Well hello dahhhlings! I hope this week has started off well and that you are doing wonderfully!
So today I wanted to do a favorites post, this time: nail polish! I absolutely love nail polish, I am constantly buying it and trying new colors. I have a massive, and I mean massive collection with every color of the rainbow, but I just can't stop. Today I wanted to share some that are my absolute favorites, my go-tos, my ride or dies. These are the ones that I pick if I have an event that I have to go to or a special occasion and I can't risk a new color or I'm just not sure what to do and want something I know looks amazing. I want to say that I have no brand affiliations/sponsorship, and while I do tend to favor certain brands, I am always willing to try new ones. So let's get to the fun part!
Essie Nail Lacquer in Sugar Daddy- Okay so this might just be my all time, love of my life, till death do us part nail color. First of all, Essie is one of my favorite brands for cheap(ish) nail polish. I love their formula, it always goes on so smooth and flawlessly and I find that it lasts a lot longer than other drugstore brands. This lacquer is a light pinky nude color that goes with literally anything. What I like about this color is that you can build it up, meaning you can wear it very sheer or add layers to make it more opaque. This one is a little darker/more pigmented than the cult fave Ballet Slippers. Don't get me wrong, I love Ballet Slippers too, but I find it a bit too sheer for me, and sometimes too light. This is a nice option to substitute. I wear this color all the time, it's perfect for anytime of the year. I also find that it is really professional is well, so it is a good option for people that work and can't necessarily wear bright funky colors. I can't say enough about it, just that I am so obsessed.
OPI Nail Lacquer in Samoan Sand- Keeping with the nude colors, this shade is another great one. OPI is a cult fave, and for good reason, I don't think I need to say much about them because everyone knows & loves them. So onto this shade...it is more of a taupe/light brown nude than the one above. When I first picked up this color I wasn't sure about it, because I thought it would make my nails blend in with my fingers, and look like I didn't have nails. But in the end, it was actually really nice. I think this is a "certain skin tones be careful" thing, so you definitely need to swatch it out before you buy it. I especially like it when I'm more tan because it stands out from my hands, but then again I wear it year round. As with Sugar Daddy, I love this because it has the whole sheer or not options, and because it's very appropriate for whatever you need to do.
Seventeen Gel Colour in Black Cat- So I am of the opinion that every girl needs a good black nail polish. I think black polish gets a bad rap and is sometimes associated with "punk/emo/gothy" looks, but that doesn't have to be the case! Black can be very professional and sleek if applied cleanly. I also think that the shinier colors look more chic than matte finishes, but that's just a personal preference. About this particular black polish- I got this while I was studying abroad in England. I think I only brought like two polishes with me, which was just not enough. So I went to Boots or Superdrug (I can't remember) and bought this. Now, it says that it's a "gel colour" which made me think that it would last a super long time. I think it does for a drugstore nail polish. I find that it lasts about a week and a half, with minimal touch-ups. It's super black, very shiny and goes on really smooth. Another really nice thing is that you don't really have to build up the color like you do with some blacks. It goes on really dark and I've been okay with just one coat in a pinch. I really wish I could find this in America because I would totally buy it again.
Essie Nail Lacquer in Wicked- I just recently got this, maybe a month and a half ago and I am loving it! As you can see from the bottle I've already gotten quite a bit of use from it. It is a really pretty deep wine color that is perfect for fall and the holiday season. I like that it carries more of the red tones, because sometimes these shades are really purple-y. Also sometimes these colors go on kind of patchy but this one applies really evenly. It looks.kind of patchy in the swatch, but I think that's because I was trying to paint on paper! Anyway, this color makes me think of Thanksgiving day and crisp fall weather (even though we don't really get that in Florida!). I'm not a huge fan of bright red nails, and I feel like this is a nice alternative to that. I feel like you could wear this all year round, even though it comes off as a "fall" color.
Kiko Cosmetics Nail Lacquer in 295 Cerulean Blue- How fun is this color?! I adore it, it is so pretty. It came out a little dark on the swatch, but when you actually wear it, it's more bright, almost fluorescent. It's not obnoxious though, just a really happy color. And it lasts sooooooo long. I actually got this in Spain (the country is literally covered in these stores) while I was on holiday and I did everything in it. Packing, unpacking, travelling, beach days, shopping, nights out, tourism, everything. It didn't chip for almost the whole two weeks I was there, which is actually so amazing. I really love the formula, it's super opaque and really easy to put on. I think it's a really good color for summertime, although I'm trying to come up with a way to use it in winter...maybe something with snowflakes?! Hmmm... The only think I'm a little annoyed about is that I don't think they ship to the USA yet, so I really don't know how I'm going to get my hands on more of these. But..where there's a will...there's a way ;)
Sinful Colors in Secret Admirer- Oh my gosshhh I love this color so much. Ignore the swatch because it isn't actually that dark when you put it on, I just couldn't get good lighting for it! It actually comes out a really nice gunmetal, silvery color. I like it because it's still quite a dark shade, but it's a good alternative to black for those who don't want to go that far. It is quite shimmery, but it doesn't look childish or tacky, it's just really even and beautiful. I wear this shade all the time, I don't even care what time of year it is. Although I do think it'd be super nice for New Years especially! You do have to kind of build up the color, but you only need 2 coats, 3 at the most if you're trying to make it look darker. Another thing I really like about it is that even though it has that glitter in it, it's not super hard to remove, it just comes right off.
Sinful Colors in Nirvana- Ok so the swatch on this one came out a lot darker than the color actually is, but this is a really nice brown shade that I think is so pretty. I really like the tan/brown/nude trend, as you can probably tell, and this is just the perfect medium brown color. It's not too light or too dark, just a really nice middle shade. Again, this would be really nice for professionals, or for people that don't want to go all the way to black. I know that brown kind of seems like a weird color to wear on your nails, but I encourage you to try it out, as it can be super pretty!
So there you have it! These are my favorite nail polish colors at the moment, although they may change/be added to once spring and summer roll around. I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe found a color you'd like to try! Post any questions or comments below, I'd love to hear from you!
Stay lovely, fancy friends!
