Author: Chantel Anderson

With the Pantone color of the year being 18-3838 Ultra Violet , our shades #60023 and #379 are a close match, we are seeing a variety of purple shades hit the market. Growing in popularity this spring are the ever so elegant lavender shades, Neutral enough to go with just about anything yet vibrant enough to stand out. Check out our shades #391 Purple Lights Of Paris, #431 Forever 17, #495 Hazy Lilac. #536 Bloom & Grow, and #60011 Pastel Purple or check out our nail polish page and filter for purple colors to view our full selection.

Starting a polish line can be confusing. A common question is “what’s the difference between Private Label and Contract Manufacturing, and which one is right for me?” A Private Label company, such as ours, is one that can supply you with product and packaging as one complete, ready to market item. Contract Manufacturing, something we also provide, usually entails a few companies trying to create a product that you end up putting together, i.e. bottle manufacturers, cosmetics labs, etc., to create a new product unique to you. When starting your own line, one is not necessarily better overall. Depending on your budget, time frame, and company size, however, one will be a better choice for you.

Contract Manufacturing is sometimes preferred, as the creator feels that by having total control they will get a higher quality product in the end. The truth is Private Label Manufacturing is generally just as high of quality. However, there is something to be said for having total control of your product. By going with contract manufacturing you can choose any bottle and cap on the market, and create any shade your heart desires. While this does result in something totally and completely unique to your brand, there are some pretty serious cons to consider, especially if you are starting your line for the first time. The first is the time this takes. You will have to find and contact several different manufacturers, test their products, and go through a couple rounds of trial and error before they get your nail polish’s opacity and color exactly the way you want it. Now all this may be worth it if you have a large company, however, for small companies that are just starting out, this is generally a bad idea. It all basically comes down to your budget and the current demand for your product. Contract manufacturers require you to purchase large quantities of any given product as they are producing it solely for you. * You need to ask yourself if you company can handle 5 gallons of every single nail polish color you create.

Private Label manufacturing companies on the other hand generally require a much smaller budget as the order minimum is significantly lower. Our minimum starts at only 288 bottles, suggested 12 colors 24 bottles of each. This protects your business from unnecessary losses early on. As you are just starting out, there is the potential that some of your colors may not sell well. It hurts your business a lot less to throw out 24 bottles while throwing out 5 gallons might hurt very much. An added benefit of going with a Private Label manufacturer is that the research and hard work have been done for you. We have already found trusted companies to provide us with quality bottles, caps, polishes and treatments. We also research fashion trends constantly to see what is popular in colors and finishes at the time, and refer to this information when selecting our seasonal colors. You just have to select the options that are right for you. There are, however, downsides to Private Label manufacturing… mainly that you have limited flexibility with your product. While the chance of choosing the same bottle, cap, and 24+ colors as someone else is highly unlikely, especially with over 250 colors in our collection to choose from, it is comforting to have a product that you know is 100% unique to you.

We would encourage you to start your brand 100% Private Label, with the understanding that, as you grow, we can work with you as your Contract manufacturer. We can help you find the companies to create your own custom caps or packaging, and we can create custom nail shades just for your company, perhaps adding one new custom shade a season as you grow. Just because you start out Private Label does not mean that you can’t create a more customized product as your business grows. Feel free to comment below with any challenges or successes with starting your own polish line! We love to hear our customer’s experiences so that we can continue to provide quality customer service.

*Generally contract manufacturers still claim right to formula and will offer it to other customers if they think it will sell. If you choose to go with a contract manufacturer, be sure to discuss this with them beforehand.

People often ask if our nail polish is “Vegan”. While many nail polish lines label themselves as “Vegan” or “Vegan Friendly”, the reality is that “Vegan” is a term only accurately used when referencing food. We can, however, tell you that no animal by-products are used in our nail polish line and that we do not test on animals.

For many years animal by-products were commonly used in nail polish. As a whole, the cosmetics industry had been in the hot seat, thanks to its heavy use of animal by-products and animal cruelty. In nail polish, however, animal by-products were easily removed from the common nail polish recipe. While not as commonly used, some nail polishes may still contain small traces.

Today if animal by-products are used, it is in small amounts, though you should be on the lookout for other uses. A fairly common use is in metallic and shimmery shades. Check the ingredients labels for the words “pearl” or “guanine”, fish scales which are used in the polish to create this sparkle. We are proud to say that our shimmery shades are created with the mineral Mica, keeping them animal by-product free.

If you intend to create a line that is 100% free of animal by-products and have concerns, a sales associate would be happy to talk to you. It is especially important to express this concern when creating custom shades for your line.

https://logicalharmony.net/what-makes-nail-polish-vegan/

http://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Is-Your-Nail-Polish-Vegan

There have been many questions surrounding the labeling of nail polishes being 5 Free, 7 Free, or 9 Free. This is the true difference:

Generally nail polish will, at the very least, be 3 Free. This means that the nail polish is free of what is known as the “Toxic Trio”, which are Dibutyl Phthalate, Formaldehyde, and Toluene. These ingredients are commonly used to assist in reducing cracking and improving flexability. Chip free formulas often still contain these ingredients so always read the labels if you are concerned.

5 Free nail polish is the common standard now. While still free of the “Toxic Trio”, it is also free of formaldehyde resin and camphor.

In addition to 3 Free and 5 Free, many companies are increasing the number of chemicals they are removing. Our polishes are 7 free. This means that they are free of ethyl tosylamide and xylene.

The number of ingredients that nail polishes tend to claim to be free of keeps on climbing. Currently there are also 8 free products and 9 Free products. However, while accurate in a way, these ingredients are often ones that are not typically used in nail polishes anymore or that pose no real harm to the user.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/87927-9-non-toxic-nail-polish-brands-you-should-start-using-immediately

TPHP is Triphenyl phosphate, and recently it was discovered that health concerns surround it. It has been reported that this chemical, when absorbed in the human body, affects hormones and can have effects such as obesity and early puberty. While used in many materials, there is a lot of panic surrounding nail polish in particular. For years, TPHP has been a popular ingredient for nail polish manufacturers as it acts as a flame retardant as well as a plasticizer, providing strength and flexibility to the nail. The question still floats around as to how serious this should be taken. REST ASSURED, our nail colors and all but one of our nail treatments are 5 free, and DO NOT CONTAIN TPHP. This one treatment is our Super Dry Topcoat. We left this as one of our products because it is simply one of the best Topcoats on the market. Well aware of concerns, however, we have recently introduced our 5FREE QUICK DRY. While not as strong and as quick drying as our Super Dry formula, our 5 free quick dry is still a top of the line product, and contains no TPHP. Please reference this article we read http://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/color-cosmetics/nail-polish-comes-under-fire-in-new-study-10265670/ and leave your comments below and let us know your thoughts on this topic!

*Custom colors may contain TPHP, please talk to a sales associate with any concerns about current or future products.