Swatch sticks

Hello! Happy hump day. Can you believe it's only a week and a day until Thanksgiving?! Where did the year go? Today I'm going to show you all how I keep up with my growing collection..swatch sticks!

Purchased by me

When I started this colorful journey early this year, I never imagined I would have amassed this collection in such a short amount of time. The lovely part is, I hardly EVER pay full price for anything, I always wait for deals or for things to go on sale at Sally's. Plus..all those Sally's coupons!

I'm a super organized person, so it's been a trial and error with what works best for me. I have the app Nail Polish Rack on Android that helps me keep up with the number of polishes I have, and when I'm out, I use it to make sure I don't buy duplicates! But, I wanted something physical that I can show someone if they ask to pick a polish to use from my collection. I started out swatching a dab of color in a notebook.

Cute huh? Well it got annoying, fast. I had to wait until the polishes on each page would dry before I could turn the page, and 9 times out of 10, no matter how long I waited, the pages would still stick together. So I decided before my collection gets too big, I needed to start using swatch sticks!

If you would like to organize your collection like this then you will need:

Swatch sticks. They can be found HERE. Every one I found on Amazon/EBay shipped from Hong Kong, which takes a month. The ones I linked ship from the USA. Be sure to get transparent ones! They are $4.36 for 50.

Permanent marker. I started off using a Fine Point Sharpie. I found that an ultra fine point sharpie works better. Make absolutely sure it's permanent, or it will smear.

Binder rings. They can be found HERE. I purchased the 2 inch ones, I wish I had gotten the 3 inch ones! Search amazon or eBay for what you think is right for you, or look at Wal Mart, Staples, etc. The sticks you order come with a straight screw looking thing to put the sticks on, but it is not good for this purpose. That's why I suggest binder rings.

Here is my swatch stick collection!

Blues

Pinks

Purples

Greens

Oranges/Yellows

Reds

Golds/Grays/Blacks/Glitters/Misc

I hang all of these proudly on my wall on a mounted coat rack that I found at Lowes for $24.99. It has 6 hooks (2 hooks on each) and it works perfect for this! 

How do you keep your nail polish collection organized?