Melificent

SQUEEWORTHY: nail polish giveaway

While Meli is romping around Western Europe with the love of her life, some of us girls have been holding down the fort for her. Elissa got us all hot and heavy over Emile Hirsch and shared some fabulosity with us, and Anika reminded us why Nathan Fillion earned the title of Captain Hotpants before giving us her own rendition of Loveable Friday. Now that the baton has been passed to me, I don’t intend on dropping it!

I’ve got a little confession to make: Over the past 12 months, I’ve become quite addicted to nail polish. My collection began with a meager bottle of Rimmel 60 second vinyl shine in “Zeitgeist”, which I had been hauling all over the states with me since I graduated college over six years ago. (Nail polish NEVER goes bad, ladies! It’s true.) And today my collection looks like this:

That doesn’t include ten top + base coats I have or the 15 polishes that are making their way to me via USPS right now. That brings my stash up to 110 polishes. Time to clear another drawer in my Ikea Helmer!

Things finally spun out of control after Meli’s crafting (and nail polish) party in July. As my time on Pinterest, Makeup Alley’s Nail Board, and Instagram began adding up, I realized I might have a problem. Honestly, my little addiction doesn’t embarrass me too much. It’s a cheap thrill, for the most part. And it’s such an easy, quick way make you look polished (no pun intended) while adding color to your wardrobe.

Here’s a closer look at some of the gems in my collection:

I never intended on owning a $25 bottle of polish. That’s crazy! But, when I caught wind of Chanel’s limited edition polish called Peridot, I had to have a look-see. (It is, after all, my birthstone!) In this photo, the green in the duochrome is completely lost. For better swatches, check out Temptalia’s review.

From left to right: Orly Liquid Vinyl, Hailey’s Comet, Nite Owl, Galaxy Girl, Fowl Play, and Royal Velvet)

Orly (available at CVS, Ulta and other beauty retailers) has quickly become a favorite of mine. The formula is generally super slick and easy and the bottles are larger than most. Win-win!

From left to right: Kleancolor City Never Sleeps, Chunky Holo Black, Winter Wonderland, Chunky Holo Bluebell, and Disco Ball.

Glitter and flakies, oh my! Kleancolor, notorious for being one of the foulest smelling polishes around, has the very best glitter and flakies. What’s a flakie? Think really big glitter in irregular shapes. Anika shared a swatch of the Kleancolor’s Chunky Holo Black in the last Loveable Friday, which is one of the coolest flakies out there. Kleancolor is available at BeautyJoint.com for $1.75/each. I ordered the five polishes above from them and they arrived quickly and were very well packaged.

Win a China Glaze Holiday Gift Set

Let’s kick off the season of giving early. Up for grabs is a holiday gift set from China Glaze. The four mini polishes (9.6mL) include: Ring in the Red, a great glittery red; Holly Day, a creme holiday green; Twinkle Lights, a red/green/gold glitter; and Velvet Bow, a dark red creme.

China Glaze Santa's Little Helpers

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post and tell us what your favorite nail polish brands and colors are. One random winner will be selected a week from today, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011.

Note: None of the products mentioned above or those in the giveaway were provided by third parties (advertisers, brand representatives, public relation representatives, retailers, manufacturers, etc.).

Until next time!

– Lori

You can reach me on Twitter @loritodd or anywhere else via mynameisnotlisa.com.

Comments

  1. Yay! This is exciting! I don’t know so much about nail polish, but want to start trying new and exciting kinds. My favorite nail polish brand is probably OPI, because that’s mostly what I buy/know. Otherwise, just Wet n Wild, because if I screw up horribly and wash my nails off, it was only a $1 bottle! 😉

    xx MaDonna
    MeMaDonna.com

  2. ooh how exciting! My all time favorite color is Essie’s Marshmallow, i’ve always been a huge fan of white on white french but lately i’m been more experimental. Today I have on Zoya’s Caitlin( purplish gray) . I love that they (zoya) put coupon codes on their fb page so i’m able to try more colors with a bargain.

  3. OPI is a great! And who can’t resist affordable drugstore polishes like WnW? You might want to check out Sinful Colors too, available at Walgreens and Target stores. They’ve got a very large collection and are generally $1.99.

    Thanks for the comment!

  4. I’ve heard great things about Marshmallow! I just got my first two Zoya’s through their Facebook Halloween freebies (2 polishes for free, just pay shipping), but I think I picked the wrong colors 🙁 Caitlin looks great though!

  5. I have always loved OPI’s “Not Really a Waitress” red!! It’s perfect year round, but especially during the Christmas holiday!

  6. I’m super into the glitter nail polishes these days, do I would have to say my favorites would have to be the Alice in Wonderland glitter nail polish collection by OPI: Mad as a Hatter, Absolutely Alice, Thanks So Muchness and Off With Her Red.

    I’m also super hyped for the Nicki Minaj nail polish line from OPI coming in Jan. 2012!

  7. you know, give them a chance, I wasn’t sure about Cailtlin when I got it but loved it once I put it on (two coats).I also ordered Pandora which is a lovely shimmery nude. did you see their Winter 2011 collection? i love them all.

  9. I love living vicariously through you with your addiction, Lori! I need your help on how to actually PAINT my nails better. Right now I’m loving the polish I’m wearing now, “Welcome to my loft” from Sephora. my first Sephora polish, I love the rounded brush so it goes on easier for those of us with a not-so-steady hand!

  11. Very interesting … Were you able to find those two Alice in Wonderland ones? They’re very hard to find these days. If not, we might have to go hunting for them. I really love the swatches of Absolutely Alice.

    As for the Nicki Minaj collection, I didn’t see anything I liked too much from them. I am in glitter-overload, but you might want to check out the exclusive to Wal-Mart Kardashian collection from Nicole by OPI. It’s a glitterfest. Or, you can borrow some of my Kleancolors 🙂

  12. I’m not familiar with Sephora brand polish. I tried to look up the brushes to see what it looks like, but I think you might just have to show me! I still am not very good at doing my own nails – I tend to flood the cuticles like crazy (too much polish on the brushes and too thick coats!). Practice, however, has really, really helped.

    If you haven’t already seen this infographic, check it out … This is the method I use when painting:
    http://www.lacquerized.com/2010/05/how-to-how-i-paint-my-nails.html

  14. I should have asked if Val meant Sephora by OPI (Which I love) or the Sephora brand polishes themselves.

    I love, love, love Sephora by OPI’s Only Gold For Me top coat. Weeeee

  15. Woo-hoo, nail polish!!! Let’s see, my favortie brands are probably Essie and Zoya and my favorite colors are Merino Cool (from Essie) and it’s a toss up between Mimi and Invanka (from Zoya) both super-glitters in my favorite nail colors, purple and green!

  16. I’m starting to experiment with different brands. Right now my favorites are China Glaze Jet Stream and Pure Elegance, L.A. Colors Red Carnation and Cotton Candy, L.A. Girl Rock Star Punk and Addict.

    melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com

  17. I will say OPI <3 lasts the longest with me, Lincoln Park after Dark, Russian Navy, I'm not really a waitress…ahh theres so many

  18. Essie was an early favorite of mine. Just tried my first Zoya, but I’m not 100% sold quite yet. I’m loving Orly right now. I have a number of purples too!

  19. So much fun! I, too, am a nail polish hoarder. The do eventually go bad, but it’s after like ten years. 😉

    I’m a total Essie fangirl, although I do have a fair number of OPI colors as well. Some of my favorites right now are Tart Deco, Bachelorette Bash, & Peach Daiquiri (yes, I’m still stuck on the summer brights!). Mint Candy Apple is still one of my favorites too. 🙂

  20. Oh, gosh! I love nail polish, too, so picking a favorite is almost impossible — but right now I’m so in love with Orly’s new collections. My fave of theirs (currently) has to be Sapphire Silk. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!! 🙂

  21. My favorite brand right now is Essie and Zoya. Love any shades w/ glitter, especially silver and gold.
    nquirico at hotmail dot com

  24. Just add a bit of nail polish thinner to any polishes that are drying out or old, and they come right back to life. Even if they’ve dried SOLID. No joke! (But NEVER put acetone in the polish – it’s not the same as thinner!)

    Tart Deco is one of my faves! I just ordered it. I used it at Meli’s nail polish party and loved it. Mints generally don’t go with my skin tone, boo!

    How many polishes do you have? hehe

  26. Amazing giveaway! My favourite is OPI, they are so easy to apply, long lasting and soooo many colours to choose from! 😀 Some of my favourites are Miami Beet, Over the Taupe and You’re a Pisa Work!

  27. My favourite nailpolish at the moment is China Glaze’s “Calypso Blue”. Great giveaway!

  28. My Favorite are:
    Sinful Colors – “Rise and Shine”
    Sally Hansen – “Pacific Blue” and “Heart of Stone”
    Finger Paints – “Black Expressionism”

  30. I like sinful colors nail polish! its cheap and they have amazing colors. my favorites at the moment would be SC Frenzy, SC Mint Apple, and Wet n Wild Sparkled

  31. I like sinful colors nail polish! its cheap and they have amazing colors. my favorites at the moment would be SC Frenzy, SC Mint Apple, and Wet n Wild Sparkled

  35. i love essie- clam bake and case study! the colors you’re giving away are just darling! i’d love to win for christmas!!

  37. Hi!

    ————————— One of my fave polishes ever is China Glaze’s Dorothy Who. It’s so amazing!

    saucy.baby21[at]gmail[dot][com]

    — Nicole

  38. My alltime favorite brand is China Glaze bacause of their range of colors! But. I currently am loving Sinfuls Last Chance, Zoya Yara, and OPI’s Excuse Moi!

  41. I am a little bit of a newbie to the nail polish trend. I’ve just gotten into it and my total polish collection is probably under 50 bottles right now, but only ONE China Glaze so far! Passion, how fitting!

    My favorite colors have got to be –

    OPI
    You Don’t Know Jacque
    Tickle My France-y
    Russian Navy

    Essie
    Trophy Wife

    China Glaze
    WAY too many to list. I have a whole wishlist on my blog.

    ANYTHING Teal = my love!

  42. Right now my favorites are:

    Sally Hansen – “The Real Teal” & “Gunmetal”
    Nicole – “Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam” & “Respect the World”
    Sephora – “Spark-tacular! Top Coat”

  43. I, a polish lover, have a hard time picking favorites, but for the moment, my favorites are..

    Ulta – Haute Stuff (I’ve memories connected to this polish)
    Sally Hansen – Cherry Red (because I love a good red)
    Color Club – Up Town Girl

    Those are 3 good ones. You can rearch me by e-mail.

  46. I am really into “Sidewalkers” from NYC right now (I super love their flat brush), and I have a close second which is “Hazard” by Sinful Colors. Both cremes (which I have found are more work appropriate), sidewalkers is a med to light concrete grey and hazard is a soft creamy orange dreamsicle color. Love! I have been drooling over Twinkle Lights in this collection though, so I would love to get my hands on it 😀

  49. My current favorite polish is Essie’s Shine of the Times because it’s like a different polish every time, depending on the base coat color. So shiny!!!

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