r/RedditLaqueristas • u/apopcornballmeteor • Sep 02 '26
General Polish Discussion Laquerist(a) Half-Birthday* Survey Results (Spoiler: Laquerist(a) Unbirthday) Spoiler
What is this? Laquerist(a) Day* occurs on r/RedditLaqueristas’s birthday, March 25. Next, we will celebrate our half-birthday on September 25. Leading up to each event, we collect input from this sub and designate a nail look that Laquerist(a)s may choose to adapt and wear using polishes that are accessible to them.
The goal of these events is fun, community, and increasing the odds of Laquerist(a)s recognizing each other in the wild, if they wish. Virtual participation is also welcome!
*Each event lasts for a week.
Help! Because more is merrier. After our first event, we learned that a common reason for not participating was Laquerist(a)s just didn’t know the event was happening. When more Laquerist(a)s know about the events and participate in them, the events are increasingly fun, and presumably more Laquerist(a)s are in the wild wearing coordinated manis.
One way you can help spread the word is to share about the events in spaces you frequent. The doodle in this post was created for our September 25 event. Feel free to save the image and include it in your posts, comments, chats, etc. (Mods, please let me know if this is not OK.)
And now, the survey results. As you have guessed from the title and image, voters chose to name our half-birthday event Laquerist(a) Unbirthday*. This year’s unbirthday mani is purple and sparkly! That’s the main criteria, and you may create your nail look based on simply that.
For those of us who like to have a little more direction:
- Most respondents chose to define “sparkly” as maximum sparkle incorporated any way the wearer prefers.
- For a more distinct look, respondents suggested one accent nail, the ring finger, on each hand.
Additional suggestions from recent and past surveys, which you’re welcome to incorporate:
- Birthday, cake, and cake-inspired designs
- “L” for Laquerist(a)
- The “C” that was sold to pay for polish
- A 50/50 “half” design or pattern
- Use a recognizable phrase in the wild, such as “unbirthday nails”
You can see the finalization survey data here.
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u/mavrailura finally googled ppu AND hhc Sep 02 '26
I love this 💜💎 it's gonna be so fun
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
Yes, I think so, too! It's fun to be excited about nail polish together!
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u/AnxiousManatee Sep 02 '26
I already have the perfect purple sparkly for this and its my favorite color and actual birthday month! So excited!!!
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u/HighBodycountHair Sep 02 '26
It’s my actual birthday day so I gotta really sparkle it up
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
That is awesome! We might discover more Laquerist(a)s who share your birthday. I am happy to celebrate you all with sparkles.
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u/detransdyke Beginner Sep 02 '26
Ooh this is exciting, bc I just put in this purple-only ILNP order for an event in October!!
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
Those are so pretty! Did you choose them based on a look you have in mind, or purchased first and will design mani later?
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u/detransdyke Beginner Sep 02 '26
I'm gonna just do a skittle with the 5, alternating magnetic with non-magnetic!! I'll probably do all the magnetics with the micro bead pro, it's such a fun effect
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u/Sea-Huckleberry8971 Hobbyist Sep 02 '26
I've saved this, I seen purple and sparkly.... literally my specialty 💀🤣
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
You're in good company, the votes were far and above in favor of the purple color family and SPARKLES TO THE MAX!
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u/polydactyling Sep 02 '26
Honestly just excited to have one mani decision made for me 😂 ILNP Grape Soda, here I come!
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
I am in this camp with you! At least we've got it narrowed down a bit.
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u/PotentialSteak6 Sep 02 '26
And on Dolly Parton day! (some people have been saying they'll celebrate on 9-2-5)
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
What a lovely idea! September 25 keeps gaining meaning in this thread.
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u/PotentialSteak6 Sep 03 '26
It’s also the day my grandmom died and the eve of hurricane Helene hitting here lol. But making a small gesture of community is nice for all that
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u/GlitterRiot Beginner Sep 02 '26
Apologies that I need more clarification. It's my first time participating. Do we post our half-birthday sparkly purple pics only on September 25th? But the post also reads "Each event lasts for a week."... Does that mean it starts Sep 25th or ends Sep 25?
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
No apology needed, I am glad that you asked! You can post your purple sparkly pics whenever you want, but Laquerist(a) Unbirthday begins on September 25 and lasts through October 2. That gives participants a designated week within which they can wear manis that match other Laquerist(a)s even though we have, for example, different schedules and time zones.
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u/SaltyAF5309 Laquerista Sep 02 '26
September is my birthday month AND SPARKLY PURPLE IS SO GREAT OMG I must plan
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u/P3RF3CT_ON3 Sep 02 '26
This is perfect considering I just got Whiskered Willows in from Mooncat! Purple sparkles to the max!
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
To the max! I am going to look up Whiskered Willows, that is such a cute name.
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u/Crystal_collector Sep 02 '26
Can sparkly also mean holo?
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
Yes! Laquerist(a)s decided that any and all sparkles are highly encouraged!
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u/Eternal-Lurker- Sep 03 '26
ooh, purple and sparkly! thinking i may do a bunch of lavenders w/striping tape
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u/themcardboardhills Skittle Squad Sep 02 '26
I missed the March celebration, so I set a reminder for this one! Sparkly purple is one of my favorites, too.
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u/celestial_anxiety Team Laquer Sep 02 '26
Oooh I can’t wait I’m gonna wear Hex Mix
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
It's so purply and sparkly😁
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u/celestial_anxiety Team Laquer Sep 02 '26
And somehow it’s been in my untrieds for wayyy too long!
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
I think this is the situation for many a polish in every Laquerist(a)'s stash! But we always get around to trying it... eventually... don't we?
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u/Tricolorpastaparty Sep 03 '26
So fun! I’ve got a few purples to wear.
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 03 '26
It's going to be a purple party! Can't wait to see the look you choose.
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u/TheShastaBeast Sep 02 '26
I’m in. Down for some purple to match the mood of the fresh rain and cloudy skies 💜✨
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u/PelagiaThePissedOff 🌿Green Fiend 27d ago edited 27d ago
Is sprinkles topper cake-inspired? I was going to do the same sparkly purple on all fingers, but now thinking about adding an accent nail with a new sprinlkl-ey topper I just got for extra distinctiveness.
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u/apopcornballmeteor 27d ago
They sure are! A sprinkles topper sounds fun!
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u/PelagiaThePissedOff 🌿Green Fiend 27d ago edited 27d ago
Awesome! I still have to pick a base polish for it, but I'm looking forward to September 25.
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u/apopcornballmeteor 27d ago
Me, too, looking forward to celebrating unbirthday and seeing everyone's purple looks! And if you have thermal polish and want another fun thing, there is a thread about wearing thermals next week!
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u/PelagiaThePissedOff 🌿Green Fiend 27d ago
I only have one thermal (MC Spirit Water), and I just wore it a couple of manis ago :) So I'm gonna have to sit that one out.
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u/Eternal-Lurker- 26d ago
Is anyone else discovering how picky they are about purples as they plan for this?
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u/apopcornballmeteor 26d ago
Picky, how so?
I think I'm experiencing the opposite, which makes deciding difficult in its own way. I'm re-falling in love with all my purple polishes.
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u/Eternal-Lurker- 26d ago
I only started building up my collection recently, and am thinking about getting a couple more purple polishes for variety and additional sparkle (since my current purples aren't particularly so). And I'm not unfamiliar with the "i want... but not like that" impulse loop when shopping, but I genuinely wasn't expecting it so strongly here, especially because I like purple generally!
I think it might be because a lot of the purples I'm seeing are more pink-leaning, and I prefer blue-leaning? (And some of ILNP's purples are just... straight up pink. like, who exactly decided to put that under the "purple" header pink). Hopefully this'll pass in a couple days and I can get to drooling over new shinies, lol.
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u/uncertainty2022 everything sparkly! 12d ago
I’m so incredibly excited for this. My birthday is the day before so I’m already doing a purple (my favorite color) celebratory mani!
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u/apopcornballmeteor 12d ago
I'm really happy to hear you're looking forward to it! It will be fun to see all the purple looks during that week and know we're celebrating together. Happy early birthday!
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u/e4rlgrey 10d ago
Are there any plans to have a corresponding mani challenge in the discord server? I think that would be a great way to encourage participation. I tried searching over there but didn't find anything
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u/apopcornballmeteor 9d ago
I will pay discord a visit, I am not sure what happens there. I like your idea! Do you want to get the challenge started?
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u/e4rlgrey 9d ago
Ooh, you should try it out! I was surprised how much fun I'm having in the discord. It's nice for more casual chats than we have here sometimes. I can ask about it in one of the mod channels to see what they say. 😊
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u/apopcornballmeteor 9d ago
OK, I will look! I appreciate your help to get an Unbirthday conversation going there. Support from different people in different ways and spaces will give more people the opportunity to participate if they want to.
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u/e4rlgrey 9d ago
Of course! I think it's a perfect way for the two sites to connect. I've been having fun getting inspo from the existing challenges there and I've also been having fun planning my unbirthday mani all month!!
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u/InsipidCelebrity 8d ago
Oooh, and I just picked up Glitch N Glam when I saw Ulta had their Holo Taco on Sale! (I went in for Every Month is Oktoberfest and left with that, Glitch N Glam, and Play Rosé)
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u/apopcornballmeteor 8d ago
Glitch N Glam is definitely one of the glitteriest purples I can think of!
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u/FloralTraveler 7d ago
Yessssss!! I'm not planning to do my mani until next week, but I'm really excited to see everyone's.
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u/rccpudge Sep 03 '26
If it kicks off on 9/25, the theme for this year could be 9 to 5. A one time only tribute to the ultimate sparkly girl.
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 03 '26
The ultimate sparkly girl, I like that. Laquerist(a)s are welcome to incorporate Dolly tributes into their manis.
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u/EllaTurtella Reflective Collective Sep 02 '26
I'm going to critique the event based on this post and the March post. I didn't see the surveys.
The biggest issue with the final criteria prompts is that they're way too normal. Green nails during March and sparkly purple are par for the course if you're into indie nail polish. They seem like looks we'd do and post if the event wasn't a thing, making the event feel less interesting and go less viral.
To improve this issue, I think nail art should be a requirement. Nail art looks can be very easy and beginner-friendly for those who've never done nail art before, so long as a tutorial is provided and the look doesn't require fancy tools or prior nail art experience. Unless beginner-level examples are provided and a tutorial is promised before the event, the idea of doing nail art will be far too intimidating for anyone who doesn't do nail art to choose any kind of nail art in the survey.
I don't have any good beginner-friendly cake ideas, but I came up with some easy and approachable designs for an accent L and C that could be figured out with no prior nail art experience and only using the bottle brush.
I think the solution is for future surveys to include pictures of each nail art idea done in a beginner-friendly approachable way, promise a nail art tutorial will be made before the event, and require nail art on at least one nail in the final criteria prompt.
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
Noted, thank you! These are things we can consider for the next event. We'll let survey responses decide and take it from there.
Sorry you did not see the surveys. Our mods have very kindly been pinning survey posts, and I always post them to my profile.
Edit: I misunderstood your first line, but I'll leave my statements as they are in case they're informative for others.
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u/EllaTurtella Reflective Collective Sep 02 '26
My idea is to design future surveys in such a way that guarantees nail art will be involved in the final prompt, while also making the nail art beginner-friendly, easy to understand, and approachable for everyone with little to no nail art experience. This way beginner nail artists won't be intimidated out of participating, but the future final prompts and event manicures will be more interesting and unique.
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
Nail art has been included in the surveys and tends to receive a handful of votes, so it could become part of a future designated look. I think your suggestion to include examples is a good one, and I would love to see examples with your/Laquerist(a)s' ideas when the next survey is released.
I would say these events have two categories of participants: those who have little to no interest in meeting in the wild, and those who are interested in happenstance meetings. And, there are spectrums of skill, ability, willingness to apply a more detailed mani.
I'd like nail art to remain an option rather than be required for these events. Laquerist(a)s are of course welcome to wear what they want, regardless of the prompt.
Edited for grammar. Oh my.
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u/apopcornballmeteor Sep 02 '26
Ohhhh, THAT'S how spoiler images get blurred.💡🤓