What to charge as a nail content creator, or influencer

If you're a nail content creator wanting to monetize your nail content, you've come to the right place. I'm Crystal, I go by @lovefreshpaint on Instagram, I've been a content creator for almost 10 years, have been doing it full-time as a career since 2021, and have been mentoring other content creators since 2022. I love helping other creators learn how to navigate the world of brand deals because it's a world that many of us get thrust into just from having a presence on social media.

I know exactly how hard it to know what to charge at first, because so many of us started creating content for fun, and then suddenly we find brands in our DMs and we have no idea what a fair rate would be. It’s an entirely different world! Believe me when I say that what feels like a lot to you at first (when you first start charging) is usually far too low. 🥲

And I’m not just speaking for myself, as someone with a lot of experience and a decent-sized following, I’m privy to a LOT of brand deals with content creators of various sizes, so I’m seeing numbers that are being accepted first hand. 👀 

One of the biggest mistakes I see people making with their pricing is giving flat rates for everything, and not taking into account your time, resources, experience, influence, and the variables that are unique to each partnership. 

There’s a LOT of money in advertising, don’t forget that. If a brand wants to use your content then you deserve to be compensated. 💯

So, if you need help figuring out what to charge for nail swatches, nail videos, nail art content, etc, check out the resources at the link below, or feel free to message me on Instagram if you have any questions. 

Learn what to charge for your nail content here

Essie Resort 2017: Strike A Pose-Itano Comparisons

Hi guys!

Today I have swatches and comparisons of the newest mint green to join the Essie family, Strike a Pose-Itano. I always look forward to the Resort collection and this year was no exception. I have to thank my buddy Lauren for sending me the entire collection as a baby shower gift last month. If you are an Essie lover but are not familiar with Lauren's Instagram account or blog I highly recommend you check them out! Not only does she redefine #nailgoals, but she regularly partners with the Essie Canada team and is a great source for swatches and reviews of upcoming collections. And although I plan to feature just one shade from the collection today, I also plan to cover all four polishes in an upcoming review. I just have one more polish left to try before I can do so. But anyway, back to the task at hand!

Essie: Strike A Pose-Itano

Mega Essie Haul: My 100 Bottle Sweepstakes Win

Hey guys! The time has finally come for me to share the mother lode of all nail polish hauls... My 100 bottle Essie sweepstakes win (queue dramatic lighting)! Thanks for being so patient with me on this one; I know I've been promising it for a long time!

Life Update

Hi Guys! Long time no see! I just wanted to pop in and write a quick post about where the heck I've been and what's been going on in my life. If you don't already know, in late August I found out that I was pregnant with our first baby, which was quickly followed by 2 months of a mild (which, for the record, is still AWFUL) case of hyperemesis gravidarum, aka the worst form of "morning" sickness, during which time nail polish and Instagram became the least important things in the world to me. I had no motivation to do much of anything for a really long time, even after the morning sickness went away and I moved forward into my second trimester. So, I basically didn't even look at a bottle of nail polish between September and Christmas Eve. However, on Christmas Eve I finally got the bug to put something festive on my nails and wound up with my first manicure in 4 months (Essie A-List... see below), which was really exciting! It felt good to paint again, and I foresee getting back into the swing of things, though I doubt I'll go back to my usual new mani every week thing for a while (as I write this my Christmas Eve mani is still on, and it's now January 7th!). 

Essie A-List

Essie Go Go Geisha + September Essie Club Collab

We're one step closer to fall and I couldn't be happier about it. Fall is hands down my favorite season---I love crisp air and "sweater weather." I love the fashion and the rich, seasonal colors. Here in Southern California it definitely still feels like summer, but I'm ready to jump right into Pumpkin Spice Lattes and go on a Bath and Body Works candle binge. And if I'm being honest, going to Bath and Body Works during fall and winter might just be my favorite seasonal tradition... Well, you know, after the whole family gathering stuff! But anyway, I welcome the change of season with open arms; now let's get into the nail polish!

Here's a little Fall #nailporn for ya!

Fall Essie Haul

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I just hauled some Fall-inspired Essie polishes from eBay that consisted of a lot of shades I have been lusting after for a while now. A lot, if not all, of these colors were inspired by my fellow Essie lovers on IG. Their beautiful swatches caught my eye and made it onto my shortlist of polishes I wanted to own. The great thing about this haul was that I didn't pay any more than $4.99 for each bottle. I love shopping eBay for Essie because there a lot of great deals to be had and a lot of sellers offering free shipping. So, if you haven't checked out eBay for nail polish yet, take a look. 

For this post, since I've only worn one polish so far, I thought I'd compare each to similar shades in my collection. Let's start with an overview...

L-R: Topless & Barefoot, Angora Cardi, Sew Psyched, Smokin' Hot, Sexy Divide, and Aruba Blue

July + August Essie Club Collab

Recently a group of us on Instagram decided to collaborate each month to create a collage featuring our favorite Essie shade within a specific color family. It's really fun to see which shades everyone chooses and I figured I'd share these collages here, since it's a great way to see a variety of colors side-by-side, which could be helpful if you are looking for a particular type of shade. 

Most recently we featured blues in August, inspired by the ocean and the end of summer. Shade names and participants are listed below:

Essie Mint Candy Apple vs. Blossom Dandy

If you are familiar with Essie nail polishes you are probably familiar with Mint Candy Apple and Blossom Dandy. Both are mint green cremes in the regular line that are very popular and widely loved. Today I want to discuss the differences between them to help you decide if you really need both and, since you can't discuss MCA without bringing up the infamous blue-toned version of it too, we're gonna throw that into the mix too. So, to kick this off let's begin with comparing Blossom Dandy to Mint Candy Apple, the green-toned formulation.

My Top 5 Favorite Essie Polishes

There's a tag going around on Instagram challenging you to pick your top five Essie shades of all time (#only5essies), and while this is an extremely difficult task I somehow managed to pick mine and decided to blog about it so I could go more into depth on why I chose the colors that I did. 

Tips For Taking Pictures Of Your Nails

Hi Guys!

A friend came to me recently with an interesting request... "Will you write a blog post on how to take good pictures of your nails, but emphasize how to do a flattering hand pose rather than the claw hand that I see everywhere?" After we shared a good laugh about this I told her that I thought that was a great idea so here I am with my tips and tricks for you today. It's a long one, so grab a snack. 

Bahama Mama, Essie

Review: Smith & Cult Nail Polish

Hi Guys!

Today I am reviewing polish from the Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer line. If you are not familiar with Smith & Cult they are a 5-Free polish brand created by the founder of the Hard Candy cosmetics line, Dineh Mohajer. The brand is devoted to individualism and their bottles of polish are nothing short of little works of art. If you follow me on Instagram and Snapchat you've already seen exactly how beautiful their bottles are, and the shades certainly do not disappoint. 

How To Make Your At-Home Manicures Last

Hi Guys!

I have been wanting to do educational posts for a while now, some "how-to's" pertaining to nails and I want to start with something that I think is completely universal: How to make your at-home manicures last. 

Rich Girls and Po' Boys, OPI

Small Essie Haul + My First Essie Re-Post!

Hi Guys!

Today I have two things to share with you: a small Essie polish haul and a personal highlight of the month (more on that after the haul).  

After Christmas I decided that I should behave myself and I went into a "no buy" phase. I've done fairly well with it and haven't purchased any new nail polish since the holidays. The three I am featuring below were Christmas gifts from my husband that I picked out at TJ Maxx in December.... Groove is in the Heart, Maximillian Strasse Her, and Swept Away. They are all terrific.

L-R: Groove is in the Heart, Maximillian Strasse Her, Swept Away

Review: Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream

Hi Guys!

Today I have a quick review of the Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream, which sort of fell into my lap by way of a co-worker and I have been so impressed with it that I felt it was well worth mentioning here. Prior to discovering this hand cream I was using Bath & Body Works lotions, which I have used religiously in general for years, but this winter my skin has been especially dry (which I know is normal) and my BBW lotions just weren't doing the trick. So I tried the Avon hand cream and my game was officially changed. 

Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream 

2015 Favorites

It's my first post of 2016! Another year has come and gone, so what better chance to look back and select my year-end favorites of 2015. The items featured will be things that were new to me this year and are not necessarily new to the market in general. Most of the things I have to share are polishes, but there are a couple of nail care items to talk about as well. By the way, the polishes are ranked in no particular order, except for my #1 favorite of the year. So, let's get into it!

This post contains affiliate links

Review: Aveniro Glass Nail Files

Hi Guys! 

Today I have a special review for you. I was recently asked by a company called Aveniro if I would be interested in trying their glass nail files to review. Of course I said yes because nail files are an integral part of my nail care routine, so to try something new sounded great. My only experience with glass nail files prior to this was with a set of files I purchased from Amazon (shipping from China) that contained five small files, all the same size and grit. They were okay, but they were pretty small and the width was a little narrow for my liking so I found myself reaching for my tried and true cardboard emery board from Sally's instead. The Aveniro files, however, have become my new favorite filing tool. The thing that sets glass nail files apart from regular files is that they don't shred the nail the way the traditional cardboard files do. I would always be a little irritated that I would file and shape my nails down to where I wanted with my emery board, only to have little burrs remaining that I would still have to take care of. With glass nail files you get a very pure, clean file, which is great. So, let's get into the review.

From L-R: The L42, XL62R, L62R

Review: California Mango-Mango Magic Cuticle Oil

Hi Guys!

Today I have a review of the California Mango-Mango Magic Cuticle Oil. I heard about this oil from Nicole/Young Wild and Polished on YouTube so when my bottle of Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil ran out I decided to go ahead and try it out. I love cuticle products, so I was really excited to get my bottle. I purchased mine from Amazon (here's a link) for about $8 and free shipping, but I think the regular retail is about $12-$13. I believe you can also purchase it at Sally's Beauty Supply. I bought the 1oz. bottle, which I was very happy about because the Essie oil is only 0.5oz. and it retails for $8.50. It is also available in a smaller size (0.25oz), but for me the 1oz. bottle was perfect.

Fall 2015 Nail Color Favorites

Hi guys! It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm back! Today I am discussing some Fall nail polish colors that I have been wearing and loving this season. My lovely co-worker Leslie lent me some terrific season-appropriate polishes from her collection (first picture below), plus I've been re-discovering some things in my stash. So, without further adieu, here they are!

The first image is of the borrowed polishes (and the adorable note Leslie left on my desk). I haven't worn all of them yet, but three of them are featured below. They are (from left to right): On the Same Paige (OPI), Brown-a-licious (Milani), Two Cent (Sonia Kashuk), Leggy Legend (Essie), and Gilty Pleasure (Sally Hansen). The palette is just so pretty, so warm and rich and fabulously Fall!

Nail Art: Galaxy Nails

Today I want to share some nail art with you, Galaxy Nails! I've been fascinated by outer space since I was a kid, so naturally I just had to learn how to do this nail design. I've tried it once before, but it really didn't turn out very well. This time, however, I loved it!

Essie -- Fiji (plus how to score great nail polish deals on eBay)

Why do some of the prettiest colors have to be so damn difficult to work with? Such is the case of Essie's Fiji. Is it gorgeous? Yes. Is it a pain in the ass to apply? Oh, yes. Is it worth the struggle? Probably. Okay, yes, it's worth the struggle.