2016 Nail Polish Picks

I couldn’t fit all of this in an Instagram caption, so I decided to make a blog. I’ll insert links to accurate swatch photos since my own aren’t that great.

I’ve become very interested in nail polish over the past year. I was a little traumatized after trying to paint my nails as a three-year-old and spilling polish all over my parent’s expensive table (and they never let me forget it), so I rarely painted my nails growing up. As my interest in indie makeup grew, I became increasing mesmerized by indie nail polishes. There were so many unique polishes! The first indie polish that I tried was Glass Coffin from Femme Fatale Cosmetics in September 2015, and my nails have rarely been bare since then. I’ve also dabbled a bit in nail art after discovering that a certain holo-obsessed YouTuber lives in the same building as me, but I need a lot more practice.

Here are my favourite nail polishes from the past year. Most of them are from fall collections, but they’re not all stereotypical autumn colours.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics La Scala

La Scala was from the 2016 Anniversary Set. It is a mauve-taupe crelly with green iridescent flecks. No words or pictures can properly capture it, it’s incredibly unique and so beautiful. The green shift is much stronger in person.

Swatches: Chrissys_Lackwahnsinn, glitterfingersss

Femme Fatale Cosmetics After Dark

My next pick from Femme Fatale is After Dark from the From Dusk Till Dawn blogger collaboration by Zlata of de_briz. Zlata explained that it was, “inspired by the night sky with myriad of stars, named after the song After Dark by Tito & Tarantula.” It’s a dark blue crelly (almost black if you apply more than two coats) with holo and gold microflakes. It’s gorgeous and one of the most long-wearing Femme Fatale polishes that I’ve tried.

Swatches: de_briz, irina_walerica

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Ready for Dreamland?

I was surprised my how much I loved Ready for Dreamland? from the Total Recall collection. It is a lavender crelly with magenta and silver shimmer. When I was wearing this, a little boy told me that I was too old to wear light purple, but this polish is so beautiful that I don’t care 😂.

Swatches: sheelbaba, ilaeti

Cirque Halcyon

Halcyon, from the Holiday collection, is an extremely metallic rose gold with silver flakes. Cirque polishes consistently have the best formula in my opinion, and this shade was no exception. I would never wear this shade on it’s own because I don’t love rose gold, but it works wonderfully in nail art and I have received a ton of compliments on it.

Swatches: Cirque, lakkomlakkom, nail art by melynenailart

Cirque Garnet

Although the Facets collection was full of beautiful gemstone colours, Garnet was my top pick. It’s a gorgeous burgundy with holographic flakes. I like it more than Ambrosia (Holiday collection), as Ambrosia has too much holo for my taste.

Swatches: ilaeti, Cirque

Cirque Winter Bloom

Winter Bloom (Holiday collection) is described as “light mint green holographic,” but it definitely leans turquoise/blue under most lighting conditions. As a jelly polish, it’s a bit more sheer than most Cirque polishes, so I needed three coats. It looks amazing as a sheer layer over Storm King from the Metropolis collection.

Swatches: Cirque, cblacow

A-England Let Me In

First, I need to mention how much I love the literary-inspired collections that A-England curates. Second, I need to state the beauty that is Let Me In from the Emily Brontë collection. It is described as a “dark red berry holo full of depth and passion,” which is completely accurate. It’s stunning. 

Swatches: nails-art.fr, ilaeti

Essie Angora Cardi

And finally, @essiecanada’s Angora Cardi: a deep, dusty rose with just the right amount of brown. It dries darker than it looks in the bottle. It’s the least complex polish in this post, yet by far the most popular. 

Swatches: lackfabi, ldamms

My Favourite Retailers

Here are some links to best shops (i.e., no mark-ups, great customer service, fast shipping) where you can find these lovely shades:

Femme Fatale Cosmetics (AU site)

Femme Fatale Cosmetics (US site)

Cirque Colors

Nail Polish Canada

Color4Nails

I highly recommend trying indie nail polish! I frequently get asked where I got my nails done/how I did my nails when I’m wearing an indie polish, and they’re shocked to learn that no fancy nail art was involved. I’m still pretty terrible at painting inside the lines and waiting for the polish to dry, but this has been a very fulfilling hobby for me.

What were your favourite nail polishes from the past year?

Thanks for reading!