I have definitely neglected this blog for some time, but I’m back and ready to write. I want to make clear that although this blog will include pictures, it will NOT be a forum for me to purchase every nail polish known to man and post swatches. To me, if you love nail polish you must always have a manicure (whether it was done at home or in the salon) and showcase the colors that you love. There are many nail polish blogs that exclusively show images of the newest nail lacquers, but these blogs do not convey the love of a good manicure or the way that polish brings an outfit together and adds the perfect finishing touch. Anyone can purchase the newest nail polish, apply it to her nails, take a photo, and share it on cyberspace, that’s easy. It takes time and effort to convey an adoration of nail polish to an audience and spark that very passion in others. As trivial as a bottle of polish may be in the grand scheme of life, painting my nails is my artistic outlet. Like I’ve said before, nail polish is the most important accessory to any outfit.
This entry is devoted to my nail polish collection: an ever-growing assortment of every color that I have found remotely enticing over the last few years. If I were to tell you every color that I own, you may stop reading because I have about 70 polishes. I have purples, blues, numerous shades of pinks, corals and sheer polishes; the list goes on. Even though this entry is lengthy, hold tight. I’m going to do a spotlight on the most recent polishes I’ve consistently used:
Summer 2010-
I am a big fan of dark, vampy colors but when the weather is warm I can’t help but to lighten up my nail color. From the spring through the summer, I was using
Done Out in Deco, by
OPI. I saw this color on one of my sister’s friend’s and loved it. It’s an opaque lilac, and not nearly as gray as
Parlez-Vous OPI? so I don’t understand when people make the comparison. Done out in Deco is also more opaque and slightly less purple than
Do You Lilac It? by
OPI. It’s from the
South Beach Collection from Summer 2009…an oldie but a goodie. I think it’s very mod and I would go as far to say that it is the purple version of
Fiji, by
Esssie. (I’ll do a blog entry on what I consider a “version” a little bit later on.)
For my toes I frequently use another 2009 trend: neons. When you have a great tan, neon colors amplify your bronze skin. Even though neon colors weren’t as big in 2010, I think this trend should last! Of course I own one of
Essie’s most popular Spring 2009 color,
Punchy Pink, but I decided to go with
Flip Flop Fantasy, by
China Glaze. It has more of an orange hue than
Punchy Pink. Neon colors do tend to chip more easily than others and can be somewhat streaky when applying them so make sure that each coat is dry before applying the next coat. This takes extra care and finesse to complete successfully. DISCLAIMER: this trend is not for the fair-skinned. If you do not have a tan, do not try to wear neon nail polish! You will end up looking washed out; end of story.
Essie did a great job in Summer 2010 and brought us the perfect opaque coral,
Haute as Hello. Its creamy, peachy, and looks great on nails or toes. This polish does, however, change color after being in the bottle for a month or so, which was disappointing. I’ve been shopping and seen bottles of this color that were significantly different from my own.
Fall 2010:
GRAYS...
Chinchilly. I know it’s an older polish, but it took me a while to learn to love this color. It’s not as dark as
You Don’t Know Jacques, by
OPI, but that is not a bad thing. I love the cool stone-gray color. Similar to this color was a new Fall 2010
Essie polish called
Merino Cool. Is it purple? Is it gray? Is it taupe? I can’t tell, and that’s what I like about this color. I have gotten so many compliments when wearing
Merino Cool, although I had often wished that it were more opaque and slightly darker. Essie answered my prayers with
Smokin’ Hot. I was so excited to have found this, although I have only worn it a few times. I recently found out what a rarity it is to actually own a bottle. I was talking to someone last week and brought up
Smokin’ Hot. She reported that this shade is sold out everywhere. I hope
Essie reissues this color because it has the potential to become a classic like
Wicked, Fiji , etc.
A khaki-brown with a gold shimmer is the perfect color for fall.
Ingrid, by
China Glaze embodies all of the aforementioned characteristics. It looks great on toes as well as nails, and is a great transitional color in between seasons because it’s not too dark, and not too light. I could not pass up this color even though
China Glaze is not the best quality polish.
Winter 2011:
Although I started wearing this color in the late summer on my toes, I wore
OPI’s, Ski Teal We Drop quite frequently during the winter. In August it looked vibrant with a tan, and in the winter it brought some great color into my dark wardrobe. Sometimes we want dark nails without giving the illusion that we are wearing black nail polish (the effect we get when wearing vampy shades like
Wicked or
Lincoln Park After Dark;)
Ski Teal We Drop does just that.
Light My Sapphire by
OPI is a color that I was trying to find for a while and one day I stumbled upon this shade in my local beauty store. This color has the slightest hint of navy blue, but is really a rich charcoal shimmer.
Light My Sapphire goes on so evenly and smoothly that it takes the stress out of doing your nails.
