My Nail Polish Collection Is Looking for a New Home
After many years of collecting, blogging, swatching, and generally being far too excited about nail polish, I've made the difficult decision to let go of the vast majority of my collection.
I'm moving abroad soon, and there is simply no realistic way for me to take approximately 1,700 bottles of nail polish with me. So, rather than letting this collection sit indefinitely, I'm hoping to find another nail-polish enthusiast who would like to give it a new home.
What's in the collection?
This is a large, eclectic collection spanning the early indie-polish era through the mid-2010s, along with vintage and discontinued commercial polishes.
I was actively blogging during this period here at Royal Milk Tea, and many of these polishes were purchased specifically for swatching and review.
There are 160+ brands represented in the collection, including some particularly large groups:
- Glam Polish — 191
- Femme Fatale — 180
- Zoya — 137
- Darling Diva — 107
- Emily de Molly — 65
- Different Dimension — 58
- Indigo Bananas — 55
- Sinful Colors — 47
- Blue-Eyed Girl — 46
- Pretty Serious — 45
- China Glaze — 41
- Sally Hansen — 40
- Cupcake Polish — 39
- Essie — 37
- A Liquid Lacquer — 18
- Butter London — 18
- ILNP — 14
- Hare Polish — 8
- Cult Nails — 6
- Lynnderella — 5
There are also many smaller collections and one-off bottles from other indie, boutique, vintage, and mainstream brands.
Some of the older/discontinued brands represented include Hare Polish, Lynnderella, Cult Nails, Pretty Serious, Darling Diva, Different Dimension, Indigo Bananas, Blue-Eyed Girl, and many others.
There are also vintage and discontinued commercial polishes from brands including China Glaze, Zoya, Essie, OPI, Revlon, Sally Hansen, Butter London, Nubar, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Layla, Hits, and more.
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| Different Dimension & Emily de Molly |
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| 1 of 2 drawers of Glam Polish colors |
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| Five Melmers (Michael's storage drawers) full of nail polish (*included in sale) |
A little bit of history
For those who remember the nail-polish blogging boom of the early 2010s, this collection is very much a product of that era.
Royal Milk Tea was active during a time when indie nail polish was exploding, and I was fortunate enough to swatch and review many of the brands that made that period so much fun.
The collection therefore isn't simply 1,700 bottles accumulated at random. A substantial portion was acquired during the years when these polishes were originally released, and many bottles were purchased specifically for blog reviews.
Some of the historical blog posts can also be used to identify and document individual polishes in the collection. The archive includes posts from the same period in which many of these indie brands were releasing their early collections.
In a few cases, my swatches were also used or credited by brands themselves, which is a fun piece of history that I had almost forgotten about.
Sale details
I'm offering the collection as one lot only rather than selling individual bottles.
Approximately 1,700 bottles — $3,000 OBO
I'm intentionally pricing the collection substantially below what it might bring if every bottle were individually researched, photographed, listed, sold, and shipped. The goal here is to find someone who wants the collection and is willing to take it all at once.
Because of the age and size of the collection, condition varies. Some older polishes may have fading, thickening, separation, or drying, while others remain in very good condition. I have not individually tested every bottle.
The collection is therefore being sold AS-IS.
I'm happy to answer reasonable questions about the collection as a whole, but I cannot provide detailed condition reports or swatches for individual bottles.
Pickup
The collection is currently available for local pickup in Tucson, Arizona.
For a serious buyer, I may also be able to arrange a meeting in Phoenix or somewhere along the Tucson–Phoenix corridor, depending on timing and circumstances.
Because of the sheer size of the collection, I am not able to ship the entire lot.
Interested?
The Reddit sale post is the best place to express interest and make an offer:
[ Royalmilktea: Reddit Sale Post ]
Please comment on the Reddit post before sending a private message so that I can keep inquiries organized.
I'm hoping to find someone who will appreciate this collection and the rather ridiculous amount of nail-polish history contained in it.
After more than a decade of collecting, it's bittersweet to let it go—but I'm very happy at the thought of it continuing on with another nail polish lover. 💅
Thank you to everyone who ever read Royal Milk Tea, left a comment, sent me a polish, or otherwise made my nail-polish blogging era such a special and wonderful time!
