What To Do When Your Nail Polish Smells Like Shit

I never thought I’d say this, but you throw it away. (Pause for dramatic effect) I know what you’re thinking. How can you throw your babies away when they deserve a life of happiness on your nails? Just because they smell, it doesn’t mean that they don’t bleed if you prick them. Now, I’m not really comparing my nail polish to Shylock so don’t get your Bardolatry panties in a bunch. After the experience I had with a nail polish today, I think I know what pure evil smells like. But before I can get into that, I am going to tell you about another polish that I used as my base for the offensive manicure.

I have to say that I was super excited about the China Glaze Summer Neons when I first saw promo pictures, but then my excitement fizzled once I started seeing swatches. Don’t get me wrong…they are pretty and all, but they just don’t call my name like other polishes. I still picked up a few of the colors, and I was excited to try Ride The Waves.

I’m trying to hold myself back because I hate to say bad things about my beloved China Glaze, but I just did not care for this at all. I love blue nail polish, but I just don’t like the finish on this AT ALL. I knew it wouldn’t be completely opaque before trying it on, yet I’m still faulting it for it? I’m mad at a jelly for being…a jelly. Maybe I was just in a weird mood because I was anticipating disaster.  I applied three coats here, in case you were wondering.

Now here is the offensive little turd: Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple. I took a picture of it in the shade so you could really appreciate the beautiful color shifts. The beauty of this is completely cancelled out by the stench that fills your nostrils once you open the bottle. If you want to know what death and evil’s baby would smell like, look no further.

Despite the stench, I love how glowy my nails looked. I went to the supermarket after I finished my mani and a few people commented on them so at least I know that they are attention-grabbing nails. I wore these for about 2 hours and then I had to take them off. My fingers smelled–reeked–even after applying a top coat.

Do I recommend Kleancolor? Sniff at your own risk.

65 thoughts on “What To Do When Your Nail Polish Smells Like Shit

    1. I really liked it too. My friend kept telling me that my nails looked like fireworks and I think I agreed with him. The way it looked in sunlight was amazing…but the stench…oh lord!

        1. You should smell the cheap nail polish W7 ..my lungs are now crying out! Love their colours and they dry quickly. But it smells like house paint! Maybe, it’s what they put in there to make it dry so fast that’s killing me slowly! Ahhhhhrgggh

  1. Its a beautiful topcoat, i would have been put iff by the smell as well!

    I have the black and blue holo, i don't think they smell…

    1. I've heard a few people say their Kleancolor polishes don't smell. I don't know what it is about them but the smell makes me gag. Maybe it's just one of those scents that only affect some people? I just don't know if I'll be able to wear it again…nor the other 5 I purchased. lol

  2. Eww, they still smell even when dry!? Yuck. I could barely handle scented polish, so I imagine I would be barfing in my mouth a little if I were using a polish that smelled like death and evil's rotten baby. Eugh.

    I don't care what you say, ride the waves looks great on you!

    1. Thanks! I do like blue a lot but I dunno…it just doesn't feel very "me" whatever that means. (Every nail polish seems to be "me" lately.)

      The smell was bad. Real bad. We had a small party last night because my parents were going back home so we had some friends/family over at my place which equals tons of food. I was snacking and every time my fingers came close to my mouth, I wanted to puke. Hey, maybe I have finally found a diet that will work for me: The Kleancolor Diet®

  3. well, i must defend kleancolor!!! hahaha if you dive-in in "metromall" AKA ghetto-mall (i think i don't need to explain further), you are able to get kleancolor at a very good price, meaning ONE DOLLAR! i love one dollar polishes..
    i have 2 polishes of kleancolor and they don't smell weird, i don't think they even smell.. maybe was only that specific polish..!!

    but wait, how does it smell? like crap? really? or like strong paint?

    1. LOL…I think they do need some defending because I've been trashing them a lot lately. You know, the smell is so strong and pungent. I am a little weird because I actually like the smell of nail polish, but this was not a regular nail polish scent…it was like kind of rotten smelling. I bought 6 of them, and they all have the same smell. I am wondering if maybe they are just so old that the smell changed…but for all 6??

      I got them for $1 too! I love my $1 Wet N Wild, Essence and NYC polishes. You can't beat the price for the quality.

  4. Maybe it had real chunks of panther in it.

    I love jellies. And I love that combo, but I had a polish that smelled bad once too (it was ancient) and it smelled like DEATH even when it had dried. A day and a half later, I was eating a sandwich and thought my sandwich was 'off'….nope it was my nails! ICK. So I can totally relate.

    1. LOL…yes, the panther chunks gave it that fermented death smell.

      I am not licking jellies as much as I thought I did. I am such a creme polish whore that everything else pales in comparison. I think the only jelly that I will always love is Vodka & Caviar. I know I've said it a million times, but it really is my favorite red of all time.

      Ugh!!!! That is exactly what happened to me. I was snacking and I wanted to vomit every time my nails got close to my mouth. I could smell the polish and I just couldn't deal with it so I had to take it off. You're brave for lasting more than a few hours. lol

    1. I wasn't too excited with the blue alone, but I did love how it looked with the Kleancolor. It really looked amazing in the sun and I kept doing jazz hands just to see how shinny and sparkly they looked. It really is too bad that it smelled so putrid. 🙁

    1. I really liked it too. My friend kept telling me that my nails looked like fireworks and I think I agreed with him. The way it looked in sunlight was amazing…but the stench…oh lord!

  5. Its a beautiful topcoat, i would have been put iff by the smell as well!

    I have the black and blue holo, i don’t think they smell…

    1. I’ve heard a few people say their Kleancolor polishes don’t smell. I don’t know what it is about them but the smell makes me gag. Maybe it’s just one of those scents that only affect some people? I just don’t know if I’ll be able to wear it again…nor the other 5 I purchased. lol

  6. Eww, they still smell even when dry!? Yuck. I could barely handle scented polish, so I imagine I would be barfing in my mouth a little if I were using a polish that smelled like death and evil’s rotten baby. Eugh.

    I don’t care what you say, ride the waves looks great on you!

    1. Thanks! I do like blue a lot but I dunno…it just doesn’t feel very “me” whatever that means. (Every nail polish seems to be “me” lately.)

      The smell was bad. Real bad. We had a small party last night because my parents were going back home so we had some friends/family over at my place which equals tons of food. I was snacking and every time my fingers came close to my mouth, I wanted to puke. Hey, maybe I have finally found a diet that will work for me: The Kleancolor Diet®

  7. well, i must defend kleancolor!!! hahaha if you dive-in in “metromall” AKA ghetto-mall (i think i don’t need to explain further), you are able to get kleancolor at a very good price, meaning ONE DOLLAR! i love one dollar polishes..
    i have 2 polishes of kleancolor and they don’t smell weird, i don’t think they even smell.. maybe was only that specific polish..!!

    but wait, how does it smell? like crap? really? or like strong paint?

    1. LOL…I think they do need some defending because I’ve been trashing them a lot lately. You know, the smell is so strong and pungent. I am a little weird because I actually like the smell of nail polish, but this was not a regular nail polish scent…it was like kind of rotten smelling. I bought 6 of them, and they all have the same smell. I am wondering if maybe they are just so old that the smell changed…but for all 6??

      I got them for $1 too! I love my $1 Wet N Wild, Essence and NYC polishes. You can’t beat the price for the quality.

    1. Thank you! I really do like the way it looks but I can't deal with the awful smell.

      C'est vraiment dégueulasse…comme si le vernis était pourri. 🙁

  8. Maybe it had real chunks of panther in it.

    I love jellies. And I love that combo, but I had a polish that smelled bad once too (it was ancient) and it smelled like DEATH even when it had dried. A day and a half later, I was eating a sandwich and thought my sandwich was ‘off’….nope it was my nails! ICK. So I can totally relate.

    1. LOL…yes, the panther chunks gave it that fermented death smell.

      I am not licking jellies as much as I thought I did. I am such a creme polish whore that everything else pales in comparison. I think the only jelly that I will always love is Vodka & Caviar. I know I’ve said it a million times, but it really is my favorite red of all time.

      Ugh!!!! That is exactly what happened to me. I was snacking and I wanted to vomit every time my nails got close to my mouth. I could smell the polish and I just couldn’t deal with it so I had to take it off. You’re brave for lasting more than a few hours. lol

  9. Bummer that you didn’t like this manicure! It looks great, but apparently did not smell it, haha.

    1. I wasn’t too excited with the blue alone, but I did love how it looked with the Kleancolor. It really looked amazing in the sun and I kept doing jazz hands just to see how shinny and sparkly they looked. It really is too bad that it smelled so putrid. 🙁

  10. I am loving the Kleancolor purple, too bad it has an odor that apparently lingers. Riding the Waves is pretty, but I'm tired of seeing so many blue mani/pedis. Your overall mani is very cute.

    1. Thanks. I do like the end product but can't deal with the smell. When something makes you dry heave, you know it's not worth the trouble. lol

      I have been seeing tons of blues lately but I'm still not sick of them. 🙂

  11. That blue is snoozeworthy. Not bright enough for me, I don't think. It looks like Finger Paints' blue neon- Inkblot blue. Pretty but not my definition of neon.

    As you already know… I hate the smell of Klean Colors. Good lord I don't know why on earth it has to smell like that. You say spawn of evil and death, I say rotten milk that has fermented in a monkey's butthole. It's so gross. However- mine (chunky holos fuchsia and black) did NOT smell once they dried. Thank the lord and hallelujah for that cuz if it did, I'd toss it.

    On a bright note- your nails do look wonderful but a stanky nasty smell is something I can not deal with.

    1. I didn't think it was bright enough for a "neon" either. I guess I just don't like jellies that much…so watch me go and buy 30 jellies all at once.

      Haha…monkey butthole sounds about right. I just don't know if we got some bad polishes or if they all smell like that. I am super disappointed because I really love the way my nails turned out. They were super flashy…just the way I like them. I wonder why my nails continued to smell so bad…maybe the polish wasn't completely dry yet? I even washed my hands like 3 times hoping the smell would go away, but I had no such luck. I think I may have to just give up on KleanColor altogether. 🙁

      1. You must be just a little more sensitive to the smell than me. And let's be honest…. it just really does smell THAT bad. I know we didn't get a bad batch cuz I've heard other people say this as well. Plus, we got ours at much different times so I'm gonna go with- It just smells HORRENDOUS!

        1. LOL…ok, I was still trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but that's not really going to fly. I don't know what to do with them. I probably will trash them or maybe just use the other glitters for a real jelly sandwich and see if the layers on top of the gross polish make any difference. Oh well…I'll just have to wait and see.

    1. Thank you! I really do like the way it looks but I can’t deal with the awful smell.

      C’est vraiment dégueulasse…comme si le vernis était pourri. 🙁

  12. I am loving the Kleancolor purple, too bad it has an odor that apparently lingers. Riding the Waves is pretty, but I’m tired of seeing so many blue mani/pedis. Your overall mani is very cute.

    1. Thanks. I do like the end product but can’t deal with the smell. When something makes you dry heave, you know it’s not worth the trouble. lol

      I have been seeing tons of blues lately but I’m still not sick of them. 🙂

  13. That blue is snoozeworthy. Not bright enough for me, I don’t think. It looks like Finger Paints’ blue neon- Inkblot blue. Pretty but not my definition of neon.

    As you already know… I hate the smell of Klean Colors. Good lord I don’t know why on earth it has to smell like that. You say spawn of evil and death, I say rotten milk that has fermented in a monkey’s butthole. It’s so gross. However- mine (chunky holos fuchsia and black) did NOT smell once they dried. Thank the lord and hallelujah for that cuz if it did, I’d toss it.

    On a bright note- your nails do look wonderful but a stanky nasty smell is something I can not deal with.

    1. I didn’t think it was bright enough for a “neon” either. I guess I just don’t like jellies that much…so watch me go and buy 30 jellies all at once.

      Haha…monkey butthole sounds about right. I just don’t know if we got some bad polishes or if they all smell like that. I am super disappointed because I really love the way my nails turned out. They were super flashy…just the way I like them. I wonder why my nails continued to smell so bad…maybe the polish wasn’t completely dry yet? I even washed my hands like 3 times hoping the smell would go away, but I had no such luck. I think I may have to just give up on KleanColor altogether. 🙁

      1. You must be just a little more sensitive to the smell than me. And let’s be honest…. it just really does smell THAT bad. I know we didn’t get a bad batch cuz I’ve heard other people say this as well. Plus, we got ours at much different times so I’m gonna go with- It just smells HORRENDOUS!

        1. LOL…ok, I was still trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but that’s not really going to fly. I don’t know what to do with them. I probably will trash them or maybe just use the other glitters for a real jelly sandwich and see if the layers on top of the gross polish make any difference. Oh well…I’ll just have to wait and see.

  14. omgosh I've always wondered what other people thought of the smell, now I KNOW I'm crazy. I personally don't care for regular polish smell, but I've always kinda liked the off smell of KC…. O.O Crazy, I know. To me it smells like someone shoved flowers in my nail polish…not good ones but…..still less turpentine smell to it.

    1. OMG, you are so funny! I would so freak out if I had to smell Kleancolor polishes a lot. They made me want to barf!!! I feel bad for them because some of them are so pretty and I love how cheap they are.

  15. omgosh I’ve always wondered what other people thought of the smell, now I KNOW I’m crazy. I personally don’t care for regular polish smell, but I’ve always kinda liked the off smell of KC…. O.O Crazy, I know. To me it smells like someone shoved flowers in my nail polish…not good ones but…..still less turpentine smell to it.

    1. OMG, you are so funny! I would so freak out if I had to smell Kleancolor polishes a lot. They made me want to barf!!! I feel bad for them because some of them are so pretty and I love how cheap they are.

  16. I found this post by asking Google “why does Kleancolor polish smell so bad” LOL! I’m currently swatching my collection and just finished the Chunky Holo Black… I have 3 Kleancolors & haven’t used them recently… All 3 of mine stink to high heaven! They say made in China on the back & I’m like, makes sense to me! Lol… They are pretty amazing, but why do they have to reek?? I have a set of 6 matte glitters coming this week too… Damn them! Lol

    1. LOL! I love it. I get a lot of hits from “kleancolor stinks” which I find hilarious. They have some really pretty polishes but I just can’t deal with the “odor” if you can call it that.

  17. I know what you mean! I think all Kleancolor polishes smell awful, though! I’ve had a few and they definitely have an odd stench.. It’s not like normal polish smells, which I’ve gotten used to over the past few years.. I’ve bought a few of them and I threw all except one away (only because one was a chrome and it was good for stamping aha!)

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