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Nail polish audit – The Twelve:2
These twelve shades were worn between mid December and early February, a period of time including my birthday, Christmas and New Years Eve. When I picked them I knew what season it was obviously, but I still tried to pick interesting shades and not only easy-to-wear ones. l posted this lot to Instagram in the middle of January and my prediction then was that I would use all twelve in quite a short period of time. That ended up not being true, maybe because one shade was worn three times in a row (and despite that I did not get one single shot of me wearing it) and quite a few days I simply wore nothing at all. Sometimes I just can’t be bothered.
This round included quite a few indie brands and mainly shimmers and glitters. Let’s see how this lot fared in the audit.
Hell yes!
Only five shades made it out of the audit as definite keepers. The five that made it are polishes that intrigue me in some way.
MAC – Submerged
Zoya – Katherine
Pipe Dream Polish – Feed the Monster
A nice jelly sandwich with Katherine and Feed the Monster
Colors by Llarowe – Pine Boughs
Pahlish – The Virgin Queen
Maybe
Polish Revolution – Zombie Christmas
Zombie Christmas on top of Stylenomics
This grey jelly polish with red/green/white glitter is so unique that I have a hard time letting it go. I wear it from time to time but I’m unsure if that is enough.
Hell no!
H&M – Have a Nice Clay
In theory this polish was a great idea and I understand why I was drawn to and consequently bought it. An interesting muddy jelly shade, my favourite finish. In real life though..it just did not suit my colouring and I disliked wearing it.
Essie – Stylenomics
I love this murky dark green shade a lot. But it stains, badly. Staining is common with green shades but in this case it was severe and will keep me from using it.
LilypadLaquer – Waterworld
Not the best picture of me wearing it but Waterworld is just not the right shade of blue. There is something garish about it that I do not enjoy.
Mentality Nail Polish – Cloudy
Cloudy fell a little flat with me. It’s a matte shade but even with a glossy top coat it felt boring.
Shimmer Polish – Mary
Mary worn over Waterworld
Mary is a glitter polish that is so beautiful, but sadly it has dried out beyond the point where I can save it. So this was its last hurrah.
Deborah Lippmann – Ray of Light
And finally we have Ray of Light – a beautiful polish and the one I wore three times without getting a single picture with it on my nails. It takes many layers to build up any opacity with this polish and then it flakes quite easily. It’s such an old shade and I never wear it anymore despite it being so pretty. So it’s out!
Thanks for reading!
Sofia
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Nail polish audit – The Twelve:1
The first twelve from my nail polish audit have now been used and are ready for evaluation. Meet the team…
Hell yes!
First we have the ones that made it through the audit as winners. I loved wearing these colours for various reasons and they definitely deserve to be in this category.
Zoya – Aggie
Pahlish – Raggedy Man, Good Night
A England – Fotheringhay Castle
Zoya – Caitlin
Zoya – Shawn
Smitten Polish – Tornado Skies
Maybe
Now on to the ones I’m unsure of. I was a bit on the fence about the shade Aquamarine from Nail Pattern Boldness that I quite enjoyed wearing but I feel it has to stay in the maybe category until farther into the audit.
Nail Pattern Boldness – Aquamarine
Il était un vernis – #imanatural
Hell no!
An now on to the juicy category – the rejects. This is the part of the nail polish audit that I’m the most excited about. The more polishes that end up in this category, the more brain space is left for the ones I truly enjoy.
IsaDora – Orient Express
A bright metallic red is so not my jam. Pretty in theory but I do not feel like myself wearing this.
L’oréal – Indigo Classique
Lovely shade but I detest the finish. I tried using a top coat to take away the (intended) grit but to no avail.
IsaDora – Mother of Pearl
I sort of loved the ethereal glow this shade gave in a certain light, but unfortunately when not in said light it looked less attractive.
China Glaze – Rendez Vous With You
I was dead set on disliking this shade but was surprised that I enjoyed wearing as much as I did. But I think that was down to me combining it with tops in shades that really flattered this particular shade of purple. So I probably enjoyed the colour combination more than the polish shade itself. I will never actively choose to wear this shade again and it will have to go.
Phew – twelve down! It took me a while to get through them but here we are. Six keepers, two maybes and four discarded.
Thanks for reading!
Sofia
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Hypnotic Polish
Many years ago I was purchasing new nail polish with feverish intensity. In recent years I have slowed down, mainly due to being quite happy with what I have and therefore being more picky with what new beauty items I spend money on. The ones that still tickle my fancy nowadays are usually of the indie variety.
When the lovely Swedish site, and my initial go-to for indie polishes, Edgy Polish closed in 2017 I more or less stopped buying indie brands. Too much faff with shipping. A bit later on a friend introduced me to another European supplier, Hypnotic Polish (found here), and that door in my brain opened again. I now find myself drooling over unique quirky shades again. My last near purchase was thwarted when I compared my virtual basket to what I already owned and had to stop myself. But recently I took the leap and bought ten new shades. They excited me and that excitement is something I have missed a lot! It’s sadly not a common feeling for me anymore since the market is swamped with new releases and brands trying to up each other to win our attention. A lot of releases are just flat out boring..
Just show us the damn shades Sofia!
Ok, ok I will. But I must warn you, this post will be quite long due to heavy picture action. I hope you don’t mind. All stick swatches are three layers by the way.
My loot – ten items in total F.U.N Laquer
Sunset (H), Lavender (H), Uniphant (H) and Beetle I bought four shades from the spring/summer collection by F.U.N Laquer and out of these I chose the holo version for three of the shades (all shades in the collection are available as both with and without). This entire collection really enchanted me and I could easily have purchased more of them, but I am damn pleased with the shades I chose.
Sunset (H) 
F.U.N Laquer – Sunset (H) Sunset (holo version) is a beautiful shade that can be used transparent on it’s own in one layer or up to three layers for more opacity. I have tried it on top of another polish and its fiery shift is stunning as layering shade. I look forward to using it more like that, especially over darker shades.
Lavender (H) 
Lavender (holo version) is also a very stunning translucent shade and can be worn in a similar fashion to Sunset. A sheer wash or a more opaque varnish. Also I imagine they all will come alive even more when paired with a really glossy top coat. It’s a ghostly wash of muted lilac with a blue shift, yum. The swatch pic looks a little flat but it’s not in real life, promise.
The many sides of Uniphant (H) Uniphant (holo version) is a real favourite. I LOVE IT. This was the first one I wore and I adore its sickly green sheen. I think I will wear this one mostly on it’s own or maybe as a thin one coat over a lighter neutral base.
Uniphant – Such a beautiful shade! 
Beetle Beetle was the one shade from F.U.N Laquer that I opted to purchase without the holo effect. This shade also has a very interesting otherworldly and greenish sheen to it.
Emily de Molly, Enchanted Polish and Femme Fatale
Goddess of Rays, Groovy Ghoul, His Fangs Are Sharp, Five or Eight Next up are two brands that are totally new to me, Emily de Molly and Enchanted Polish. The shades just spoke to me, especially Groovy Ghoul that I’ve been eyeing for quite a while.
Goddess of Rays by Emily de Molly is just that – a goddess. It really lights up the nails and it’s a real chameleon depending on the light as you can see above from the swatches. On the swatch stick I have three coats but on my nails it was sufficient with two.
Groovy Ghoul Groovy Ghoul by Enchanted Polish is such an attractive shade. Swampy green with a burning fire within. Murky and fantastic. It was love at first sight!
His Fangs Are Sharp His Fangs Are Sharp is a shade from the Jumanji collection by Femme Fatale, a brand that is not new to me. They tend to do shades that entice me so I have a few already. This is another lovely murky shade with a fiery glow. It’s more golden mustard swamp compared to Groovy Ghoul that is a lot greener.
Five by Eight Five by Eight is also from the Jumanji collection. This is such a beautiful squishy and juicy shade. A muted tropical cocktail shade with a jelly finish that lets the gold flecks shine through.
Cirque Colors
Hygge and Succulent Garden 
Hygge Hygge is a super cool and radiant shade. It has a stunning pinkish shift and little holographic flecks that run through it. Elegant and edgy at the same time.
Succulent Garden Succulent Garden is another shade I’ve been eyeing for a few months. I’m very drawn to this kind of green and the exquisite shift is so beautiful.
All ten All in all I’m very excited to wear these and as I am typing this I have already worn five of them in some capacity. They are unique additions to what I already own and I do not regret getting any of them.
Thanks for reading,
Sofia
