Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Talk it Out Tuesday: Where has all the magic gone?

I feel like with many people everything was better "back in the day". TV shows were better. Movies were better. Candy was better. Nail polish was better...



Remember the days of Revlon Street Wear and Sally Hansen Nail Prisms? Where have those days gone?

Have you seen eBay prices on rare nail polishes? For example, Essie Starry Starry Night and Clarins 230 can go for hundreds of dollars and eBay. Many of the older OPI DS polishes are discontinued and your only luck of finding them is in dusty stores, blog sales, or paying $15+ for them on eBay or Amazon. Same goes for older China Glaze holographic polishes. Amazing glitters from Revlon Street Wear I see selling for $25+.

Why are these beauties not being produced anymore for the mainstream market? Obviously, these polishes at some point were reasonably priced and easy to get our hands on. What makes these polishes so rare these days?

I hear that it has to do with the pigments in these polishes. I hear that that "color-shifting" pigment in Clarins 230 is no longer produced. I also hear that the better holographic pigments are more expensive these days? I don't doubt some of these claims, but I wonder if it's entirely impossible for major company like OPI or Sally Hansen to get their hands on it? I wonder if they figure they don't have the market for those types of polishes anymore?

What do you think the deal is? Why are we not getting these magical polishes anymore? What types of polishes would you like to see again? What polishes do you miss most? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Happy Tuesday!


P.S. Be sure to check out my facebook page where I'll be continuing the conversation.

16 comments:

  1. This isn't quite an opinion per se, but I heard that car markets are taking the pigment.. a few frankeners I know got theirs from auto-body paint shops.. apparently high end car companies are using the holo pigment for their new lines of vehicles.. so the smaller sector of NP doesn't compare..

    Unfortunate for us, since many nail lovers really go for the holo look..

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  2. I totally agree with you!!
    I don't know why, because they don't really take advantage of it since it's persons who sell it these prices..

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  3. I'd love it if the bigger companies would pay more attention to the demand there is for holos and color shifting polishes and do a better job stocking it. They could even price fairly high and still beat ebay listings, so it honestly makes no sense to me.

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  4. I could do with less crackles and more holos. They should know people are willing to pay a bit more for them.. all they have to do is go to ebay. Everyone just needs to do what orly did with Cosmic FX and just make the holo collections just a little more expensive but not tooo ridic... I feel like companies all focus too much on the competition and not on creating creative and unique colors too. Like look at all the new fall collections.... They are all so similar :(

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  5. I would enjoy seeing more color shift and holos. There is a demand in the nail polish world but I'm not sure for their main market. Pinks, reds, and neutrals are the major colors selling. 

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  6. This is an awesome post, so very true! I would really love to see some holo polishes in the drugstore...I can remember when I was in the 5th grade or so I had  a Sally Hansen Prisim that I wore all the time. I wish I had held onto it!

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  7. In my opinion ...

    When all is said and done, companies are ultimately running a business.   It really is all about the bottom line.  If they can't make a profit, they can't stay in business.  Companies rarely do the consumer any favors.  There is usually a benefit to both parties.  If a company gets a great price on a pigment, they make an awesome polish and we buy it at a reasonable price.  If the price of the pigment increases and it is no longer cost effective for them to sell it at that price, they will stop producing the whatever awesome product they had or pass along price increases to the consumer.   Depending on the market group these price increases may or may not be reasonable.

    Perhaps we would be willing to pay for more expensive polish because we see how awesome they are, but we make up such a small part of the market.  I am certain companies like Revlon and SH are trying to appeal to everyone. 

    *a girl can dream though, I sit and wait for awesomeness*

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  8. Honestly, I think there are polishes that are awesome back in the day. But there is also that part of human nature wanting what one can no longer have, such as these old stuff that are pretty and HTF now.

    Don't get me wrong, they're pretty and awesome. But part of it's appeal is the fact that it's no longer around and easily attainable. Someone sees it, likes it and finds out that it's an oldie but goodie. Some would just find dupes or close dupes or frankens and be satisfied with it. Some want the real deal. This madness drives the prices up since demand for it goes up. If everyone is satisfied with the dupe or close dupes and frankens then the prices wouldn't even be that high. For whatever reason, it's the fact that someone is willing to pay that price to get them that drives the price even higher.

    I have a ceiling on what I'm willing to spend on something I really want, the original, even if there's a dupe or close dupe or franken out there. I'm a sucker, but with a relatively reasonable price tag. ;)

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  9. I deeply wish there were more holographic polishes out there. I never got a chance to experience Nail Prisms or much of the China Glaze holos. I think that polish companies prefer to appeal to the average buyer of pinks and reds as opposed to those more adventurous. 

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  10. I think it's a formula issues, really.  Most of those polishes, unless I am mistaken, are before B3F.  I don't know what it is about the older formula being better for those kinds of finishes, but I agree - the new ones just fall flat.  And I do not have the money, nor am I willing, to pay those outrageous prices for one bottle of polish!  I would love to see more serious holos and the Nail Prisms should come back, too.  I found Nail Prisms Amber Ruby at Dollar Tree back in October - I'm wearing it for the first time and I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten!

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  11. I agree 100%. Great post! I love to see things that are different - I think case in point is the fact that Halloween and Christmas collections do so well - that's when we see the crazy glitters and the fun stuff. Unfortunately for a lot of these brands, the online polish hound market is only a minority and they have to keep to the demands of the retail market.

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  12. Great post! You should send this to all the nail companies!

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  13. You are so right everything  was better back in the day.  I would  love to see the old SH, Revlons etc. to come back.  Ebay is just ridiculoss.  If people stop buying these high price polishes the prices will have to come down if they want to sale them.  Looks like if we want our holos we have to buy the pigment from the car dealers.  We better hurry because if they find out the price will go up too. 

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  14. Sadly, yes everything was better back in those days. We learned a lot more in school, actually sat down to have family meals and best of all there was no need for women to work. Not that I mind working, I actually love it, but just saying.Sorry for my deviation there, but you made reminisce lol.

    Back to nail polish, it seems as if it's a lot of people who are after nail polishes such as holo's, but the reality is that the majority of women are not nail polish fanatics. It does seem like it's a lot of us when you take a look at all the nail polish blogs and NB, but if you really think about it, how many nail polish fanatics do you know in real life? I see where nail polish companies are coming from when they say that they don't have a market for it, but we can still hope holo's will catch on as much as crack did.

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  15. I personally think those special pigments have gotten too expensive for most companies to turn a profit. Actually, a brief conversation I had with the blogger Paillette makes me wonder if increased health regulations have anything to do with it. Pigments have to satisfy certain criteria to be considered cosmetic grade and that testing is really expensive.

    Also, part of this is planned obsolescence! But since nail polish doesn't really break down, companies manufacture demand with limited releases. It wouldn't be difficult for Essie to re-release Starry Starry Night.

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  16. My thoughts are that maybe the big cosmetics companies selling to the States think there's no market here for the gorgeous holos and duochromes - after all, look at Nfu Oh, Glitter Gal, Ozotic, Missha, BeYu etc. They're a bit pricey (says the collector of drug-store polishes) and harder to get in the U.S. But they're out there... so faaar away... ;-p

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