Nail polish. A beautiful yet easily out of control purchasing habit that many of us have acquired in our lives. I spend most of my life trying to save, prohibiting myself from shopping. The downfall, in whatever deep subconscious decision I made a long time ago, is that buying nail polish (or nail related items including rings) doesn't count as shopping. I know it's mad but I feel like because its such a small item and only gets seen on my hands or feet, it can't possibly count.
I might see it as a problem occasionally but it has also given me quite a nice collection of nail polish over the years (and convinced several friends it is the best purchase when looking for a gift for me). In this post I will show you what I believe to be the basics of my collection that I could not live (well I could live but I wouldn't enjoy it) without. Some of them are probably out of stock by now but I know a lot of them aren't or have equivalents by the same brand.
Basic Reds: (from left to right) Sportsgirl Nail It! - Tomato, O.P.I - Malaga Wine
My mother always told me that painted and well kept toe nails suggests that you take care of your feet. When I can't decide or am too lazy to change colours, which is a majority of the time, I love basic red nails on my toes. It goes with practically everything and is such a classic statement. I have a bright red for the summer and a deep red for the winter. It's just another thing I don't have to think about when making myself feel pretty. I love these two but I'm sure when one of them runs out (which the tomato colour is just about to) I will quickly find another - just because red is always available (fingers crossed).
Top Coats: (from left to right) O.P.I - Black Shatter, O.P.I - Rainbow Connection, O.P.I - The Man with the Golden Gun, Sally Hansen - 110 Clear'd for Takeoff
Now I know the only top coat here that is vaguely 'basic' is the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure but all of the other three O.P.I top coats are such an easy way to make your nails look a little different. The shatter is definitely the most matt nail polish I own and I always follow up with another higher gloss top coat. Rainbow Connection and The Man with the Golden Gun add a sparkle and little bit of dainty femininity to nails without a lot of effort. All of these top coats were gifts - and I probably wouldn't own any of them if they weren't as my spending on nail polish doesn't normally extend that high (except maybe the Sally Hansen).
The favourite colour - Green: (from left to right) O.P.I - Gargantuan Green Grape, O.P.I - Greenwich Village, O.P.I - Don't Mess with O.P.I
Everyone has that one colour they go gaga over. For me that is green. As you'll see in the last photo of this post I have more green than these three but these are my favourite. As unwearable as green nail polish may seem I wear it enough to keep buying it. With one of the aforementioned top coats or on their own greens, no matter what shade, just seem do something magical with my skin tone.
Neutral Colours: (from left to right) Sportsgirl Nail It! - Feeling Peachy, Deborah Lippmann - Fashion, Sportsgirl Nail It! - Smoke, Sportsgirl Nail It! - Lilac, Rubi Nail Enamel - Going To The Chapel, Ulta3 - Antique Copper
I know this seems like a lot of colours that look very similar but I often feel like having painted but also understated nails. They also look good under all the aforementioned top coats. My two favourite at the moment are the Deborah Lippmann Fashion and Sportsgirl Nail It! Smoke. They are SO similar but I'm not the only one crazy enough to have a preference for both.
Brights!: (from left to right) Maybelline New York - 895 Onyx Rush, Sportsgirl Nail It! - Rollergirl, Cheapie from Hong Kong (thanks to Honor) - Bright Lime Green, Ulta3 - Mojito, Ulta3 - Tahiti, SHE Australia - Rose
Now, I know black isn't a bright but I just lumped it into this selection. So shoot me. These are the colours I use more sparingly than the rest. They don't go with everything so painting my nails entirely in one of these (expect maybe the Onxy or Rose) is a risky and potentially very brief business. I like to keep them around though for those occasions when they'd necessary. And they become very handy when wanting to do nail art. Extra colours for extra decoration on my nails is always a good thing to have lying around.
And that's it folks, my favourite pieces in my nail polish collection. I have many more and I'm sure will have many many more in the future. I find these to be the most useful and necessary colours to have in a standard collection. Most brands offer variations of nearly every colour I've shown you (except maybe the 18 carat gold O.P.I The Man with the Golden Gun).
Do you have any of these? Any suggestions on better colours/brands to own? Let me know in the comments because you can't have too much talk of nail polish.
Erin xx
