Polish and Melanin | Confessions and 12 Holiday Colour Suggestions
/“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give it’s Christmas”
Okay, I have a confession to make. I’ve become slightly just slightly obsessed with nail polishes. And by that I mean buying nail polishes not necessarily wearing them, though I have been making more of an effort to wear them. I hate to feel like I wasted all that money just so I could have some colourful polishes sitting in a drawer.
I’ve made multiple purchases in the last two weeks and while I don’t regret them I know that for the next couple months I’m going to have to go real easy on those type of purchases. Which is easier said than done for me.I’ll admit that I often lack the commitment to stick to a no buy or low buy, I just feel like I’m depriving myself and I don’t like that. However, since I have no plans to languish in consumer debt, I will have to exhibit some self control and refrain from making any big purchases, maybe I’ll buy one or two.
Honestly I don’t buy polishes that often, but online shopping got me. Free shipping, a wide range of brands and colour selection, yeah it got me real good.
Since I’ve dedicated so much of my finances to nail polish I’ve decided to incorporate it more in my blog, this may or may not work against me. On one hand writing about nail polish more often will cause me to use the colours I have, on the other it may just enable me to purchase more. I can see myself justifying it by saying I need this colour for the blog post I’m working on, and yes I did use that excuse in my latest purchases. I know, shame on me.
This week I wanted to a post about some good polishes for the holidays and Christmas season. I was watching MissHollyBerries Youtube video and I loved how she did her top 10. Instead of doing strictly 10 polishes, she did polish categories. I aimed for 10 categories, though I ended up with 12.
This took me a couple of days to compile, I went through all of my polishes testing for similar colours and colour suitability for each category, this isn’t a dupe list so suggesting similar shades wasn’t what I was aiming for.
MissHollyberries had a snowflake category and at first I was like nope, not gonna add that one but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to add that category so I found a few shades that bring to mind the whiteness, and crispness of snow and snowflakes.
So here are the categories that I think would be great to wear this holiday season, to change it up a bit, I’ve attached holiday and Christmas inspired items to each shade.
Gold
For this category I was thinking a stack of gold ornaments in a decorative bowl or Ferrero Rocher chocolates wrapped in their signature gold foil. Think cocktail parties and hors d’oeuvre. Elegant place settings of crisp clean white accented with gold.
Notes: Orly's Too much bubbly is a soft gold with subtle reflective shimmer, CND Locket Love is a warm gold with soft shimmer and lastly OPI's Baroque...But still shopping is a muted gold base full of rich gold glitter. The Orly polish is a bit thin, so at least 3 coats will be needed to reach full opacity on the nail, the CND and OPI polish applied nicely. The gold glitter in the OPI distributed fairly even over the nail it will give a bit of texture but is beautiful.
Silver
This puts me in the mind of the tinsel garland, sparking as it’s wrapped around the Christmas tree or draped down the banister of the stairs entwined with holly boughs and fresh cut greens.
Notes: Loreal's Just Jet Setting is light toned metallic silver, Formula X's Artemis is a beautiful reflective with a warm undertone and Color Club's The wild side is a deep smoky grey toned silver. All of the polishes apply beautifully with 2 coats you've got full coverage. You might want to add another coat to the Formula X glitter just to make sure that you've covered your nail evenly.
Green
Envision if you will, the scent of fresh pine trees full of pine-cones as you take a walk through the forest or the deep rich scent of cedar boughs fashioned into a lovely wreath or table display.
Notes: China Glaze Jolly Holly is a deep hunter green colour with a soft shimmer. Zoya's Holly is a bright green reminiscent of it's name sake and China Glaze's Peace on Earth is a medium olive toned green with a lovely shimmer finish.
Red
This vibrant colour reminds of striped candy canes, holly berries, Rudolph and his nose. The colour of the season, merry and bright.
Notes: CND's Crimson sash is a medium to dark toned red with slight berry undertones and a soft subtle shimmer, CND Rouge Red is a vibrant full impact red, that is very appropriate for the holiday season. Lastly Cherimoya's Metallic Red is another medium toned red with slight burgundy tones and a nice metallic finish. All colours applied smoothly and evenly and were opaque in 2 coats.
Burgundy
Snuggle up with an over-sized sweater and long fluffy socks, wrapped with the warmth of a blanket and surrounded with sounds of family and friends.
Notes: Orly's Rococo a go-go is a beautiful purple that has a slight shift to it depending on how the light hits your nails, Sally Hansen's Pat on the Back is a deep rich burgundy, and Cherimoya's Metallic Violet is a raspberry toned metallic hue. The Orly and Sally Hansen polish did need a few coats to reach full opacity.
Blue
This is the colour of ice skating parties with friends, the cold crisp air and your breath making soft clouds as you expel it.
Notes: Yes I know there's a purple in the blue's, in my defense it does look like a deep navy blue, so still suitable. Orly's Aspen is a gorgeous frosty blue and Zoya's Noel is a medium toned peacock blue with some green undertones. Orly's Aspen applies sheer so needs a few coats to reach full opacity. The Borghese and Zoya polishes were good with 2 coats.
Glitter
The twinkling of the lights on the Christmas tree, the crackle of the fire place the dance of the flames in your scented candles.
Notes: The Cuccio Remix nail polish is a clear base filled with tons bronzed toned glitter and a few teal ones, Cherimoya's Teal Soiree has a soft gold base with confetti like reflective glitter pieces. OPI's Two wrongs don't make a meteorite looks like a gorgeous mix of rose gold and black in the bottle the base is clear and the glitter very chunky which made application very difficult. Both the Cuccio and Cherimoya polishes were easy to apply without utilizing the sponge technique, because the glitter pieces are tinier and there are more of them, you were able to get a lot on your brush.
Nude
The scent of the season, cinnamon and nutmeg spices that warm the senses, homemade hot cocoa piled high with marshmallow and whipped cream
Notes: Rimmel's Hot chocolate is a rich medium toned brown that looks like milk chocolate, Cuccio's Bologna Blush is a muted creamy pink with and Polish 11 I'm stuck is a soft mauve pink. All polishes applied beautifully and were opaque in 2 coats.
Rose Gold
The gentle pop of the bubbles and the tinkling of champagne glasses as they join together in a toast for the year that was and the year that is to come
Notes: Vroom from Formula X is a metallic rose gold polish, CND Grand Gala is polish with a gold base that shifts to rose gold and Orly's Million Dollar Views is a bronze toned rose gold. The Formula X and Orly polishes applied easily and were opaque in 2 coats, the CND polish needed a few coats as it applies sheer to the nail.
White
The gentle kisses of snowflakes as they land on your upturned face, the joy as you try to catch them on your tongue
Notes: China Glaze's Chillin with my snow-mies is a clear glitter base with white hexagonal glitter of varying sizes, shown here applied to my bare nail though I suggest you apply it onto of another nail colour. Essie's Limo- Scene is a soft creamy pink toned white, so it's not too stark and is a bit more wearable. Lastly Formula X's Sci-Fi is a fine white glitter polish mixed with reflective shimmer.
Pink
The beauty of the day ends with skies streaked with hues of pink softly reflected in the snow
Notes: Zoya's Kimber is a bright pink polish with shimmer it does need at least 2 coats to reach full opacity., Nubar's Camelot Blossom is a soft muted medium toned pink, it has a creamy finish and is opaque in 1 coat but 2 would be best. Formula X's Knockout is a bright pink with a purple reflects, this shade applies nicely and is opaque in 2 coats.
Black Tie
Soft lights, gentle music, a celebration of family and friends, the highs, the lows and the triumphs
Notes: Sparitual's Slate is a shimmer infused muted taupey bronze, it applies well and is opaque in 2 coats. Formula X's Huntress is a beautiful rich navy blue base with gold reflects, this polish is also opaque in 2 coats. Lastly Coco & Lulu's Eiffel tower is a grey based polishinfused with fine gold glitter, this polish does require about 3 coats to reach opacity.
What polishes do you like wearing during the holiday season?
