My Nail Polish Collection

 

Hello beauty lovers!

As an enthusiastic reader of beauty blogs, I love a good collection post, perhaps because I'm so damn nosey about what other people have in their bags/cases/drawers. I know, such a voyeur! I'm aware they aren't everyone's cup of tea, so you have been warned...but if you love them like me, welcome in...

For some reason I decided to do a nail polish collection post. Now, before writing this, I wouldn't have considered myself that into nail stuff. I never attempt 'nail art', I'm not good at painting my nails and I make a mess of it, and I don't feel like I have that much of a collection...but this post has really proved otherwise. Ooops. I'm just a shopaholic in all areas it seems.

I have overlays on my natural nails which I get infilled once a month and painted a fresh colour that I usually keep as long as possible (because the manicurists don't make my nails look like a Picasso, like I do!). Before that, I bit my nails for years, which is a horrible habit. When I managed to stop my nails were a weak, brittle mess and snapped immeadiately that they got any length to them. Overlays are the only way I've managed to break the cycle and I'm religious about them. Apparently, I've amassed quite a few colours along the way...

 

This little lilac chest is where I store my 'favourites', in my nightstand. Fun fact - this box was actually my first make-up storage when I was 14 and stored all my 'Secret Weapon' and Rimmel goodies when I first started using make-up! Obviously I outgrew it long ago...

 

My other polishes are stored in this colourful gift box (its from Paperchase) that I actually got some hen night gifts in and was too pretty to throw away! It lives in the back of my wardrobe and hides all my overflow nail stuff.

 

I sort of have a thing about Nails Inc and seem to have collected loads of their polishes...a lot of times InStyle or Glamour give freebies (and I always buy them all) and also TK Maxx is a great hunting ground for sets of Nails Inc polishes.

My most used polishes are definitely 'Victoria' (a very dark blood-red) and 'Shoreditch' ( a hot pink). In fact, I have two bottles of 'Victoria', which just might be my favourite polish of all time... I also recently purchased the 'Feathers' collection, which are all beautiful.

 

 

Feathers in 'Edinburgh', 'Piccadilly Circus', 'Victoria', 'Elm Park Gardens', 'Mansfield Mews', 'Great George Street'

'InStyle Mink' ( a past freebie with InStyle magazine!), Feathers in 'Cornwall', Kate Spade edition in 'Big Apple Red', Feathers in 'Chester'

'Stratton Street', Lovers Lane', 'Shoreditch ', 'Victoria' (again!), 'Warwick Avenue', InStyle 'You're a Peach', 'St James'

Then comes my other favourite brand, Models Own. I don't seem to have as many from them as I thought, but I would name them as my favourites. I especially love the mix of glitter pieces and sizes in the Hed Kandi 'Ibiza Mix', it makes me feel so special when I wear it.

'Lilac Dream', Wah Nails edition 'Smash Up Black', Hed Kandi edition 'Ibiza Mix', 'Fuzzy Peach' 

Tied with Models Own are the Maybelline Color Show polishes - they seem to have been releasing loads of innovate new polishes recently and every time I'm in the drugstore I take a look at their stand.

I love the black glitter of the Crystallized polish which is a dead dupe for Essie's 'Caviar' shade that I've been searching for, and the 'Coral Heat' bleached neons makes skin look incredible and tanned and is my top pedicure choice at the moment.

MNY MyVarnish in 'French Manicure', Crystalline in 'Nearly Black', Bleached Neons in 'Coral Heat' and Acid Wash in 'Top Splatter'

Eyeko 'Punk Polish' and 'Vamp Polish'

These ones are very antique...before Eyeko had its sleek-over and cosied up to Alexa Chung, I was a fan of the manga-led brand. When they first did nail polishes, they came in this really cute little paint tin style bottles and had individual names. 

Punk Polish is the brightest neon pink you've ever seen, and Vamp Polish is a black navy. I wish they still did these!

Shatter in 'Shatter the Scales', 'Stranger Tides', 'A Roll in the Hague', Shatter in 'Black Shatter', 'I Don't Give a Rotterdam'

Lately, I've been getting more into OPI, mainly because that's what my nail salon use and they are incredible quality. My OPI collection is small though. I picked up some at TK Maxx on sale and the Shatter ones were hiding in my local Poundshop - bargain or what!?! 

My favourite is the orange-red 'A Roll In The Hague', although the grey-blue 'I Don't Give a Rotterdam' also won me quite a few compliments when I debuted it. Its shot through with a really fine copper shimmer that hasn't picked up on camera. 

I'd like to pick up their shade 'Malaga Wine' because I choose it an awful lot when I get my nails redone. It's a dark red colour, so pretty.

Off the Wall Graffiti Nail Effects 'Monochrome', Fast Finish 'Navy Glint', Halo Nail Polish 'Silver', Lasting Fix 'Smoke Signal', Lasting Fix 'Toasted Almond', Magnetized in 'Grey'

My go-to brand for 'effects' polishes seems to be Seventeen. They might be cheap and cheerful but they're very quick to pick up on trends. There's a matt black and white textured 'graffiti' polish that's really cool and Magnetized and Holographic ones. But my favourite is the deep sapphire blue glitter, because its such a pretty colour and a unique one.

Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Papaya' and 'Lychee'

Although I only have two of the Barry M Gelly H-Shines, I have to say they are some of the most reached-for polishes in my collection. These shades are perfect for summer and I wear them a hell of a lot. Papaya is a pedicure favourite and Lychee gives really good 'mannequin nails'. They are so creamy and give a great finish. Impressive little bargains!

60 Seconds in 'Caramel Cupcake' , Precious Stones in 'Diamond Dust', 60 Seconds in 'Instyle Coral', I Love Lasting Finish in 'Perfect Plum', I Love Lasting Finish in 'Black Cherries', 60 Seconds in 'Too Cool to Tango', 60 Seconds in 'Deliciously Dark'

Another go-to brand for me is Rimmel. I think their polishes are some of the best quality despite their low prices, their always on-trend with new colours and the 60 Seconds range really does dry super-fast, which is gold-dust to an impatient person like me! 'Instyle Coral' I wore into the ground when I first bought it (after spotting it on the nails of the receptionist at my gym and deciding I had to have it!) and that's really running out now. My favourite Rimmel polish is 'Black Cherries', a purplish red-brown with a really fine, glowing glitter to it. Utterly scrumptious.

Kiko Multi Effect Nail Laquer in '04', Revlon Nail Art Neon 'Pink Glow', Sephora La French Manicure with UV Whitening Topcoat in '02 Beige', Kiko Multi Effect Nail Laquer '06'

Then we have some nail polish 'pens', the Kiko ones are a really recent purchase, but the idea is that you can wear the shades indivisually or layer them up (one shade of each is see-through). These will be perfect for taking on holiday as they give options and are really transportable. The Revlon Neon Nail Art one looked so fun, and the Sephora pen is the ultimate portable French manicure with a brightening UV top coat that's amazing.

Outdoor Girl Crackle Nail Polish 'White', Art Deco Nails 'Black', 'White', 'Silver Glitter', Outdoor Girl Crackle Nail Polish 'Silver'

Like I said, I don't really do nail art because I'm not patient enough and I hate having my hands 'immobilised' but I will use effects varnishes because its the lazy girl's nail art, amiright?!? I do sometimes like to do different coloured tips on my nails so I bought the Art Deco polishes mainly for their thin nail art brushes.

L'Oreal LaquiResist 'Emperor', L'Oreal Resist and Shine Titanium, Revlon Sweet Nothings 'Satin Sheets', Astor Vitamin Repair for Brittle Nails, Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Colour 'Ashvina', Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Colour 'Nigella', Avon Nailwear Pro 'Real Red', Sally Hansen Hard as Nails XTreme Wear Nail Colour 'Framboise Gourmande', Primark Nails Glo Baby Glo UV Reactive Nail Polish 'Coral Blimey', BK Nail Polish 'Matte Black', Jess Nails 'French White', Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Textured Nail Colour 'Sugar Fix', Bourjois 10 Days No Chips (no shade on bottle), Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Textured Nail Colour 'Lick-O-Rich', Jess Nails 'Foxy', L'Oreal Resist & Shine Uv Colour Protect '102', L'Oreal Colour Riche 'Parisian Rooftops', All About Nails 'Bronze', Jess Nails 'Sherbet Fizz' 

And here are all the other random odds and sods of my polish collection! Particular favourites include a gorgeous L'Oreal Colour Riche shade called 'Parisian Rooftops'. The name alone is poetry, but I love the subtle mauve-grey colour - so chic! What's not subtle is the Jess Nails neon-yello 'Sherbet Fizz'. I haven't worn this yet but I bought it mainly because I saw a mani on Pinterest that was matte grey with neon yellow tips and loved it...and its really hard to get neon yellow nail polish (probably for good reason...). The Sally Hansen Sugar Dust polishes are also cool because their matte and textured -  kinf of an 'anti-glitter' (and just as godawful to remove...)

Rimmel Stronger Try Harder Double Duty Strengthen and Protect Base Coat, Nailgirls 3-in-1 Top, Base and Strengthener, Sally Hansen Age Correct No Chip Base & Top Coat

The boring but neccessary base and top coats.... I skip these too much because I hate waiting for polish to dry. I used to paint my nails in bed (hey, don't judge. Its one of the only times I'm sat still for long enough) but I kept falling asleep with semi-wet nails and getting polish on the bedsheets....disaster! So now I do it when I'm catching up on shows on Netflix instead!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects French Mani Real Nail Polish Strips 'Black' and Nail Rock Nail Glitter 'Red' and Nail Caviar in 'Galaxy'

More lazy girl nail art -  these Sally Hansen polish strips mean you can add a black tip to your mani, which is my favourite nail look. Then I picked up a couple of the Nail Rock kits (but haven't been brave enough to use them yet). The red glitter one came in a Birchbox and I think I'm saving it for Christmas...

 

And finally, these are the basic but essential tools I always have...heavy duty clippers, stick 'tip guides' (for adding those coloured tips I love..), My PediPro tool, a glass nail file, Fast & Fruity Nail Polish Remover (the quickest, easiest way to change shades) and some Elegant Touch Rapid Dry spray...essential for impatient girls like me!

And there you have it...a whistle stop tour through what turned out to be quite an extensive (and growing) collection...perhaps I like nail polish more than I thought! Hope you enjoyed this weird peek -  I'll be doing a lip collection shortly if this kind of thing floats your boat!

xxx