Top Ten Favorite Nail Polishes

A while ago, I compiled a list of my top ten favorite nail polishes.
This was an extremely difficult thing to do because I have over 100 polishes in a variety of colors and finishes. How do I narrow it down?
The funny thing is, even though I have so many polishes, I tend to go to the same several colors over and over. Some are reserved for special occasions. Some are trend polishes that maybe don’t really flow with my style anymore. So after some careful consideration and thought, I came up with the polishes you see above, all of which should be easy to find if you so desire.
There is no ranking for these, just random order.

On the left: Deborah Lippmann’s Hapless Hunter Green (Hannah) from the GIRLS collection.
Considering that I love the show GIRLS and I love nail polish, this set was a must-have. The price was wince-worthy, but I’m glad I got it because the colors, this one in particular, are gorgeous. Before I got this polish, I was often covering my nails with designs and glitter…anything to avoid a flawed look. But this polish applies smooth and is such an interesting shade of green that it’s PERFECTION on it’s own.
It finally gave me the confidence to do simple one-polish manis.
On the right: China Glaze’s Fairy Dust is a must-have for polish (and glitter) enthusiasts. I couldn’t wait to get it myself. I haven’t tried it for this purpose yet, but I hear it’s perfect for galaxy nails. It is a super fine, non-gritty holographic glitter that can be layered for an intense look but one coat is enough to add some flair to absolutely any color you own.

On the Left: Essie’s In the Cab-Ana…I got to be honest, I don’t actually “own” this one. My sister has it and I borrow it A LOT. I want to get my own bottle, but I just can’t get myself to do it. I’ll regret it if I don’t soon. While it’s easy to find on Amazon, it is from the resort collection this year, so it’s Limited Edition. It is a beautiful, tropical, almost juicy looking blue that goes on beautiful in one coat and looks amazing with a variety of colors, glitters, or on its own.
On the Right: Sally Hansen’s Xtreme Wear in Black Out is CLASSIC. If you want an excellent black polish, pick this up. Don’t bother with expensive brands. For no more than 3 dollars, you can own the best. It’s shiny, it lasts, it covers in one coat, and it’s excellent for nail art.

On the Left: As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, I am a Julep Maven. When I first started the program, I got a code for 50% off any polish and it was hard to choose. Since I can only look online, I did a lot of swatch research and settled on Julia. This metallic polish is sometimes purple, sometimes gold, and always beautiful. I couldn’t have picked a better polish to start with. Once again, it’s excellent to have a a great color that works for one-polish manicures. This one is so interesting without any extra art or glitter coverage.
On the Right:  Essie’s Good as Gold is a part of their Mirror Metallics collection. Out of the several colors they offered, I chose this classic gold and it is beautiful. The finish is outstanding and top coat only adds more oomph! Most metallic shades tend to go on streaky, showing visible brushstrokes. But this polish goes on smooth and it also works great for nail art! I’ve done stripes and polka dots with ease.

On the Left: Nail polish connoisseurs will know that glitters don’t just come in chunky multi-colored blends. Black and White glitter was something I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. If you follow Chalkboard Nails (if you don’t, you should), you might have seen her massive collection and comparison post. Who woulda thunk that black and white could be so versatile? Most of the glitters she has shown are indie brands, but mainstream has been allowing various glitters (matte, bar, hex) to trickle into their formulas. I had no idea Maybelline was releasing a Polka Dots collection, which has a few polishes with color bases, but as soon as I saw Clearly Spotted, I snatched it up. At less than 4 dollars, how could I say no? The first time I used it, I nearly cried. Glitters can be tricky but this polish has excellent glitter coverage and plenty of each color in various sizes.
On the Right: Black and white nail polishes are, without a doubt, nail art staples. Without them, you’re limited with what you can achieve. But I didn’t realize how important nude polish was until recently. OPI’s Don’t Pretzel My Buttons is the perfect beige-y nude. It applies smoothly and is perfectly opaque. It’s beautiful on it’s own, but it provides an excellent base for neon nail art to pop.

On the Left: Pink is one of the colors I don’t own many of. I purchased Spring Break, a Nicole by OPI polish from the Selena Gomez collection, after seeing the movie Spring Breakers. I was all excited, and the hue really went with the bright colors in the film, so I snatched it up, knowing there was a hot pink gap in my collection. Though I knew I’d use it occasionally (and actually had an idea for it right from the start), I didn’t expect it to become a go-to polish like it has. You can’t see it in the picture, but the bottle has a visible line showing how much I’ve used. This is a feat since I hop from polish to polish, but that’s why it’s a favorite. Excellent pigmentation, great coverage, and easy to work with in terms of nail art. I actually have it on right now!
On the Right: I didn’t want to do a Top Ten without including an indie brand nail polish. Happy Hands Nail Polish is the first indie brand I’ve purchased from, and I will continue to go back. The formulas are excellent and the color combinations are gorgeous. Most of the collections are inspired by your favorite TV shows, movies, and music. However, Afternoon Thunderstorms is inspired by the weather in the Florida. This polish is a best seller on the site, and for good reason. It is honestly a thunderstorm in a bottle. The gray base and black glitter would’ve been enough to showcase stormy weather, but the gold shimmer adds that post-storm silver lining look of the hopeful sunshine!
This is an excellent and super beautiful polish.

And there you have it!
Since my polish collection is always growing, the list will certainly change at some point.
Do you have any favorites? What polish(es) is your go-to?

A Passion, An Obsession

If you had told me two years ago that I would eventually accrue and obsess over hundreds of nail polishes, I wouldn’t have believed you.
I only painted my toenails, mostly in the summer. I hated painting my nails for a few reasons, but the main one was laziness. I knew I’d goof it up, become impatient, mess my nails…I wasn’t good with shaping (I’m still not) or cuticle upkeep (I’m still not).

But now, it’s 2013.
Last Wednesday, I laid all of my nail polishes out on the living room floor, color-categorizing them and marking them down in a notebook for kicks and giggles. After counting, I realized (minus base and top coats) I had 101 polishes. By this past Monday, I’d have 106.
There are two more coming in the mail for me, and plenty more on my lust list. I don’t know how this happened, but I’m kind of glad it did.
Nail polish is one of the little things that helps save my mind. Maybe that sounds crazy, but it all comes down to the little things.
It’s the way I treat myself, express myself…it’s exciting and fun and pretty. It’s my hobby, my obsession, my passion.

So I thought, “Shame on you for not blogging about this more.” My various manicures, nail polishes I’d like to get, the new brands I’m trying, various techniques I’m doing or I’m curious about…this is a huge part of my life at the moment and I’m not even sharing it.

Of course, if you follow me on Instagram (@mikeylynn), you will see my latest purchases and NOTD.
But I want to share them on here more. Expect to see more posts like this in the near future.

A Look Inside My Nail Polish Addiction: Nail Art and Inspiration

My love of nail polish has been made quite obvious at this point. I am perfectly content adding to my stash with the release of new collections and pretty colors from all different brands. Who doesn’t love a nice, fresh, glossy coat of a new polish?
But one of the main reasons I love nail polish and painting my nails in general is the creative expression that comes from dabbling in nail art.

I think it’s so easy to write off trying nail art on your own nails. But DON’T! Even the rockiest of hands can attempt some form of nail art, thanks to the internet. There are lots of great ways to learn, step-by-step, how to turn your nails into mini works of art.

My favorites?
Little – Nails – an awesome blog that focuses on different polishes and dabbles in lots of nail art. There are tutorials and swatch reviews, and of course, she has short nails! I do, too, so it’s encouraging to see someone working with a similar “palette”, I guess you could say.

The Beauty Department – This website is great for any beauty needs, but they do great step-by-step photos to show you new and inventive ways to do your nails. They get crafty, using stickers, tape, and even string incorporated into their manicures, which sounds intimidating but is made effortless.

Lulu’s Blog – Here’s another cool site that explores many beauty/fashion tips, but the mani tips are great. Original and fun!

One Nail To Rule Them All – Alice’s nail art is ridiculously good! She also keeps fairly short nails, but she’s done such amazing things with them. Being the bookworm I am, I especially love this manicure.

Pinterest – Doy! I can find all kinds of wonderful nail art from all over and from all the people I follow and share what I like with others.

And last but not least…
CutePolish !
CutePolish is probably my favorite nail art space. Every Sunday, a new video is uploaded. She’s covered everything from leopard print to Gangnam Style and she makes everything easy! I have used her methods many times. She makes nail art simple and always walks the viewer through each and every step, showing you along the way, and even she goofs up sometimes (and shows you how to fix it!).
I had to save the best for last.

I wanted to share some of my favorite nail art moments that I’ve tried as well!
You’ll recognize a lot from the sites above. But you’ll also see my own twists on them.
I’m not saying they are always perfect, but the site has made them incredibly easy, and I’m quite proud.

Fruity nails are so fun! I based the watermelons off of pictures I’d seen on the internet, and got the apples from CutePolish!

Braided nails are another CutePolish design. The triangular mani was done using tape and a striper, and I spotted a similar design on Pinterest.

The above designs were done on a whim. Just some random stripes, dots, and crossover colors I tried.

I love mixed manicures. It was fun doing the cute, creepy Halloween creatures! And I also loved the loud mix of stripes and flowers.
The rose pattern is from CutePolish.

Cloud manicures are super fun. Nailside does a great tutorial. The splatter nails were inspired by Lulu’s blog.

Galaxy nails are one of my favorites ever, and it was my first CutePolish design! The rainbows came from Pinterest.
So happy, right?

I should also give a shout out to one of my other favorite blogs…The Polishaholic!
If there’s a polish you want, but aren’t sure what it’s going to look like, you will find the swatch there.
You’ll also learn about polish brands you might not know about.
She has an extensive collection, and it’s cataloged on a spreadsheet. Amazing.

A Look Inside My Nail Polish Addiction: Specialty Polishes

Nail polish is a very simple and fun way to change up your look and there are so many colors and brands to choose from.
But lately, there have also been a lot of what I’ll call “specialty” polishes that have been popping up everywhere. Nail art is awesome, but some people don’t have the patience or steady hands to try new things. The following polishes take something common and make them extraordinary. I thought I’d share some of the specialty polishes I have in my collection and what they do.

Let’s start with something simple. Glitter polishes (alone or layered) are an excellent way to spruce up your regular polish routine. There are chunky glitters that look best over one color or need to be layered  to be opaque, and super fine shiny glitters that do well on their own with a few coats. This polish, called Dodgy Barnett (by Butter London, obviously) is considered a holographic polish.
There’s something about it. It reminds me of these shorts from American Apparel. Super shiny and multi-dimensional.
Out of this world!

I think that Shatter nail polishes have sort of died down, but for a while you couldn’t get your hands on a bottle! They were always sold out. Then, before you know it, every company had their own version. I remember scouring and constantly checking for a bottle of basic black Shatter. I’ve only used it a few times, but I think it’s worth having. If you’re feeling lazy, but still want something funky going on with your nails, Shatter is the way to go. I started this with a basic gray polish (Pelican Grey by China Glaze, to be exact) to show the contrast. The Shatter polish is quite goopy, and at first it looks like nothing will happen. But then it starts separating right before your eyes! Very cool.
 

(Apologies for my messy nail. I should’ve done this one first. I kept using the same nail and it got a little messy. And I got a little impatient.)

LA Colors Art Deco stripers are pretty darn amazing. It makes lines and stripes and diagonals and even drawings so simple. The design I did above is far from perfect, but I wanted to show the different things you can do. I like to use mine to make dots (dotting tools are excellent, but I need a new one and this does just fine) or draw triangles and, of course, stripes! If you’re looking to get super-involved with nail art, I would highly recommend picking these up. I got mine at a dollar store!

Finally, I wanted to share Essie’s Matte About You top coat. It takes any polish you have and gives it a matte finish, which is a really interesting look. We are all used to high-shine, glossy finishes, and there’s something striking about matte polish.
I chose this beautiful blue Gap polish as an example because it has a shine, and you see a really neat difference in the way it sparkles.
The difference is much more apparent in person, but you can tell that the flash is no longer glaring off the polish.
Super cool. But I would recommend a ridge filling base coat (or make sure your nails are nice and buffed!) because this top coat will bring attention to any and every flaw on your nail.

That’s all I have for now! I wanted to share a Glow in the Dark polish I have (it really does glow!) but I don’t know exactly how much light I need for it to glow, and I think taking a picture of just one nail in the dark might not have come out. Maybe another time?

A Look Inside My Nail Polish Addiction: Trusty Tools

Here is the second installment of A Look Inside. You can see the first one here.
The next couple will be getting to the meat and bones of my addiction: the products themselves.
I wanted to show the products I use every time (or most of the time) I paint my nails.

So let’s start with the beginning…

Since I paint my nails every Thursday, I always start by removing my nail polish from the prior week. I usually clip my nails every other week, because I have a tendency to cut them a little too short or jagged. I like to clip them after I’ve removed the polish so I can get an idea of how much I should take down. (I have been known to clip my nails with polish still on them. It’s like a second manicure! But I only usually do it when one of the nails breaks.) Nail polish remover isn’t something I’m stingy about. I like to go for more soothing kinds, but I’ve used acetone Cutex, which really helps remove polish quickly, especially with rough glitter polishes.
I suck at clipping my nails, so I usually have to file or buff parts to even things out.
I recently purchased this 7-in-1 filer/buffer and it is quite awesome. It was less than 2 dollars at Rite Aid. Steal!
And finally, before the fun begins, Essie’s Protein Base Coat. I have tried quite a few base coats, which is an oft-overlooked but super important part of an at-home manicure, especially if you do it as consistently as I do. My nails were in terrible shape before I picked up this base coat. When my polish would chip, it was often because a part of my nail was breaking. I am happy to report that this hasn’t been an issue since I picked up this base coat. It’s magical and I highly recommend it!

Onto the middle process.

These are my favorite items to have around me while I’m actually painting my nails or doing some nail art.
No matter what, you have to keep some cotton swabs nearby. I use them to clean up when I paint outside the lines. Which is almost always.
I bought the toothpicks, makeup sponges, and reinforcement stickers specifically for nail art.

The toothpicks are great for dotting. The sponge can be used to make a gradient (I’m still working on this).
And the reinforcement stickers are great for isolating spaces to make cool shapes and use different nail polishes on one nail.

Finally, my extremely messy striper/dotting tool. I don’t use the brush anymore.
But the dotting tool is great, and I’d love to pick up a couple more of these in different brush/dot sizes.

Finally, the end process.

My end products. Essie makes some great base/top coats. I won’t be straying from these two any time soon. Good to go! is an excellent top coat. Everything stays nice and even, it dries fast, and it has excellent shine. Before I started using the top coat, I purchased the
Nicole by O.P.I. Drying Drops. They are amazing. And the duo is hard to beat. I used to mess up my nails so often (I can’t help it, I’m impatient), but with these two products, I don’t have to worry beyond 30 minutes of being careful. Which is better than all dang day and night.

So these are my favorite products/must-haves. I highly recommend every product I’ve listed here.
Questions are welcome!

A Look Inside My Nail Polish Addiction

If you read my blog regularly/follow my Instagram/know me, you will have come to find that I have an obsession with nail polish.
It started last year around this time. I never used to paint my nails, but Sally Hansen nail polish strips and a discovery of nail art and techniques that stray from a simple one color nail changed that for me. Now, it’s become a weekly necessity to paint my nails, to challenge myself with new designs I find online, magazines, or concoct in my brain. It’s one of the few ways I feel I can creatively express myself since I currently work a job that requires a glorified uniform. I have so much fun (okay, sometimes it’s really frustrating) testing myself.

And don’t even get me started on my need to hop on OPI collections as soon as they come out. Skyfall, I’m waiting for you!

Over the next little while, I want to share with you a glimpse inside my collection, my favorite polishes and tools, some places I find inspiration, and a general look at why I love nail polish and how much it has infested my life. But in a good way.

I created this silly little GIF to give you an idea of what my collection looks like. I also wanted to show off my cute Lazy Susan that I use to organize and hold my favorite polishes. You have Brad to thank for this piece. He completely surprised me last Christmas by giving me this handmade gift that has become a necessary piece on my dresser. One day, I’d love to get a couple of clear plastic shelves like they have at the salons to display my polishes in a more organized fashion. I still love this piece, though. I really need to decorate it…he left it white for that simple reason, and I’ve put it off. The most important thing is that it’s being put to a lot of use.

This is what it looks like stationary and from above. You can already see I love my OPI. But I’m not biased.

I can’t wait to share more of my obsession with you readers!