Favorite Indie Polishes 2016

Today I have my Top Twenty-something indie polishes from this year.  Now I say Twenty-something because I have managed to narrow my picks to twenty one polishes that were released plus there is a few favorites which I need to include, however they weren't actually released.  Like with yesterday's favorite mainstream post, I have only picked polishes that were released this year and that I have actually tried.  One of my pet peeves is when people include things in their favorites that they haven't even tried.  I did try my best to swatch and wear everything I purchased but there just wasn't enough time.  Sadly, there are a few polishes that most likely would have made it into this post but can't because I haven't worn them yet.  I'm sorry my pretties!  I will wear you I promise.  Right, now onto my top picks for Indie polishes this year.  Again, these aren't in any particular order because ranking them is just way too hard.

Emily de Molly

Emily de Molly has been a favorite brand of mine for years and given the polishes Hayley has come out with this year it is safe to say that she continues to be one of my favorite indie brands ever!

All The Feelings is a polish that was only recently released.  It's such a gorgeous topper which I think will look amazing over so many different polishes.  You can see my blog post about this polish here.

Flatline is the first holographic polish that came to mind when I started thinking about "favorite holos".  I mean it's a purplely colour and the holo is super strong.  How can I not love it?  I really need to wear it when the sun is out and do a proper swatch.  You can see my actual review of this polish here.

From Out Of Nowhere is an awesome multichrome polish.  Now I am pretty sure that this polish hasn't made it into a blog post just yet but it will be coming next year (that sounds so weird saying that but next year is really only days away now).

Gold Light Of Day is a Femme Fatale Cosmetics Exclusive.  It's gorgeous, what else can I say?  You can see more pictures and a review here.

LE38 is straight up amazing!  My bottle has separated and looks a little scary but it shakes back together perfect.  The colour of this one is amazing and so is the formula.  I have worn it a few times now and probably will keep on wearing it.  You can check out more swatches of this beauty here.

Quest For Immortality is hands down on of my favorite polishes that Emily de Molly have ever made.  I mean just look at it?  I even have a whole blog post dedicated to this polish!  There are a tonne of pictures here if you want to see more.

Savvy Trinkets is my last and certainly not least favorite from EdM this year.  There is something magical about these foily polishes of Hayley's that make me fall in love.  Pictures really just don't do this polish justice.  You can see the blog post with this polish here.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics

If you have been following me for sometime then you will know that Femme Fatale Cosmetics use to be one of my all time favorite indie brands.  Sadly, this year it has slipped down my list and I no longer collect ALL the Femme Fatales.  I do purchase a few every now and again and a couple of their polishes have made it into my favorites for the year.  

Cabin Fever is actually the first polish I purchased after I decided to stop buying all the Femme Fatale.  There is just something so unique and interesting about it that I couldn't not have it and it did not disappoint.  You can check out more pictures of it here.

Evil Queen was a limited edition polish that was released as part of the Enchanted Fables Collection (you needed to buy the full collection to get this polish).  I am so happy that I grabbed to full collection.  This polish is amazing!

Grace-full Nail Polish

Grace-full Nail Polish have been on fire this year.  Theresa (despite being unwell) has made some gorgeous collections this year (my personal favorite collections are the Christmas Memories and True Blue Collections) and some of the most amazing flakie polishes.  I think they make up a big proportion of my favorites. 

Blood Countess is the amazing flakie that came from the Revamp Of The Vampire Collection.  It's just pure squishy, flakie goodness!

Bondi Beach is one of my favorites from the True Blue Collection.  It really does have that ocean feel about it.  My pictures really don't do it justice.  

Eternal Sunset was released as a Hella Holo Customs Exclusive.  It's purple, has flakies and holo - seriously this is definitely my type of polish.

Grown Up Christmas Tree from the Christmas Memories Collection is yet another flakie favorite of mine and I am not even a big green person.  There are just so many colours happening within this polish and the formula is awesome.

Jacaranda Tree is another favorite of mine from the True Blue Collection.  I mean look at that colour?  So in love!  My pictures definitely don't do it justice at all.  It's more holo than it appears in the picture below too.

Lake Town is one of the multichrome polishes from the Going On An Adventure Trio.  This one was hands down the favorite from this collection and it's multichrome.  Who does not love a multichrome polish?  They are so fun to wear.

Rainbow Sparkler is from the Rainbow Sparklers Collection.  I'm pretty sure that this polish has every colour of flakie made in it.  Team it with a black base and it's heaven!  So much love for this one.

Powder Perfect

2016 has been a really exciting year for Powder Perfect.  Not only have their released some gorgeous polishes but they have also introduced stamping polishes and stamping plates to their line up.  I'm going to skip over those for now but will come back to them in the next couple of days.  Today is all about polishes.

Contested Crown is from the Antique Princess Duo which is a store exclusive for Mei Mei Signatures.  I am actually a huge fan of both of the polishes from this duo but Contested Crown is just a little bit more of a me colour.  I think this one is quite unique and interesting.

Puerto Rico is hands down one of my favorite purple cremes that was released this year.  The colour is absolutely stunning and has been worn a lot.  I am actually a big fan of all of the creme polishes from the Bermuda Trio.  Powder Perfect do great cremes!

Rainbow Dragon is one of the Hella Holo Custom polishes that Powder Perfect did.  It's a great colour, it has flakies, it has holo, it has a great formula...do I need to say more?

Pretty Serious Cosmetics

Now I am really not sure if you can class Pretty Serious Cosmetics as an "indie" but I am going to for this post.  Pretty Serious is also in the "indie" section in my drawers as well....or did I move them?  I can't remember.  I personally didn't buy a lot from Pretty Serious, however I did but and fall in love with the Pastel Pets Collection.  I love the whole collection, but have limited it to my three favorites for this post.  I love all three by themselves, but especially love them when they are all together.

Cutie Patootie is a gorgeous purple creme.  Not too light and not too in your face.

Fluffykins is an amazing pink creme.  If i had to pick only one favorite from this collection I think this polish would be it.

Peachy Poo is an orange creme.  Gorgeous colour but especially fantastic when teamed with Fluffkins and Cutie Patootie.

So that is my Top Twenty One indie polishes that were released this year.  The indie girls really do such an amazing job, and to think I only shop from a very small selection of indie stores.  My poor wallet would seriously die if I shopped more than I already do.

I mentioned earlier that there are a couple of polishes that weren't released but are most definitely in my favorites of polishes that I have used this year.  You may have seen them in my post the other day but these next two polishes were given to me for Christmas by Theresa (Grace-full Nail Polish).  I seriously love both of these polishes.  They are amazing.

Thanks Tracy.

When I Look To The Sky.

Now it's your turn.  Let me know what some of your favorite indie polishes were from this year.  Or even ones that you wished you had grabbed by didn't.

Favorite Mainstream Polishes 2016

To wind up the end of this year I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of my favorite things.  I had originally planned on doing some of these posts at the end of last year, however I was travelling and lacked internet and time.  But not this year.  I am organized and excited to share some of my favorites with you over the next few days - starting with my favorite mainstream polishes.  To make things fair (and to make it easier on me lol) I have decided to only include polishes that were released this year.  I had such a hard time picking my favorites but I have managed to pick my top twenty.  These aren't in any particular order because that would just be way to hard (have I mentioned that I really struggle making decisions especially when it comes to things like favorites?).  Enough babbling Tracy, show them your picks!

CHINA GLAZE

It may come as no surprise that I have a bunch of China Glaze polishes in my favorites for the year.  They are definitely one of my favorite brands ever.  My personal favorite collection that they released this year was the Lite Brites Collection, which I am guessing was a lot of peoples favorite seems the two posts I did on this collection are my most viewed blog posts ever!

Bite Me from the Lite Brites Collection.  Such a gorgeous colour and I love the shimmer in it.  Gives it a little something extra from your standard pink neon.

Dope Taupe from the Rebel Collection.  This is one of my favorite colours to wear during the cooler weather plus the formula is amazing. 

I Got A Blue Attitude from the Lite Brites Collection.  Is it blue?  Is it purple?  Whatever you want to call it, the colour and formula are amazing!  I actually want to reswatch this one as the camera I was using then hated purples and blurples.

I'll Pink To That is another I love from the Lite Brites Collection.  Seriously, neon pink - what isn't there to love?

Let's Chalk About It from the House Of Colour Collection.  I had a huge thing for these really light shades this year.  There is something about them that just seem so fresh, if that makes sense.

Lime After Lime is from the Lite Brites Collection.  Did I mention that this collection was a favorite of mine?  This green is not only a great colour on its own but I grabbed it a lot for nail art.

Moonlight The Night is another favorite of mine from the House Of Colour Collection.  When it comes to glitters I tend to favor indie polishes but I love this one.  It just so pretty and is unique in my collection.

None Of Your Risky Business is another favorite from the Lite Brites Collection.  This polish is easily my go to orange polish for this year, especially when it comes to nail art.

Dance Legend

I was able to try quite a few different polishes from Dance Legend this year.  A few of my all time favorites weren't actually released this year so I wasn't able to include them.   However, there was one stand out polish that I couldn't not include in my favorites.

11 from the Velvet Mini Collection.  This polish is drool worthy!  

OPI

OPI is another brand favorite for me, so again it will be no surprise that I have quite a few of their polishes in my favorites for this year.  OPI have released a lot of great collections this year.  If I had to pick my favorite collections I would say that Alice Through The Looking Glass, Retro Summer, Soft Shades, New Orleans, Washington DC and Breakfast At Tiffany's collections would be in there.  I know I just listed a lot of collections, but seriously OPI did some amazing collections.  I am excited to see what they have in store for us next year.

Apartment For Two from the Breakfast At Tiffany's Collection.  Great pink that isn't too dark or two bright and the formula is amazing.

Fearlessly Alice from the Alice Through The Looking Glass collection.  Gorgeous colour with an amazing formula.  Love it!

I Believe In Manicures is another one from the Breakfast At Tiffany's Collection.  I have always loved these lighter blue shades and this one is perfection.

I Manicure For Beads from the New Orleans Collection.  It really is no surprise that I have a purple creme in my line up of favorites.  The colour is gorgeous and it's so close to being a one coater.  How can I not love it?

I'm Gown For Anything is yet another one from the Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection.  For such a light colour this formula is fantastic and just look at the colour.  It's a nice soft colour without it looking white (not that that is a bad thing - I quite like those polishes too).

Rich & Brazilian is from the Breakfast At Tiffany's Collection.  This is a perfect winter shade for me.  It's not too dark that it just looks black and the shimmer is really pretty.

Rich Girls & Po-Boys is from the New Orleans Collection.  I have actually worn this quite a few times this year (although I may not have posted it?) and just love it every time.  It's a gorgeous bright colour without being over the top and the formula is awesome.

Sunshine...Bedtime! is another one from the Breakfast At Tiffany's Collection.  Now I know you may be thinking that this glitter isn't unique, and honestly it's not.  I am sure I have something very similar already in my collection.  However, it was released this year and I do love it!  It's super sparkly and girly. 

The I's Have It is from the Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection.  Have I mentioned that I really like this collection?  The colour is gorgeous and the formula is great.

Orly

I'm not to sure if Orly didn't release a lot of collections this year, or perhaps I just didn't buy them all.  There was definitely some good polishes but nothing that I really fell head over heels for (with the exception of one).  My favorite collection from Orly would have to the Pacific Coast Highway Collection.  I mean it's a neon collection, how could I not love it?

Scenic Route is from the Pacific Coast Highway Collection and is a super close to being the same colour as one of my favorite purple polishes ever - China Glaze That's Shore Bright (the original version).  It's not a dupe but it is close enough and a lot closer than the new version of That's Shore Bright.  You can see my comparison of these polishes here.

Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen is a brand that I don't have a lot of in my collection, however I am really keen to add more to my collection.  I was lucky enough to try my first ever polishes from the Complete Salon Manicure range and I fell in love.  I actually had most of the Spring Collection out of my drawers when trying to decide my favorites.  Sadly, there were a few other polishes from other brands that I loved the colour of just a little bit more.

Crush On Blue is from the Complete Salon Manicure Spring Collection.  These cornflower blues are easily one of my favorite types of blues ever and the formula of this one is perfection!

  

So that is my Top Twenty mainstream polishes that were released this year.  Now while I couldn't pick one of these polishes as part of my Top Twenty I couldn't not include the Color Club Pop Wash Collection.  I have used them time and time again for nail art and honestly love the colours and the formulas.  They aren't something I would wear on their one or as a full mani but they are perfect for nail art!

I'm curious to know what are some of your favorite mainstream polishes were that were released this year?  Or even some of your favorite collections.  Let me know in the comments below and leave a link to any favorite blog posts/videos you have done. I would love to check them out.  Tomorrow I will be back with my favorite Indie polishes from this year.

A Special Christmas Gift From Theresa (Grace-full Nail Polish)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  I hope that you all have an amazing day no matter what you are doing.  It is meant to be really hot here today which I am not looking forward to (I am a spring weather girl, not a summer girl) but it is still going to be a great day.  I know I will have one very happy little girl today, as she has been very spoiled.  Speaking of being spoiled, I was very spoiled by Theresa - the maker of Grace-full Nail Polish.  Most of you will know that I do work for Theresa and swatch and review a lot of her polishes, but you may not know that Theresa and I are friends (and no that does not have an influence over my reviews - in fact, I am sure that Theresa may tell you that I am a little too honest sometimes.  Not sure if that is a bad thing or not).  I have actually known Theresa for maybe three or four years now.  We have never actually met in person (we live in different states) but we chat - a lot!  Anyway, Theresa was exceptionally kind and sent me and Olivia a present and I thought I would share with you the two stunning polishes she sent me.  I would share the other presents, however Miss Olivia appears to have claimed them all for herself and who knows where she has them hiding.

Thanks Tracy.  My swatches show three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

When I Look To The Sky. My swatch shows two coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box with flash

Picture taken in direct sunlight

My pictures really don't do these polishes justice.  They are both absolutely stunning.  I am honestly in love with the both.  Thank you so so much Theresa.