle with a plastic sticker so it just peeled off beautifully:)

Whitnry on June 06, 2013:

I don't have an empty soap bottle at the moment so I'm thinking about trying a empty perfume spray bottle !!

Karla on May 30, 2013:

If you could get a hold of one of those nifty alcohol pumps from the doctors office... maybe at a medical supply place.. Just put your cotton ball on top and press down and you're good to go..

shelbytaylor (author) on February 02, 2013:

Hi Silvia! I researched the conditions in which acetone should be stored, and I don't think it can be stored in this type of bottle. I haven't tried it with my 100% acetone, but some other comments said their bottle started changing its shape. Based off of that, I don't think this would be the best idea to store your 100% acetone. Hope this helps!

Silvia on January 31, 2013:

Does this work with 100% acetone.?