My Nail Polish Collection + Favorites

I was one of those kids who bit her nails when I was little. Then one day I decided that it's enough, and that I want beautiful nails, and I stopped my biting habit just like that. Well, of course it wasn't success at first try, but I managed to stop doing it with my willpower (no bitter nail polish, no other things to occupy my hands with, no other methods). While my nails started growing, they weren't what I wanted them to be - painted! The truth is that one painted, nails right away look way better (even when they're not perfect). I started with clear nail polish, then moved on to light colors, but I didn't feel I could get away with brighter or darker nail polishes as I haven't mastered nail polish application, and I didn't feel good if it didn't look perfect. I can't remember how I started using a wider array of colors, but I still remember my first nail polish - dark, almost black, wine color with sparkles. Funny how even now it is one of my favorite colors.

While I colored my nails all the time, I didn't have that many nail polishes. However, like anything in makeup and beauty department, my nail polish collection started growing. Suddenly instead of a couple bottles I had 29, and then 50, and then... Well, I lost count when it was over 125. I had all kinds of colors and shades available, but I still used my favorite ones, so some of the bottles weren't even opened. When time came to move, I decided to clean up my nail polish collection, and get rid of the ones I don't use, the ones with bad formula, or those that got too thick. This is how I lost about 30 bottles, and around the same I got rid of recently, because the first time I still saved some that I shouldn't have.

All the nail polishes that I have currently are the ones I love or like enough to keep (for different reasons). Let me show you all of them and tell a bit about different brands.

I keep my nail polishes in this box, and my unofficial goal is to have no more bottles than can fit in it (I still have space available!). I organized my collection by color recently instead of organizing by brand as this makes it easier to pick the shade that I go for. Anyway, the bottom photo contains nail care products, such as base and top coats, and nail polish thinning drops. Zoya's base/top coat as well as nail polishes and nail polish remover are probably my favorite. They are all easy to work with and give great results. SpaRitual's peel off base coat comes in handy with highly glittery nail polishes that otherwise seem to be impossible to remove from the nails. I've tried a few of such products, but nothing compares to this one. I also have a separate review about this base coat HERE.

 

I've always wanted, but I've never mastered (nor did I have patience) nail art, so glitter or different color on 1-2 nails was my go to thing. I'm not gonna tell much about any of these as I can't remember the last time I did that as I'm going to one color nails for years now. Though I do keep my glitter just in case.

As you can see Zoya dominates my nail polish collection. It's an amazing 5-free brand that offers any color and finish you could think of. The colors are rich, pigmented (unless you pick a sheer one), they go on smoothly, and dry quick, and they last long. The brush is easy to work with and doesn't mess up cuticles or skin around the nails. While they're not the cheapest ($10 per bottle), Zoya constantly has promos where you can get this nail polsih for a very reasonable price.

Another of my all time favorite nail polishes that you can see in these photos and in ones that will follow is Sephora by OPI. It's discontinued now, so I'm not gonna talk much, but they used to be sold at Sephora, and they are amazing. Most of them I got 7-8 years ago, and they're still as good as new without any thickening, formula or color changes.

While I only have a few bottles from Mineral Fusion, they are great polishes as well. They dry quickly, last long, and give all you can want from a nail polish. Mineral Fusion's top coat is probably my favorite one - I've gone through tons of it. I went to get it again last weekend, and noticed they had gel top coat, which I got instead, and I still have to try it.

Priti NYC is another clean nail polish brand. I have only a few bottles of them just because it's so hard to find swatches online, and they aren't sold around me locally. When I bought these a few years back, I had to trust what my computer showed, and when I got them in the mail, it wasn't 100% accurate. That's probably one of the reasons that keeps me from getting more of them. Yet they have a lot of colors, last long, and dry in an instant.

I love my reds and burgundies! Well, not much to tell here as Zoya dominates these photos. I also have Sephora by OPI, Essie, OPI, China Glaze, and H&M in them.

I'm not a fan of blue, green, yellow, orange, etc colors (basically if you don't see them in my collection, I don't like them), but I have a few shades that go with me. Again, it's mostly Zoya with its grey-ish blues and golden greens. Though I have to mention Milani nail polish as well. I have only 2-3 bottles in my collection, and while I could live without them, Milani's black is a must have. This black is the blackest black you've ever seen. One coat is enough to give full coverage with no nail/lightness peeking through. It's incredibly opaque, dries quickly, one coat is enough and it looks like gel polish. I love it on its own, but I also love a light layer of see through glitter on top to give it a different look.