REVISED GUIDELINES (Sept 2012): Nail Polish Circular Swap Group

Hello Ladies,

Well we've finished up with the first round of the nail polish circular swap and it was a resounding success!!  I think everyone involved was able to give away several nail polishes they no longer wanted (yeah for recycling!) and get some new ones.

We have decided to change the rules slightly so that the box does not contain only "drugstore" brand polishes.  For this swap we will require some of the polishes put into the box must be of the "high-end" variety.  For simplicity sake I will define but this list does not include every brand:

• "High-end" polishes are generally a bit more expensive and 3-Free.  Examples would be OPI, China Glaze, Julep, Color Club, Essie, Zoya, (and of course more expensive brands like Butter London, Deborah Lippmann, and Indie polish makers if you want!).  
• "Drugstore" polishes are more inexpensive and easily available at drugstores, Walmart, etc.  Examples would be Revlon, Spoiled, Sinful Colors, L'Oreal, Wet n Wild, Rimmel, Avon.

You can still add drugstore brands but we will ask that no more than ONE bottle of drugstore polish be added when it is your turn.

I know that this change will make some people very happy and some people not so much.  These changes were decided upon by the participants in the first round of the swap, so let's try it this round and see how it works.

Qualifying and signing up:

1. In order to participate you need to be located in the US, and have EITHER:  

-50+ posts on MuT

-2 or more Positive Feedback in the swap forum

-You may qualify if you have been a member since at least March, 2012 (six months) but this qualification will be used at our discretion.

2. If you haven't yet sent in your info please send a PM to LyndaV providing the following info:

MuT username:
Email address:

Real name:
Mailing information:

3. Add a comment on this thread after you’ve sent in your information, so that we know who is signed up.
 

Rules during the swap:

1. As soon as you receive the box, send an PM to LyndaV that you have received it. Once you do this you will be sent the address of the next participant.  We plan on tracking the box very closely as we did during the first round.

2. Send the nail polish box on within 3 days. If you keep the box longer than 7 days and do not have a believable extenuating circumstance or do not contact us, you will not be allowed to participate in future circular swaps.

3. As soon as you send the box on, PM Lynda V with the delivery confirmation number. Again, if you do not send the confirmation number, you will not be allowed to participate in future swaps.

4.  You may add as many high-end polishes as you wish, but please only add ONE drugstore brand polish when it is your turn with the box.  It is perfectly fine and reasonable to put in only 2 polishes per turn (1 high end, 1 drugstore) and receive 2 polishes (1 high end, 1 drugstore).

5. Please be fair and please be reasonable.  If you take out 4 high end items do not put back in one packet of hand cream.  If you have a question about a specific swap, please contact LyndaV.  Let's make this fun (and fair!) for everyone!

6.  Because we are mailing nail polish, Postal regulations require that we send the package via Parcel Post.

I'd like to participate, please! 

Thank you for the new rules, and for defining 'high-end' and 'low end' polishes.  I was wondering what they would be.

In the last round I mailed with a flat-rate box.  Assuming parcel post is more expensive than that, it might be a good idea to pull out the unpopular polishes from the box before we start the next round in order to keep the box small and delightful and less expensive to mail.  Just a thought.

Thank you, LyndaV, for setting this up!
 

Info sent, I'd love to participate this round!

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but where would NYX polishes fall into the spectrum? I usually get mine from random beauty supply stores, but not so much drugstores.

See, that's odd to me, that you'd class Essie as a high-end, when it's usually at Walgreens or at CVS that I buy it (Seche Vite, too). I understand you had to set some sort of parameters, it just struck me funny.

I think that might be because Essie was first established as a high end brand, even though they are now available at places like drugstores and Target. They're also still in the $8 range, at least where I live.

Originally Posted by bluelion /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I think that might be because Essie was first established as a high end brand, even though they are now available at places like drugstores and Target. They're also still in the $8 range, at least where I live.

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Yeah, maybe price point is a good way to make the distinction they wanted to make? The ones that are SRP of above $8 for a full-size vs. those that are not?

LyndaV - Gonna post to sign up here just in case, since my previous post was on the old swap thread. I'm good with the high-end guidelines too!

I think the deciding factor on whether on not a polish is considered high-end is if it is 3-Free or not.   

I think the deciding factor on whether on not a polish is considered high-end is if it is 3-Free or not.   

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While being 3-free is very important to me personally, I would disagree with that statement. For example, Wet 'n Wild, Milani, and e.l.f. polishes are 3-free, and L'Oreal, Essence and Revlon are actually 5-free, and I would not consider any of those high-end. Illamasqua is not 3-free or 5-free and given the price tag and the brand's reputation and the fact that they are only sold at Sephora, I feel like most people would consider them high-end.

oh well, disregard MY last comment.  I just did some research about 3 free and it looks like most of the drugstore polishes are 3-Free these days.  I found several interesting lists but I don't think I can post the links here.  

I would agree that the price point should be the determining factor, ie any polish with a SRP of $8.00 or over would be consider high-end.  So BlueLion, I would say that NYX polishes would be "drustore" products because they retail for $4.00.  I just want to say here that these classifications are not way saying that the less-expensive polishes aren't perfectly nice polishes (I have lots in my own collection).  We just want participants to be able to trade for equal value.  Does that make sense?

I think this could get really complicated if we let it, so I'll just say that if you have a question about a particular polish please contact me.

Xiehan...you beat me to it!  You posted your comment before I had a chance to see it.

Originally Posted by LyndaV /img/forum/go_quote.gif

oh well, disregard MY last comment.  I just did some research about 3 free and it looks like most of the drugstore polishes are 3-Free these days.  I found several interesting lists but I don't think I can post the links here.  

I would agree that the price point should be the determining factor, ie any polish with a SRP of $8.00 or over would be consider high-end.  So BlueLion, I would say that NYX polishes would be "drustore" products because they retail for $4.00.  I just want to say here that these classifications are not way saying that the less-expensive polishes aren't perfectly nice polishes (I have lots in my own collection).  We just want participants to be able to trade for equal value.  Does that make sense?

I think this could get really complicated if we let it, so I'll just say that if you have a question about a particular polish please contact me.

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It does. Thanks for clarifying!

Info sent!  I'm excited to participate!

Originally Posted by xiehan /img/forum/go_quote.gif

... Wet 'n Wild, Milani, and e.l.f. polishes are 3-free, and L'Oreal, Essence and Revlon are actually 5-free, and I would not consider any of those high-end.

Illamasqua is not 3-free or 5-free and given the price tag and the brand's reputation and the fact that they are only sold at Sephora, I feel like most people would consider them high-end.

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Good to know.  Thank you, xiehan!

Well that sucks! I'm too new of a member to join this swapping round. I guess I need to go on a posting frenzy.

When is the round getting started! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> So excited to start this.

Is it too late to sign up for this?  I've wanted to do this since the first go round.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Kirari, I have PM'd you

I'm good with the new guidelines, the only correction I would make is that I wouldn't consider Color Club a high-end polish brand. I know Birchbox sells them for $8 apiece but I can't think of any other place that does. Rite Aid and other drugstores that carry them sell them for $4-6 apiece, and Head2Toe Beauty has them for $3.10 each.