Nail polish: a weird product that girls buy. We may never know why. What we do know, thanks to actual statistics, is this: the Great Nail Polish Bubble of 2012 has burst. What gives, nailpersons?

The facts, as reported in Ad Age today, are these: the "nail product" category grew by more than 20% in both 2011 and 2012. Yet the latter months of 2013 saw this explosive growth reverse itself— nail polish sales were down 10% in October, and 13% in November. What accounts for the sudden disinterest of the nail polish-buying public in acquiring ever greater quantities of paint with which to cover their fingernails, as well as (in some cases) toenails? A theory:

Consumer Edge Research analyst Javier Escalante offers a simple explanation. "It was a fad," he said. He noted that the biggest drop has been in "special effects" products such as crackle-top coats rather than basic nail polish.

A fad, in beauty products? Seems far-fetched. More likely is the explanation offered by Gawker.com trend reporter and nail polish customer Caity Weaver, who told us in an exclusive interview: "I always thought crackle was STUPID and UGLY."

Nail polish manufacturing companies were foolish to ignore this incontrovertible fact.

Why did you stop buying so much nail polish? What do you think about "special effects" nail polish, whatever that is? What beauty products or specific humans do you believe are "stupid" and "ugly?" Leave your valuable opinions in the Kinja™ discussion section below. Together, we will assemble a collection of opinions about nail polish.

[Photo: Flickr]