Getting new nail polish is obviously very exciting, but so is getting other nail related stuff! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see I posed a picture of the new light box I made. It's so much better than my current one because it's got so much more space! Also I used tissue paper on the sides and top instead of paper, and the backdrop is poster board instead of a piece of paper.
All that aside, the only problem with my first light box was the lamp I used was not bright enough for my liking. It's a 25 watt lamp from Ikea, and I believe the bulb is a halogen? I know it's not fluorescent because it's got a sort of yellowy glow. So I went to Rona and got some things for my new light box. First of all I got a table lamp that has a maximum of 60 watts, so it could handle a much brighter bulb. Then I looked at the light bulbs. Kind of overwhelming since there's so many options! What really helped though was there were samples so I just chose a nice bright fluorescent bulb. I got a "cool white" bulb so there would be absolutely no yellow glow.
Let me tell you. the bulb makes all the difference when photographing in a light box so I HIGHLY suggest you invest in a 40-60 watt fluorescent bulb, and make sure it's cool white. I was all giddy when I took a couple pictures in my light box because the pictures came out amazing! Here are a couple pictures taken on my phone in my first light box with the dim lamp and in the new light box with the bright lamp. There's some glare on the blue nails because of the way my hand was angled, but you can definitely see the yellow glow vs no yellow between the pictures.
In addition to going to Rona, I also went to Walmart. Convenient that they're right across the street from each other where I am! A while ago I saw @lacquerloon posted a picture of her homemade polish remover, which she got from @loodieloodieloodie's blog, click here to see her original post! I'm not sure if she actually came up with it from looking at the ingredients or she got it from someone else, but I've given credit to my two sources. The inspiration for this homemade polish remover came from Zoya's Remove +. I've never personally used it but I've seen it on their website and heard it was amazing from other Instagrammers and Bloggers.
The recipe is:
- 16oz bottle of 100% acetone
- 3tsp glycerin
Both can be found at Walmart. The glycerin is about $4 and so is the bottle of acetone so you're spending under $10. Zoya's Remove + is $10 for an 8oz bottle. Plus with the bottle of glycerin you can get about 4 bottles of your own remover so it works out to be an incredibly good value for your money! It's around 1/4 or 1/5 the price of Zoya if I did the math correctly in my head.
The glycerin might not mix into your acetone too well, you'll just need to shake it until you notice there's no more glycerin blob at the bottom of the acetone bottle. For me it took a while and I shook it maybe 3-4 times over the course of two days. I know it's a bit annoying, and it probably took longer to dissolve since I first filled my bottle up with more acetone before I added the glycerin, so there wasn't too much shaking space in the bottle. You can also try adding a bit of water which will help the glycerin dissolve faster, I just wanted to keep my mixture strong and not dilute it at all. Anyway once the glycerin is dissolved, it won't separate again so just use the mixture as a normal polish remover.
The reason this mixture works so well is because glycerin is a natural moisturizer. It's meant to nourish dry skin or burns. When you use this polish remover, you're pressing down with your cotton ball to remove your polish and it gets on your cuticles, and since there's glycerin in the mixture, when the acetone evaporates all that's left is the glycerin which moisturizes your cuticles and nails! Here's a picture of the bowl I use when I do clean up - I pour a bit of acetone in it so I can dip my brush. The little dots are leftover blobs of glycerin.
I do still want to try the actual Zoya Remove +, and I'm sure I'll love it since the bottle has a built in pump and when dry the remover doesn't smell bad. I'll probably just stick to this homemade mixture for a while though since it's an incredibly cheap way to get a moisturizing effect when using acetone which is unheard of! Being the broke student that I am I love cheap alternatives.
If you ladies have any tips regarding this homemade mixture, leave a comment below I'd love to hear what you have to say!
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