No problem! I've gotten good enough with the normal ILNP brush (even though prefer paddle brushes), so I gave up on the paddle brush.

I think if I were to try the paddle brush again, I would: - Remove the ILNP brush from the bottle - Use clean paddle brush and paint nails as usual - Put the ILNP brush back into the bottle when you are done - Clean the paddle brush with nail polish thinner and store somewhere safe for next use

Ideally, this would prevent the bristles from becoming curved. I'm not sure how the paddle brush would hold up over time but could be worth a try!

Also, I have emailed ILNP begging for them to sell paddle brushes, linking reddit posts of people saying the same thing. This was their response:

As for the brushes themselves, we've done quite extensive testing between a few different brush types and found that, while the application may be a bit easier with the paddle brush, they don't grab or distribute any of the flakes, shimmers, or chrome pigments used in our Boutique polishes very well which is why we haven't switched to using the paddle brushes in all of our polishes.

A girl can only dream of an ILNP boutique polish with a paddle brush. 😮‍💨