The rest - polish

Whenever we're going out at the weekend and the girls come round mine first (if I feel up to entertaining as I seldom do these days) every single time, without fail they conveniently forget to do their nails - you know who you are guys! :P

This is why:

Now before there are any attempts to have me committed, please remember I am a manicurist at the weekends. Everything that's not on my stand, is my kit. I have over 100 in total with a fairly even ratio (around 50/50) of personal and kit. 

The reason I have over 50 nail polishes for myself is that a year ago, I decided to settle at 52. That way I could wear a different shade each week, that I wouldn't wear again for the rest of the year. Hence me having about a zillion reds. I went out and bought a rack without giving much consideration to the approximate capacity, in this case - 50. Due to the width/shape of some of the bottles, I only managed to cram 43 on there, which is why a few are just balancing on top.

Lets have a quick gander at some I haven't mentioned - 

This little black polish is called 'Black Tie' and is of a brand called Nox Twilight. Yup. Inspired by the twilight films.

Whatever your reason is for not liking twilight, be it mindless bandwagonism or simply not being big on the religious brainwashing of today's youth, you cannot deny that hair and makeup in these films are absolutely top notch!  Whenever I order polish online, I always go for the black just to test the water since there's not really much margin for error swatch wise. Not too bad, not the shiniest I own but whatever it lacks in composition it definitely makes up for in presentation; the design on the bottle is very gothy and eye-catching so gets points there. Also went ahead and bought a nice metallic navy called 'Talon.' As they're part of a franchise, discontinuation seems pretty imminent, so I will try not to get too attached. 

Ciate cookies and cream -  the one I've got on this week is probably the most nondescript polish I own; a nice creamy nude, very suitable for work. Quite sophisticated, in a very downplayed sort of way. 

I've had so many Sparituals in the past and this is the only one I've kept re-purchasing - Hypnotic. A wonderful deep bronze with a slight hematite quality. I do also like the fact that they have rubber lids for better grip. Useful if you've lathered on the hand cream prior to manicure. 

Essie - Lady Godiva. Mahogany chocolate. You might want to wear a matching lippie to properly pull this off, especially if you've got very pale skin. 

Jessica - Wild Thing of the Rebel collection. Lovely antique caramel colour

Nubar - boyfriend jeans. Not big on this colour, thought it would be a little more teal. Nubar is a decent brand however, so may have to trade it for another shade.

Models Own - Purple/grey. At the time, I so happened to be perusing selfridges for the best purple grey and had no luck. I came across this in boots one day and it turned out to be perfect for what I wanted. Very different from purple ash, so don't fall into that one. I do also have a Beetlejuice trio but alas, I've left them at the salon. Oops. 

China Glaze - concrete catwalk. What a great dense and stormy colour! Good moody alternative to black. 

Also have a nice christmassy green aptly named Hollyday.

Filthy gorgeous - These are quite cute. Not used them yet since I only bought them in January but this particular pair caught my eye in Debenhams. They come with plectrums which is quite handy for the gent who plays guitar/bass. 

Lancome - Gris angora. Very pale blue/grey. Not one I would wear on it's own, but good for going underneath crackle or glitter. 

Deborah Lippmann - Razzle Dazzle. Picked up from House of Fraser on an accessory venture. Gotta live the glam revival sometimes.

YSL - Bronze Aztec. Meld of bronze and gold. Saving this one for early Autumn

I do have a fair few OPIs that I won't go into individually, but these are really great polishes with a very diverse range of colours.

Blushingham Palace I like to pair up with Nars - Arabesque as a base. Looks awesome underneath the sparkle.

Before I move on to my kit I feel obligated to mention that if you already have either Leighton Denny's No comment or OPI's black cherry chutney - don't buy the other! It is very rare to come across two polishes from different brands that are identical in hue, but somehow I've managed. Once on the nail, it's impossible to tell one from the other.

Ones that for whatever reason are not on my stand but I'm either expecting/forgotten are: 

Essie - Matte about you

Tom Ford - Bordeaux Lust

Models Own - Aqua Violet, Pinky Brown and Purple Blue.

Kit

Though I have bought the nail essentials and attitudes specifically for my kit, it does seem to also be becoming a sort of personal 'reject pile.' 

Another Nox Twilight. Now you take a look at the swatch Sugar plum and tell me that isn't a completely different colour! Instead of a nice sugary lilac I somehow ended up with a horrible garish fuschia pink. I checked and it is infact Sugar plum, so not sure what's going on there. I do really hate pink. It's just one of those colours that carries with it so much negative connotation. Whenever I see it I automatically think harebrained obnoxious celebutante. Euchhh.

Again, expected to receive a nice tea rose that would compliment my favourite blush, but instead got a bright coral pink. Shame, never had swatch discrepancies with Debenhams before. 

I'm not a fan of rimmel, so any stocking fillers or promotions automatically gets transferred to the kit. 

So that's it.

I encourage you all to strive for an equally varied collection since you can probably never have enough polish. 

:)

=Leo=