Nail polish is part of the entire package of how you present yourself to the world. Taking care of your nails is as important as wearing makeup and styling your hair. If you do not wear nail polish, I hope this post will encourage you start and join the party!
Why?
Because your hands are very visible, at all times. Because your nails are an expression of your personality and arguably how you feel about yourself. Because having nice, manicured, polished nails is like icing on a cake, coffee art in your latte, a bow on a present…it adds the element of je ne sais quoi! Nice nails helps you feel put together and improves your confidence. For me, when I am not wearing polish or my polish starts to wear off, I feel unkempt.
Your nails are an important part of self care. Nail polish adds colour and interest to your hands and completes your look. Nail polish, of any colour, will flatter your hands and make you look more polished. In the spirit of looking put together and feeling your best, wear nail polish and have pristine nails (no chipped nails for a put-together gal or guy!). If you do not like coloured nail polish, you can wear a light, sheer colour and your nails will still look taken care of.
Nail polish is also fashion. There are nail trends as there are fashion trends. The polish colour and finish you choose, the nail art, or your nail shape is a fashion expression.
My collection
Below is a quick video of my polish collection I wanted to share .
The number of nail polishes I have (currently 41) may be a little excessive, some would say, although there would definitely be people that have more polishes than I do. If you have less than 41 and you felt you had a lot…well there you go. But, it is my guilty pleasure and I do quite enjoy having many options. Just when I think I have every colour of blue there could be, a new blue colour will come out that is different and nice that I need to add to my collection. In my defense, I do my nails every week, so I do need a lot of colours to choose from depending on my mood, where I am going and what I am doing that week.
Nail Polish Brands I Like
You do not have to spend a lot on nail polish to get quality. My favourite drugstore nail polish is Sinful Colours. You can buy this in many drugstores (Superstore in Canada) for $2.99, that’s right $2.99 and is great quality polish. The colours are opaque, long-lasting, high shine, has a good brush applicator and a great collection of colours to choose from.
My favourite more luxury nail polish is Morgan Taylor. This is my favourite brand at the higher end at about $11.99. It is great quality, never fails me, long-lasting, amazing brush applicator, high shine and great collection of colours. I prefer this brand to OPI and Essie. Morgan Taylor is harder to find as it is mainly sold in hair salons or other boutiques but is available online if you can’t find it in stores at nailpolishcanada.com.
I mentioned in my video, which I couldn’t upload, that I do have a few Essie and OPI polishes, they are ok, but take a second seat to Sinful Colours and Morgan Taylor in my opinion. If you are looking for the perfect red polish, my favourite is Cherries in the Snow, by Revlon. It’s a perfect candy apple red (more of a slight pink undertone which I like), it is beautiful, fresh, youthful red.
Tips
When we choose nail polish colours, we tend to choose colours we visually like. However, it is important to consider nail polish colours that suit the skin tone of your hands as well. It took me a while to figure out what colours suit me better than others. For example, I kept buying pinks and oranges because I love the colours, but I could not figure out why they did not look that great on me. Then I realized it is because of my skin tone. For whatever reason, these colours do not flatter my skin tone as well other colours do. So when you shop for colours, put the bottle up to your nails to see if the colour is flattering to the skin tone on your hands. You will need to do this with a few different colours so you can get a sense of what appears to look better.
If you want to keep your collection limited and classic, I recommend buying a creme finish rather than glitter, micro glitter, metallic or sparkles. You can’t go wrong with the clean look of a creme finish, it always looks good and is easier to remove. There is nothing wrong with glitter polish, but it definitely takes longer to remove and you need time and patience.
The secret to long-lasting polish is to have a good base coat and a good top coat. I have found a good base and top coat is an absolute integral step in the process. Buying any old kind of base or top coat will affect the length of time or lack of length of time your polish lasts.
My favourite base coat is by Nailtiques, however, I believe they are no longer in business (If you can find it, buy it!) so I am on the hunt for a new base coat. Nailtiques was my secret to super long-lasting polish that always lasted at least a week, sometimes longer. In addition, my nails used to split and be weak, Nailtiques took my nails from weak to long and strong, it is so good! I am sad I can no longer find it. If you have a great base coat recommendation, please email me and let me know.
For a top coat, the Essie gel-setter top coat is my favourite. It is long-lasting, very shiny and I can use it to almost the very end until it gets thick. Highly recommend it and it is easy to find at the drugstore.
If your nail polish gets thick before you finish or closely finish the bottle, you can add a drop or two of nail polish remover into the bottle to thin it out. However, this can make your polish streaky and may work for an application or two only. Likely it has to be thrown away unfortunately. There is not much you can do when it becomes thick, hard to apply and does not dry down.
Final Thoughts
Spending time either doing your nails yourself or going to a nail salon is time consuming, like every other grooming step, however, it is worth the effort for a polished (pun intended) look. I hope this post inspires you to spend time on yourself and try something new. A cool new nail colour, nail art or nail trend can add a little lift to your look and self confidence.
All the best and until next time…
