Favourite Festive Nail Polishes #DitsyDecember

 

You ought to know by now that I am a nail polish addict. I have many, many bottles of the stuff and lacquer it onto my nails so frequently that the time my nails are left 'bare' is practically zero. However, if there's one time of year that makes my obsession go even more into overdrive (if that's even possible) - it's December. With Christmas and New Year comes 'glitter season' and seeing as it's only here once a year, I like to make the most of it and slather on as many sparkly lacquers as is humanely possible. There's also other polishes that are perhaps not so shimmer-laden, but are still ones I reach for on a more regular basis once the festive season rolls round, and so for today's post I thought I'd compile a top ten of my favourites! I actually did a post here in last year's #DitsyDecember all about some of my favourite nail looks for this time of year and was more about combining polishes together to achieve one effect; so instead of sounding like a broken record in this year's annual edition, I figured it may be more useful for me to simply rally off some of my individual polish picks that I love which can be used alone or combined - whatever you fancy - as you wish. Enjoy...

RIMMEL SALON PRO NAIL POLISH IN 'MARS' - Kicking things off with a basic, shimmer-free formula that's great for wearing alone or underneath a more glittery topcoat - it this little beauty. I've mentioned this polish many times in Dainty Ditsy before (I've actually done a Polish Pick post here if you fancy a gander) and while I think it's fab for all year round, it's also especially brilliant come the festive season. A true red that's not too bright, nor too deep - just the perfect 'in the middle' shade that would look great on everyone and would look stunning in either of the ways I mentioned above. As I've said before, the quality of these lacquers are so good - they apply easy peasy, dry down quickly and leave a gel-like finish behind that doesn't chip for ages. Very party-proof indeed.

 

SEVENTEEN NAIL EFFECTS GLITTER IN 'RED' - Moving onto a red of the more sparkly kind and this is a standard, straight up red from Seventeen. The hue of the shimmer matches up almost exactly to the Rimmel Salon Pro I mentioned above and so if a classic red shimmery look is what you're thinking of going for come The Big Day - these two are a match made in heaven fo' sho'. The glitter is made up of a mix of both chunkier flecks and smaller ones more akin to shimmer so while this won't give you a full coverage glitter nail, it will pack a punch pigment wise and with two coats - this is sure to leave your beds very sparkly.

 

RIMMEL GLITTER BOMB TOP COAT IN 'MIDNIGHT MISTLETOE' - Onto the polish out of this whole top ten that is probably the most typically Christmassy. I mean, can you get more festive than this? This glitter polish from Rimmel is comprised of a mix of red, green and silver glitter and once layered up onto a colour of your choice is bound to give the most 'instant' effect when it comes to making your mani Christmas-ready. Again, this one is mainly made-up of larger chunks of glitter, though some smaller flecks come into play also so gives a good even coverage though I best suited as a top-coat (as the name would suggest). If you're looking to buy just one nail polish this year to see you through the festive season - this one is your guy.

 

H&M BEAUTY NAIL POLISH IN 'COPPER CASCADE' - I wanted to include a few polishes that were perhaps less obvious choices when it comes to the kind of hues that immediately spring into your head when someone says 'Festive Nails' but offer an alternative to your standard reds, golds and greens. That combined with the fact that Copper and Rose Gold are such big 'things' this year, I figured going down that route for a few lacquers might make sense and this one firmly falls into this category. This comes from the new H&M Beauty collection (which I reviewed here - including this polish) and as soon as I set eyes on it I knew it had to be mine. This is a standard glitter polish, just like some of the ones I've already mentioned, and so acts perfectly as a top coat over another polish of your choice. This features a stunning copper glitter in both larger and smaller flecks intertwined with some occasional flecks of pale gold and it is so beautiful. The copper makes a nice change from other glitters you usually come across, but the gold in there adds that familiarity of a traditional festive glitter. SO PWETTY.

 

MAYBELLINE COLOR SHOW CRYSTALIZE NAIL POLISH IN 'ROSE CHIC' - Onto more from the 'Rose Gold' department, and this one is a fairly new addition to my collection but I love it. This comes from Maybelline's 'Crystallize' collection and so is a very sparkly polish that adds a nice shimmery sheen to the nails as well as a bit of texture. This shade in particular is unique to anything I've seen before (much like the 'Copper Cascade' from H&M) and it is very hard to pinpoint. I think the best way I can describe is an icy pink with a mix of silvery and goldy undertones - a kind of very light rose gold. See what I mean? This would be ideal as a base for other, darker rose gold glittery tones to be layered over the top of or simply worn alone as it such a stunner of a shade and the shimmer-laden formula means in two coats it is completely opaque.

 

ESSIE NAIL POLISH IN 'A CUT ABOVE' - Finally for this rusty, pinky department is this Essie polish - which was infact my first buy from an Essie stand! I'd seen it a couple of times as of late when perusing Boots and finally it went into my basket the other day and I am in love. This is a very traditional rose-gold glitter - no difficulties in description here. Admittedly, in some lights is does pull more straight-up pink, but the metallic sheen gives it that rose gold appearance that is just stunning both in the bottle and once applied over the nails. Surprisingly, while I assumed this would be purely useful as a topcoat only, I have read somewhere that you can build this up to be a stand-alone polish! Perfect for if you really want to go all-out with the glitter...

 

H&M BEAUTY NAIL POLISH IN 'GOLD RUSH' - Onto the gold arena and it's another from the H&M Beauty collection. This is a full-on shimmer fest and it's in a beaut of a shade too. As opposed to some other goldy polishes you can find out there (such as the more glittery affair I'm going to mention next below), this is a true yellow-y gold - the kind that is more favourable this time of year rather than the more bronzey hues most people reach for throughout the rest of the year. This is packed to the brim with shimmer so can be built up to a proper opaque colour in just two coats and while it looks stunning alone, it is also a lacquer that could possibly be layered on top of with another shimmer to create a multi-tonal effect, or a chunkier glitter to act as a stand-alone top coat.

 

MAYBELLINE SUPER STAY FOREVER STRONG NAIL POLISH IN 'WINNER TAKES IT ALL' - Just like the Rimmel Salon Pro's - you lot know how much I am into the Maybelline Super Stay's - they are just so darn good. I have many a shade in my collection and this is the perfect addition to my collection as a festive edition. This differs from every polish I've mentioned so far in that it has a metallic finish. No obvious glitter nor shimmer to be seen - just a sheen of gold with an almost duo-chrome effect. Compared to the tone of the above H&M 'Gold Rush', this has a far more ashy tinge to it that gives a slightly more 'bronze' element rather than the true gold traditionally symbolic of the festive season, but to some may well be a tad more wearable and versatile so is very much a 'Winner' all round - ya'geddit?

 

MAYBELLINE COLOR SHOW CRYSTALIZE NAIL POLISH IN 'LIGHT UP' - Shifting on over to the silver side of things, and I have one recommendation in that particular colour category. If gold is less of your thing, silver is a fab alternative and the glittery element still classifies it nicely as  festive-appropriate hue. This is again part of their 'Crystalize' range and so is packed full of shimmer and acts as a perfect base colour if you fancy layering up as this thing gets all opaque in two coats or you could well just leave it at that. This has a lovely tone of silver - just enough white and grey in it - and the fine shimmer is intertwined with the occasional slightly larger chunk of glitter to break things up a little and give everything a tad more texture.

 

BARRY M NAIL PAINT IN 'GOLD MINE GLITTER' - Finally, another gold-related polish - but this time one with a black base rather than an all-out yellow-ness - and it's not a nail polish post without a mention of Barry M somewhere along the line, eh? This is a perfect option for those who like their neutrals and monochrome but still want to add a little festive sparkle to proceedings and as the glitter is suspended in a standard black nail paint - it's an all-round good'un. It's again also a good choice for layering as you could do your two coats of the Barry M and leave it just like that or add some more somethin' somethin' by adding a different glitter or shimmer over the top. So many nail options, so little time (and nails to paint them all on)...