# Putting Clear Nail Polish on MAC Brushes



## jacquieboo (Aug 13, 2009)

Hey, guys. How many of you put clear nail polish over your MAC brush labels?

 Here's a question for you:

Do you put clear nail polish over the brand names of all your brushes, or just the MAC ones.. because they're "MAC"?

Am I the only one who finds this slightly obsessive?

I've read some of the most RIDICULOUS complaints regarding makeup brushes.

My thoughts: Brushes are bound to stain with everyday use. The bristles can't stay in perfect shape forever. They're going to curl/have fly aways. Unless you do makeup tutorials on YouTube or work at a makeup counter and NEED to remember the #'s of the brushes, I don't see the point of using clear nail polish over the logo. There should be more concern with how the brush works, rather than the way it looks.

I'm all about taking care of your brushes, but people take it way too far.

Anyone agree?


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## l1onqueen (Aug 13, 2009)

Well...I started doing it because whenever I watched a video tutorial the guru would say get your 242 brush, and I wasn't always sure which one it was! The other thing I started to do was customize my brushes with a certain nail polish color on the  since my sister would swipe my brushes when hers got ratty!


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## nez_o (Aug 13, 2009)

I do this.  I see no problem with it either.  But, I also do this because if someone says to use to 217 brush (or any other brush) in a tutorial, I don't know which brush it is. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I am very new to mac, and makeup in general.  Maybe in the future when I am more comfortable I may not do this, but for now, I need to.


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## BeautyizPain (Aug 13, 2009)

I dont see anything wrong with this at all...MAC brushes are an investment that with great care can last years and years..there is nothing wrong with trying to keep them looking great for as long as you can including how the label looks...and secondly if you ever want to sell them down the road it will be easier to do so with a label intact...


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## stronqerx (Aug 13, 2009)

I don't do it on my other brushes, cause for some reason the brand never rubs off. I always wondered why the number rubbed off so easily on my mac brushes and not less expensive ones like (ie: sonia kashuk). Personally I started doing the clear nail polish because yeah they're mac, I am not even going to lie. I like seeing my brushes look clean and with the silver engraving of the number, it makes them look fresh. Personally I am not that ocd about my mac brushes. Both of my 239's are stained blue, but they work fine, so I am not losing sleep over it lol, eventually it starts to fade away. There's nothing wrong with wanting to keep the number on your brushes or caring less if it rubbed off, to each his own.


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## xxManBeaterxx (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm not a makeup artist, nor am i youtube guru so theirs really no need for me to preserve the lettering, but i still put clear nail polish over them.

I only put them on my mac brushes.  Just as the poster above me stated, writing on my other brushes never wear off, just the mac ones.  I mainly want to preserve my face brushes, espeically since they were an expensive investment i like to keep it the way i bought it.  And for many others, its nice to know which brush your using sometimes, the lettering of many of my eye brushes wore off and i often have to check back on the website to remember the number when ever a friend asks me or if im trying to copy someones tutorial on youtube.


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## TISH1124 (Aug 13, 2009)

I am OCD...I put clear polish over all my brush labels....My lipstick name labels, blushes etc....I like everything to say clear and legible....


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## malaviKat (Aug 13, 2009)

I put polish over the label. But I've done this to my inexpensive powder brush and my Sigma brushes as well. I figured that since I was in the habit of doing this with MAC, I'd extend the courtesy to the rest of my collection.  I fully admit to being anal retentive though... one only needs to look at my collection to see the truth of that statement. 

I like the way a crisp label looks on a MAC brush. I treat my brushes very well and I look upon them as an investment. Some of them are so expensive it's hard to see them in any other light, to be honest. I only wish I'd been more particular about some of my MAC labels when I first got the brushes. Some of them were picked out by MAs and they had very shallow stamping so the labels don't show up as well as others. No amount of nail polish can help me there! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




(I'm less anal retentive than when I started... I used to mask off the label before I put on polish so my lines were perfectly straight.) !

LOL


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## malaviKat (Aug 13, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *TISH1124* 

 
_I am OCD...I put clear polish over all my brush labels....My lipstick name labels, blushes etc....I like everything to say clear and legible...._

 
You are a woman after my own heart.


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## Mochahantas (Aug 14, 2009)

I put clear polish on my MAC brushes.

Yes, I put it on there because I want to preserve the name. I don't see the big deal. Some call it obsessive, I call it my money, so I do what I want. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




We pay over 50 bucks for some of these brushes. Why someone would question other trying to preserve the lettering on the brush is beside me. But, oh wellz!


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## gigiopolis (Aug 14, 2009)

I don't do it because 1) I have really excellent memory, 2) I can't think of a time where I'd need to refer back to the brush number anyway, and 3) I sort of like it when brushes have that "used" kind of look - not abused, of course, but tenderly "loved". But also, I don't think it's OCD at all if you feel like you want to do it. There are many other aspects in life that I'm EXTREMELY OCD, it's just that brushes doesn't seem to be one of them. Hell, I can spend hours arranging books by author alphabetically, and then by genre, and then by size.

I don't have many other different kinds of lipsticks (especially from one brand), or products period in which I'd rub off the label, but if I did, I would definitely protect them in case I run out and need to buy another one ASAP!


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## LMD84 (Aug 14, 2009)

yes i put clear polish over my mac brushes. and only my mac brushes because all my other cheapie make up brushes have no logos or numbers on them. if they did i would put varnish on those too! i like to see what i have got. and i like knowning the number because i keep track of all that i have in a database. that way i don't stupidly go out and buy a brush i alreayd have (unless it is purposley done!)


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## elektra513 (Sep 10, 2009)

I like the thought of me having these expensive ass brushes 10 yrs down the road and they still look as good as new.

So yeah, I put clear nail polish on the labels. I also keep them clean. It's not OCD imo. Most of mine are MAC brushes anyways...

To me it's just like keeping Tiffany jewelry clean...you never know--they might become family heirlooms, lol.


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## t4ruh (Sep 10, 2009)

oo good idea. i'll have to try this.


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## User38 (Sep 10, 2009)

I have a lot of brushes...several sets in fact.  I have never put clear polish on any of my brushes because the number is not important to me after I have bought it and use it.  I instinctively know which brush to use where and when.. and as far as labelling my products, again I usually go with my instinct and knowledge of color in order to do my makeup.  Some of my brushes are about 20 years old.. MAC, old Kolinsky's, Grumbacher, Trish McEvoy, NARS, etc.... I love them and use them, but will not obsess about their names or numbers


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## bellydancer (Sep 10, 2009)

I like keeping the mac logo and numbers too but instead of using clear nail polish I just keep a brush guard on them.


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## saccharinity (Sep 10, 2009)

I put clear nail polish on my mac brushes so I can simply identify it. If I want to ask a question about a brush, replace a brush or swap a brush away then knowing the number is useful even though I am not a professional makeup artist.


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## makeupmakeup (Sep 11, 2009)

I do this to help keep the #'s on them. I don't use all my brushes all the time So when i watch a tutorial or someone tells me to use such and such brush for the look i can find which brush it is, it also helps when iam doing somones makeup and they want to know what brush it is so they can go get it themselves. I guess i like to have nice looking brushes when i do other peoples makeup!


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## nichollecaren (Sep 11, 2009)

Heck, at 50+ bucks a pop, i'd dip the whole handle in polish to keep my investment pristine. I'm a bit odd tho...the idea of adding something to it (like painting the ends pink) just irks me, cuz it wont look 'new out of plastic' again.

no apologies here.


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## gildedangel (Sep 11, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *nichollecaren* 

 
_Heck, at 50+ bucks a pop, i'd dip the whole handle in polish to keep my investment pristine. I'm a bit odd tho...the idea of adding something to it (like painting the ends pink) just irks me, cuz it wont look 'new out of plastic' again.

no apologies here._

 
I am the same way! I can't stand when something of mine doesn't look like it did the day I got it. I don't add any personal details to any of my things really....


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## nursie (Sep 11, 2009)

i had never thought to put the clear nailpolish over my lipstick labels. i have so many that i have no clue what the name of them are now! will start doing this with them.


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## MacGoddess21 (Sep 19, 2009)

I put clear nail polish over the brand name and the brush number...


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## califabulous (Dec 10, 2011)

I put clear nail polish on any "expensive" brush I own.  Keep it looking new and makes me feel like it's still new for the price!  Sadly, I used the OPI top coat and it rubbed off....no numbers there anymore and I wish they were still there....


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## PixieDancer (Dec 10, 2011)

Since you mentioned that OPI top coat DIDN'T work for you... Does anyone know *WHAT clear nail polish is best to use?*  I want to join all of you and be OCD about my MAC brush investment too! 

  	And, like many of you, I want to preserve the number for reference.  And, if I end up wanting a BU or multiples of a favorite brush... I want to know what it is!  There's nothing wrong, in my eyes, with wanting to keep our nice things nice as long as possible!



califabulous said:


> I put clear nail polish on any "expensive" brush I own.  Keep it looking new and makes me feel like it's still new for the price!  Sadly, I used the OPI top coat and it rubbed off....no numbers there anymore and I wish they were still there....


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## shellygrrl (Dec 10, 2011)

I've put clear nail polish on my MAC brushes...and only my MAC brushes. They're the only ones I own with the brand and number engraved into the handle. (I just used e.l.f.'s clear nail polish. So far, so good.)


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## Mac-Guy (Dec 10, 2011)

Never used nail polish on my brushes. I know all the numbers by heart. Having said that, most of the numbers are still on despite daily washing. What makes the numbers come off is the grease from cream products, thus make sure to have dry hands when handling your brushes.


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## califabulous (Dec 14, 2011)

Mac-Guy said:


> Never used nail polish on my brushes. I know all the numbers by heart. Having said that, most of the numbers are still on despite daily washing. What makes the numbers come off is the grease from cream products, thus make sure to have dry hands when handling your brushes.


	well then I have very bad luck because I don't use cream products...bummer...


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