Nails: Raspberries

I'm pretty sure in my 10 years of nail blogging I haven't done raspberry nails, strawberries a couple of times. Also I really need to work of my top coat application!

Base Polish | Essie - Mint Candy Apple
Stamping Polish | Beauty Big Bang - 002
Accent Polish | Barry M - Pomegranate
Stamping Plate | Beauty Big Bang - XL001

  

Nails: Top 5 Spring Polishes 2020

Barry M - Ocean Blue // Essie - Mint Candy Apple // Barry M - Papaya // W7 - Sheer Lemon // Barry M - Candy Floss

Today is the Spring equinox, not that it feels like a hopeful time. But Spring is here nonetheless and so I'm sharing my Spring 2020 nail polish picks. I have done this type of post before which you can see 2019 here, 2018 here, 2017 here, 2015 here and 2014 here.

You don't need these specific polishes, but these are ones that I want to reach for during Spring. I seem to have gone for all pastel polishes this year.

Ocean Blue is one of the newer polishes from Barry M, it is a light blue cream shade. This is very obviously a blue polish, so something to wear which is clearly not just an off white shade. Light enough though for Spring.

Essie Mint Candy Apple, this polish was THE nail polish a few years ago. This version leans green, a light mint green which as a pastel is very much a colour that screams Spring to me.

Barry M Papaya is the brightest of the polish I picked, not a vivid orange but a lighter, muted orange shade.

I don't have many yellow polishes but W7 Sheer Lemon is one of around five polishes I have. This one is a pastel polish but is clearly yellow rather than a off white shade.

Barry M Candy Floss, is a very light pink polish. This is something that screams Spring to me, very light though so perhaps something I wouldn't wear as is.

  

Nail Polish Battle 2019: Winner!

So the time has finally arrived for me to choose my favourite nail polish from the ones I got during 2019.

We left off with my top three;

Essie - Angora Cardi | Rimmel - Blue Sea Star | A England - Goth

First I cut Angora Cardi from the three, because pink is my least favourite of the three colours.

Finally I cut Blue Sea Star from the two because while it is unique to my collection, it is a cream finish and I prefer holographic. Which of course leaves Goth as my winner for 2019;

A England have won my nail polish battle now for three years running. Goth is a beautiful deep aubergine, holographic polish. The formula is opaque in one coat and the brush is flat, wide and rounded at the cuticle which is my favourite type. The shade is deep but it still is noticeably not black.

  

Nail Polish Battle 2019: Top Three

For today's nail polish battle I am showing all the winners from each round, and choosing the top three for 2019. Had I of looked at all of the polishes I had got during 2019 I really don't think choosing that way I would have ended up with these particular polishes. That said doing these polish battles is interesting and a fun way to overview my new polishes.

Barry M - Butterscotch | OPI - I Pull The Strings | Essie - Angora Cardi | Barry M - Blueberry Muffin | Rimmel - Blue Sea Star | Superchic Lacquer - Zombie Crush | A England - Goth

So from the seven I ended up with these three;

Essie - Angora Cardi | Rimmel - Blue Sea Star | A England - Goth

Angora Cardi is in the top three, it's a dusty, muted pink shade which for me is more wearable than the other pink polishes. It is something I seem to reach for more in autumn.

Rimmel - Blue Sea Star, made it in to the top three for similar reasons as Angora Cardi. A muted, dusty polish shade which is unique to my collection.

And finally making it in to the top three is A England - Goth. I really like the formula, the brush is flat, wide and rounded at cuticle. It is holographic and is dark aubergine but is still distinguishable from a standard black polish.

The winning polish of 2019 will be the next and final post in this series.

  

Nails: Top 5 Winter Polishes 2019

Essie - Hors d'oeuvres | A England - Rose Bower | Barry M - Spearmint | A England - Goth | Nails Inc - Sound of Sequins

As today is Yule, the Winter Solstice signalling the start of the official winter season I thought now would be a good time to share my top five winter polishes. Also today is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere, will be nice to have some actual daylight once again. I have done similar blog posts in previous years 2018 (here), 2017 (here) and 2016 (here).

A England - Rose Bower | Barry M - Spearmint | A England - Goth | Nails Inc - Sound of Sequins | Essie - Hors d'oeuvres

A England Rose Bower, would it be a festive season without a red polish? This one leans pink and is holographic which adds something a bit different to your standard red cream polish.

Barry M Spearmint, as with a red a green is a traditional festive shade. This green is more of a muted cream which would make a nice base for some seasonal stamping.

A England Goth, so I was torn between a white and a black for this pick, I being me ended up going for the darker option. Goth is a very dark aubergine polish with holographic particles throughout. This would be nice for New Year's or even a festive event.

Nails Inc Sound of Sequins, a silver polish is also a good one for events and New Year's, this one is a metallic shimmer finish and nice if you don't want to opt for something darker like Goth.

Essie Hors d'oeuvres, for New Year's I think glitter is a traditional choice. This one is opaque in two coats, mainly silver glitter pieces in various sizes, also gold large hex glitters. Very glitzy and does catch the light when you wear it.

  

Nail Polish Battle 2019: Pink and Red

Nails Inc - Make an Understatement | Nails Inc - Saturday Night In | Nails Inc - Bruton Street | Barry M - Pink Grapefruit | Essie - Angora Cardi | OPI - Red | OPI - Toying With Trouble | Nails Inc - Cambridge Mews | A England - Shall Be My Queen | OPI - Berry Fairy Fun

As pink isn't my favourite colour breaking down this category to my top three was quite easy. Cambridge Mews is a raspberry pink, as with the newer Nails Inc polishes it has a nice flat and wide brush which I like. Shall Be My Queen is a mid toned red which is also holographic which would look a lot better in direct sunlight which at this time of year in the north it is harder to come by!

Which means that Angora Cardi is the winner, it is a dusty, muted pink shade which for me is more wearable than the other pink polishes. The colour is more accurate in the swatch below than the bottle shot. I think Shall Be My Queen could have won if there were more sun around to bring out the holographic pieces.

  

Swatch: Essie - Angora Cardi

Colour | Dark Nude, Pink
Finish | Cream
Opacity | Two Coats Shown
Brush Type | Flat, Wide, Rounded Cuticle
How Much | 13.5ml