Today, I went into DM and bought some new nail polishes. But
while doing that, I honestly could not remember if I owned some particular
colors already which was quite worrying. So when I came home I immediately went
and opened the drawer with nail stuff. This is what I was looking at.
No wonder I didn’t know what colors I owned and I was using
three of the nail polishes around the clock, not really paying attention to any
others. Anyhow, I dragged everything out in the open.
I then organized them by color and split them into three
basic groups – keep, give (to friends or my mum) or throw away. Let’s start
with the first group – the white or pearl polishes. Descriptions are always from left to right. If
you are not a fan of nail polishes, this is the time to click out of this post
because I can tell it’s going to be a really, really long one. Like, super
long. Think War and Peace long.
First up is the Catrice – The peach boys. This I got quite
recently and love it – it’s a pearl color with a bit of a shimmer but still
basic enough to make for a neutral nail. Keep. Next, the Maybelline
Colorama – number 51. It’s a very milky white which looks almost translucent. I
use this polish as a base for stronger colors – it tends to really bring out
the color of the polish I put over it. Keep. Then we have Nivea Sea Extracts
Manicure in Vanilla. This I have had for ages, it separated and looked gross. Throw
away. Last up, the Maybelline Mini Colorama (51 French white). I use this
for French manicure. It’s a bit old but until I find another good white polish
for the tips, it will have to do. Keep.
I was under the impression that I had a ton of pink
polishes, but obviously that is not true. First, we have the Alessandro shimmer
(I guess Alessandro polishes don’t have names?). It’s very soft pink with a lot
of shimmer so it’s a bit too bright to look very natural. At the same time, it’s
not too out there that I would not be able to wear it to work. A great polish
and definitely a keeper. That is not true for the Maybelline Colorama in
soft pink. This is such a bland color that I have no use for it. Donate. Last
up, there’s the most recent addition to this color group – the Essie Muchi
Muchi. It’s the perfect baby pink with minimal shimmer, but unfortunately it’s
so translucent it requires three layers for me to be happy with the color.
Still, it will remain with me until something better comes along. Keep.
On the other hand, I have more purple polishes than I
thought I had. First one is the Essie Sittin’ pretty – it’s a beautiful autumn
color and I will be wearing this a lot. Since it’s a pastel, you could rock
this the entire year. Most Essie polishes also have great brushes that make
your manicure super easy and fast. Keep. I am donating the
Essence Color&Go in Purple Sugar – it’s much too bright and I never, ever
reach for it. I have a particular friend in mind who will love it. Although I
am not crazy about the color or the brush (very big and difficult to control),
I am also keeping the Essence Colour&Go in Prom Berry. It’s a color
I would not wear in everyday life because it’s too dark for me, but I would
reach for it for some special occasion or nail art. It’s probably in the same
category with the Maybelline white one – the “until a better one comes along”
category, that is. Last up, there is my newest addition – the Essence Rock Out
in Best Female which I picked up today. I thought it was a dark purple with
shimmer but after trying it out I realized it’s more of a shimmer topcoat.
Still loving it – I will get a lot of use out of it. Obviously, keeping
that one.
This next category is kind of random, but still. There is
the Alessandro mini in Bubble gum. Again, not a color I would wear every day
but it would be nice for special occasion or nail art. Until it separates, I am
keeping it. I am donating the Sally Hansen Insta-dri in Expresso.
This color looked great to me in the bottle but looks like something from my
cat’s litter box on my nails. I doubt that any of my friends will even want it,
to be honest. I am keeping the Avon (Racy) – it’s nothing special, but I
like the dark berry red with pink undertones – it’s quite unique and I’ve only
had this for a couple of months. Also a keeper is my quite recent addition of Essie Bahama mama – I think
that it was also featured in my October favorites. It’s a great autumn color
and I will be rocking it this
fall :)
I love my reds. I really, really love my reds. If I was living
in USA, I would probably be a republican only to justify wearing only red nail
polish all the time. But jokes aside, these five polishes are all keepers that I don’t even give a second thought to
getting rid of. The Chanel Marilyn is absolutely flawless red with pink
undertones and shimmer. I wear this throughout the year on my fingers and toes.
In my opinion, Chanel polishes have the best brushes out there, followed
closely by OPI. This particular OPI is the true red that every woman should
own. It only has a tiny bit of shimmer and as said a great brush. It’s
definitely one of my favorites. The Bourjois Anti-choc (again, no name?) is
also a great red color, but on nails it has a slight orange undertone. Very
unique and definitely worth buying. The brush is funny – shaped kind of like a
brow brush so you can “fix the polish” more easily in those 10 days it promises
to last. Next polish, the Alessandro on the far right, has been with me for
quite some time now so we will soon have to part ways. But it’s a darker red
with a touch of glitter, totally appropriate for work and my long-lasting love.
For some reason, it chips more than other Alessandro polishes I own, but this
could be due to its age. And finally the Maybelline Colorama (n. 75) which is a
nice red, close to OPI, but demands more coats. Still very good value for
money.
Than we have this last completely random category of various
colors. The Essie Mint Candy has been with me since this summer and was also
featured in my Favorites. A great color for spring and summer, not so much for
colder months. The texture of this polish is for some reason the best out of
all Essie polishes I own. Keep. Next, the Rimmel Rita Ora collection
polish in Orgasm. I am a bit late jumping on the orange bandwagon, so this
polish will have to wait its turn until the warmer months come again. I am not
sure it will fit my complexion, but that remains to be seen. It’s a very new
addition along with the Catrice Golden Plum from their most recent collection.
It’s probably the most gorgeous packaging I’ve ever seen on a Catrice product
and the color is an amazing brown/gray/brown shimmery mixture that I can’t wait
to try out right now. Last in this miscellaneous group is the Alessandro black
polish that is actually part of the Croco effect nails. I should probably do a
post using these but it’s many times such a mess that I can’t bring myself to
do it. Then again, I probably will and throw it away afterwards.
Shimmers make me happy when I’m putting them on but very
unhappy when I’m removing them from my nails which is probably the reason I don’t
use them all that often. I am keeping all of these since they are very
different. Essence (Time for Romance) has larger pieces of shimmer which look
great on the nails. The only downside is that they are a bit difficult to
distribute evenly across all the nails. Zoya Pixie dust has much smaller specks
and is easier to apply and remove as well. I have had this for some time now
but it still seems completely full so I’ll probably never run out of it. Like,
ever. Keeping it. The Alessandro silver shimmer is from the Croco effect
nails as well – it’s a bit more pigmented so it could also be used individually
but I will keep this either way because when used with a light hand, it
gives a glow to a matte polish if you have something like that in mind. Also,
great for nail art. Last but not least in this category is Mavala Sparkling
bronze. I have used this again and again over the years, especially in the
holiday season. Just a coat of this over a pearl polish creates the most simple
festive nails which I will be recreating this year as well.
I have no idea where I got this Kiss Base and Top coat
Multi-tasker. I’ve had it forever and got really got use out of it, but
unfortunately, it is so old that I will be throwing it away. Two Essie
Good-to-go top coats that I raved about in my summer favorites as well – I have
no idea why I have two open bottles but I use this so much that it will not go
to waste. The only polish that I have
ever found that really dries the nails in about a minute. Priceless in my book.
The Sally Hansen Double Duty was raved about by several bloggers but I’m not
too keen about it. Maybe it’s only this bottle that has gone bad in a couple of
months, but it has some small particles inside that make my nails uneven and
sticky instead of giving me a nice base coat to work with. I am throwing
it away as soon as I but a new one. I am keeping the Essence pro white
effect nail polish for clubbing (it shines in the dark which is probably tacky
to the young generation but I get a kick out of it), but I am giving away this
small Alessandro top coat which I never use anyway.
In the care department, I am probably a bit malnourished,
for a lack of a better word. I am throwing away this Essence love your
nails! cuticle oil, simply because I’ve had it forever. It did its job very
well, so I would probably repurchase it. But for now, I will continue using
the LCN Nail Moisturizer – it can be used on the nails as well but I mainly use
it for my cuticles. It makes any nail care much easier and makes sure that I
can push back the cuticles painlessly. It is quite pricey though so there are
surely better alternatives out there. This Beautytime Ridge Filler made my
brains go ??? when I took it out of the container. I have no memory of buying
it or ever using it, to be honest. In the trash it goes. Same is true
for the Alessandro Express Nail Hardner. I have a vague recollection of buying
this but I know I will never go through all the paces of actually giving it an
honest go. So again, trash, along with my Artdeco nail care stick. There
was nothing wrong with this product, but it has dried up completely. I am
keeping the Essence Nail Cuticle Softner Pencil. It’s a great and
inexpensive product which moisturizes the cuticles and the area around the
nails to perfection. The cap is shaped perfectly to give yourself a quick
manicure even if you are lacking the proper tools.
Don’t get upset, I told you that it’s going to be long :)
What I really want to know is which nail polish you would choose out of all my
polishes, if you could? Is there one that you would never wear? Let me know in
the comments (also – hint – the Christmas giveaway is coming up and I’d love to
know what to include in the goody bag).
Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!
