Nail Polish Collection: Part #6 - Random Drugstore Polishes

This is the last post in my nail polish collection! YAY!
This is a super random grouping of polishes...

So random, I know. From left to right: Rimmel French White Nail Top, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Whirlwind White", Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "Set the Stage" and "Blue It" and Wet n Wild in "Purple Potion"
I'm not going to get into any kind of detail with these (honestly, they're pretty self-explanatory). They're all available at the drugstore; except the Wet n Wild one which was limited edition for Halloween. 


DONE!!!
Oh and if anyone was wondering what the writing is in the background of all of the nail polish collection photos, it's this:

xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection: Part #5 Random "High-End" Polishes

It's a pretty random collection of polishes. Some I like more than others. Some are easier to find than others. But all in all, they make up part of my collection so that's what makes 'em special.

The first little grouping I have is China Glaze polishes.

I only have two colours but I can honestly say I love them both. The bright neon pink is called "Flip Flop Fantasy" and it is literally the epitome of neon pink in a nail polish. Perfect for summer or a rave! The red polish is called "Winter Berry" and it's actually a bit of a deeper red than what's coming off in the picture. I don't necessarily prefer this polish to my OPI reds but I do really like it.

Next up are some polished I picked up last year from American Apparel. From left to right the colours are "Cotton," "Office," and "Berry."

I don't really have anything outstanding to say about these polishes other than since last year they've come out with a bunch more shades. I don't think I'll be buying anymore though because I just don't think they're worth it. They don't last particularly long and I don't like the brush.

MISA! I wish I had more of these nail polishes but sadly I only have two colours as of right now.

The bright blue is called "Blue Over a Boy" and I featured it in a NOTD post here. The sparkly forrest green shade is called "Toxic Seduction" and it's my favourite colour to wear at Christmastime, more than any red colour. It's a very unique shade. Misa nail lacquers last a very long time and the application process is very simple. This brand is so under the radar but they definitely deserve a lot more publicity. Great brand of nail polish!

Nicole by OPI. This brand is good considering you can get it from the drugstore and a lot of the times you can find it on sale. I don't find that any of the colours from this brand are anything special, but whatever; it is what it is.

The bright, metallic pink is called "Believe It, Do It." I honestly don't like the colour of this polish at all and I bought it for a really dumb reason. I got a manicure once and the girl did a terrible job and the colour was very similar to this one, so I bought it so that I couldn't fix up my botched manicure. It was a bad situation all around. I do however really like the gold colour. It's called "The Next CEO" and I mostly like to use it on an accent nail (i.e. my ring finger) when I have another colour on my other nails. The brush of Nicole by OPI polishes is really short and stiff so it makes it super simple to apply a good coating of polish. Because it's not a flimsy brush, there's no fear of the brush folding and painting something other than your nail, if that makes any sense. 

"Happy Birthday" by Deborah Lippmann. 

If someone were to have bottled a party and crammed a whole bunch of confetti in it, that would be this nail polish. It is literally a confetti party in a nail polish. Deborah Lippmann does glitter polishes better than anyone. Lippmann is the best glitter nail polish you will ever lay your hands on. Absolutely impossible to get off though.

nails inc. Magnetic polish was the big thing to come out in 2011 at Sephora. Everyone went crazy for it. And I admit, the effect is really cool, but it takes a lot of effort to get it to look really good and, well, polished. Orly's  "Rage" is a beautiful rose gold nail polish and I love it. I can say no bad things about this colour. I would love to try more Orly polishes to get a better feel for the brand. This Borghese polish is called "Carnevale Grape" and it's a pretty close dupe to OPI's "Lincoln Park After Dark." I've never actually used this polish so I can't comment, so I'll have to get back to you about my thoughts on this brand.

2 polishes I forgot to include in the overview...

Sephora by OPI "Metro Chic"...NOTD post here.

Wet n Wild in "Gray's Anatomy." I know it's not a high-end brand but I had nowhere else to put this when it was all said and done. This colour is an amazing duo-chrome nail polish that when it's on I cannot stop looking at it! It's so mesmerizing. I have to do a NOTD post with this to show how amazing it is.

Part #5 is now complete. Only 1 more part and then I'm done. *sigh of relief*  

xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection: Part #4 Barry M

Unfortunately, Barry M nail polishes are exclusively available at Boots in the UK. I always watched the British Beauty Youtube Gurus raving about Barry M nail polishes and I was bummed that I couldn't get my hands on them. Lucky for me though, my friend Jenna recently took a trip to England and she graciously picked up some polishes for me :) 

From left to right: Cobalt Blue, Berry, Lemon, Pink Flamingo, Dusky Mauve, Mushroom 
I love these nail polishes! They are very easy to apply, the paint is opaque and presents a vivid colour and the staying power is really good considering that it's a drugstore brand of polish. Pink Flamingo is really similar to OPI's Elephantastic Pink. It is a very bright, almost coral-pink hue. It's perfect for the summer. Mushroom is really nice warm brown, similar to Essie's Mink Muffs. Berry is a beautiful lilac colour that I am going to really love wearing in the spring. I'm most excited to wear Lemon though. Ever since Chanel's yellow "Mimosa" nail polish became popular last summer I've been inkling to try out a vibrant yellow polish and Barry M's lemon is just that polish. 
I'm so excited for NOTD posts for Spring and Summer because they're all going to be so bright and fun! Y'all can definitely expect some Barry M polishes making features in NOTD posts once the snow melts 
I have 2 more nail polish collection posts left to do and then I'll be done! How exciting!


xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection: Part #3 Revlon

I only have a few Revlon nail polishes. I find that it's hit or miss with this brand and to be honest, I usually do a bit a research before I purchase a Revlon polish. 

From left to right: "430 Whimsical," "261 Sparkling," "Sheer Blossom," "151 Iced Mauve," "917 Plum Seduction," "920 Make Mine Mango," "932 Copper Penny," "Blackest Black"


I have mini reviews of 430 Whimsical and 261 Sparkling with more photos. The glittery Revlon polishes are definitely the most hit or miss out of their whole collection.


Sheer Blossom is a really pale, translucent pink with a bit of sparkle in it. I don't find myself drawn to this colour often because I tend to want a darker, more opaque colour usually. Iced Mauve is supposed to be a dupe for a Dior nail varnish but I don't remember which one. I do really like this colour. It's a dusty rose-mauve with a hint of silver shimmer running through it. I was drawn to Plum Seduction because of the bright fuschia colour. Like all of my Revlon nail polishes, it takes 2 to 3 coats to get a nice opaque colour, but it's still nice. Make Mine Mango is actually not a nice colour at all. I've had this nail polish for a long time - I don't remember when, where, or why I bought it, but I don't like it. It's too...orange. It just doesn't look good on my nails but I keep it around just in case. Copper Penny is a new shade to the Revlon range. I found that they're new solid colour have a much better formula than some of their older ones. Copper Penny is a supper shimmery, copper colour (no kidding!). It's a really nice and unique metallic polish that looks great on nails, especially in the fall. I find that this polish in particular also lasts longer than usual on my nails...or maybe it was just a special day, I don't know. Last of the bunch is Blackest Black. The name is very misleading considering that this polish is not Blackest black. There are hints of colourful shimmer going all throughout this nail polish: blue, purple and gold to be specific. It's really interesting. To be honest, I haven't worn it in a while, but looking at it now, I'm really tempted to feature this in a NOTD post soon. 

So that's it for all of my Revlon nail polishes. Revlon actually also just came out with a line of polishes to their ColorStay range that is supposed to be really great. But since I'm on a no-makeup-buying ban I won't know just how great they really are for a while :(


xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection: Part #2 Essie

Part #2: Essie nail polishes
Not to be biased, but I think this is the prettiest array of colours in my collection. 

The colours are just so girly, pretty, unique, and wearable. 
So let's get on to the fist grouping, Pinks & Mauves

pinks & mauves

From left to right: Mademoiselle, Fiji, Miss Matched, Lady Like.

Mademoiselle is new to my collection, so I don't really know how that one wears, but I've heard good things. It's supposed to be just a really nice sheer, pale pink. Fiji is an opaque chiffon pink. Miss Matched is kind of a strange mauve-pink. I don't find myself reaching for this colour very much because I think it looks a little dirty on me. Lady Like can be seen in one of my NOTD posts here. Lady Like is one of my favourite go to nail colours. It's a dusty pink, that's verging on beige. Looks great!

Next colour grouping is Warm, Wintery & Cozy.

warm, wintery & cozy

From left to right: Angora Cardi, Mink Muffs, Wicked, Chinchilly.

Just from the names of these colours you can tell that they are really warm and fall/wintery (well I guess not "Wicked," but that's beside the point). Mink Muffs is my fave colour from this group. It's a super warm & cuddly brown...like a teddy bear. Wicked is a classic dark, vampy red, a great colour to have in any collection. I haven't found myself drawn to Angora Cardi or Chinchilly as of late, but I sense a time for them is coming soon...

Next up, the funnest group of the bunch, Greens & Blues

greens & blues

From left to right: Sew Psyched, Turquoise & Caicos, Mint Candy Apple, Absolutely Shore, Lapis of Luxury.

I did of NOTD as well with Absolutely Shore which can be read here. It's a beautiful light, sea-foam green colour which works well for all seasons. Lapis of Luxury has it's own NOTD post as of recently and can be viewed here. Lapis is a really nice periwinkle-blue colour that would be a perfect colour for spring!

You can tell from the photo that I have a thing for greenish-blue hues. Turquoise & Caicos, Mint Candy Apple and Absolutely Shore are basically all in the same colour family, just a few shade lighter than the previous. Sew Psyched is a really unique khaki green colour that looks better than one would assume. Give it a chance!

And that's it for my Essie nail polishes!

Essie makes some of my all time favourite nail polishes. I really like the staying power that the polishes have, but I'm not a huge fan of the brush. It takes some getting used to because it isn't as stiff as OPI brushes; they're a little flimsy. All in all, good stuff from Essie and I recommend the bran whole-heartedly.

Until next time!

xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection: Part #1 OPI

Part #1: OPI nail polishes

Here they all are...

Aren't they purrdy? Lined up all organized, looking all sexy...

Anyways, starting with the first grouping of polishes, we have the Neutrals and Pinks

neutrals and pinks

From left to right: Birthday Babe, Dulce de Leche, Elephantastic Pink, Charged Up Cherry, California Raspbery.

My favourite colour from this grouping is Elephantastic Pink by far. It's such a great summer colour: it's so bright and it makes your look way more tan than you actually are. 

Corals and Reds

corals and reds

From left to right: My Chihuahua Bites, Cajun Shrimp, Big Apple Red, Vodka & Caviar, Kennebunk-port.

I haven't actually ever worn because it's new, but I think and I've heard that it's a really great bright summer colour; it's the perfect coral apparently. From this grouping my favourite polish is Vodka & Caviar - it's a really deep blood red that is the perfect vampy nail colour. 

Random Colours

random colours

From left to right: You Don't Know Jacques, Warm & Fozzie, Dating a Royal, Lincoln Park After Dark

It's really hard for me to pick a favourite from this group - I love them all! You Don't Know Jacques is really similar to Sephora by OPI's "Metro Chic" it's a purplish brown, but Jacques is verging more on brown. Dating a Royal is a beautiful royal blue that isn't too bright, but still adds colour to the nails. Lincoln Park After Dark is a cult favourite - it's a very dark purple, so dark it's verging on black. It's also a nice vampy colour, and great for wearing out to a party or a night on the town. I don't know why, but I really love the look of dark colours on nails (but definitely not on toenails). Last but definitely not least is Warm & Fozzie. This is a new polish that came out in late 2011 with the OPI Muppet's Collection. This polish is amazing: it has so many different coloured fleck of sparkle and glitter that it literally goes with everything. I highly recommend this colour because it's just so unique, and the name is so cute. 

So there you have it: Part #1 of my nail polish collection, and we only covered OPI today. There's still so much for y'all to see!

Watch out for Part #2 (Essie)

xoxoDarlingBuds

Nail Polish Collection

My nail polish collection is going to appear in a multi-part blog post series. It'll be divided up by brand-ish. It's a doozy...

Here's a little sneak peak of what you can expect 

Check back soon for more posts!

xoxoDarlingBuds