My 25 Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015

Hey friends! What a long crazy ride 2015 has been eh? I blogged more this year than I have the past three, which was a big accomplishment for me. I'm really happy and proud of myself to still be going for more than six and a half years!

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

These are 25 of my favorite shades from this year, indies and mainstream brands. They're not in any particular order, that would be impossible for me haha. It was hard enough to narrow it down to these in the first place!

And of course, I loved many more shades than these this year, but they just stood out a little bit ahead for one reason or another. The blog post where I reviewed each polish is linked with the shade name if you're interested. See all my picks, after the jump!

KBShimmer Birthstone Collection Swatches & Review

Hey there! Today I have another indie collection to show you that will launch on January 1st, this one is from KBShimmer. They have created a Birthstone collection inspired by each month's traditional, modern, or alternative birthstone, in a new finish for them - a metallic style filled with micro-small metallic flakes and holographic sparkle.

Press Sample

All these shades have pretty much the exact same formula, easy to apply with full opacity on two coats. Most of them have a tinted base color, but one is in a clear base. I didn't really have to scrub to get these off, they are easier to remove than a traditional glitter, but there can be sparkly bits left behind on your skin if you're not careful. These are pictured without top coat, but you only need one layer of top coat to get a completely smooth finish.

Garnet is a deepened brownish red for January. This is a cool interpretation of the garnet stone, more brown than I would have expected, but it works beautifully.

Amethyst is a rich red toned purple for February. Super gorgeous!

Aquamarine is a pale blue for March. This is very lightly tinted, but definitely a blue, as you'll see compared to the silver of the next shade.

Diamond is a bright silver in a clear base for April. BLINGTASTIC!

Emerald is a rich grass green for May. Greens are a weakness of mine, and this is fabulous!

Black Pearl is a dusty black toned shade for June. Love the twist on the pearl, having a dark version. Slight greenish tone which makes it even more complex.

Ruby is a bright cherry red for July. Not my favorite shade of red, but very flattering.

Peridot is a pale lime green for August. This was a surprising favorite of mine, nice and unique.

Sapphire is a rich navy leaning blue for September. Reminds me of a night sky full of stars! Incredible!

Pink Tourmaline is a vibrant pink for October. This would be lovely in any month, so girly!

Citrine is golden yellow for November. I liked this naturally because I love gold, it feels so luxe!

Blue Topaz is an icy blue for December. Beyond sparkly!

These will be available on Jan. 1st on the KBShimmer website. They will retail for $8.75 per bottle. As a special treat, they are holding a special Birthstone Promo: "12 lucky buyers will win a birthstone jewelry piece purchased from JewelryTV. For each month’s polish purchased between 01/01/2016 and 01/08/2016 grants you a chance to win a corresponding birthstone jewelry item as pictured in the listing. Contest open to purchases made on KBShimmer.com only." More details on their site.

What do you think of this collection? I am head over heels! Very cool interpretation of the birthstones. I love that there is the same finish in every color, letting you pick your favorite shade or birth month. These are also perfect for gift giving! My favorite has to be Blue Topaz, but Sapphire, Diamond and Peridot are also tops!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Glam Polish Alphabet City Collection [Partial] Swatches & Review

Hey there! Today I have a new collection being released on New Year's Day from Australian indie brand Glam Polish. The Alphabet City collection has nine bright ultra holo glitter shades inspired by the characters and songs from the Broadway Musical Avenue Q. I was slightly familiar with the musical but didn't know a ton about it until I got this collection for review; I've since looked into it more and it seems hilarious!

Press Sample

These all are the same style, super holographic with small round holo glitter, all applied excellently, and are opaque in two coats. One coat of top coat was sufficient for me to get a smooth finish. I'm always impressed with Glam Polish formulas, and these are no exception.

It Sucks To Be Me is cornflower blue. I'm obsessed with this color.

Special is fuchsia. This usually isn't my favorite type of shade, but I think it looks excellent in this style.

Not Wearing Underwear is bright aqua turquoise. Stunning and totally my style!

The Internet Is For Pourn is a bright red with a slight pink tone. I'm always dazzled by red holos, and this shade is fantastic.

Mix Tape is an amethyst purple. This is a nice twist instead of the usual bright purples we see.

Schadenfreude is a bright chartreuse. Oh em FREAKING gee! Everyone needs this!

The shades I don't have that complete the collection are: School for Monsters - grass green, Loud As the Hell You Want - bright orange, and The More You Ruv Someone - baby pink. Swatches of these three colors can be seen on my friend Lisa's blog. You can also see more swatches on the Glam Polish Facebook page and as well as photos of their other new collection being released the same day, a trio called The Purple Predicament.

This collection will launch on the Glam Polish website on January 1st at 1pm EST (USA) for $11 each. Shipping to Australia, USA, and France are available on that website; shipping rates to USA are $3.50 USD for the first polish and an extra $1.00 for each additional polish. Other international folks will be able to order from stockists like Harlow & Co and MeiMei's Signatures (no release date for them yet). Let me know what you think of this collection! I've been wearing these in rotation for a few weeks now, they're seriously amazing!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Essie Retro Revival: Starry Starry Night Swatch & Review

Hey cookies! How are you doing? Did you have a good Christmas (if you celebrate it)? I had a nice low-key time with family, it was nice. I got this polish a few days ago, as soon as I was able to order it I had it in my cart. Essie has brought out six of their retired shades in a "retro revival" collection, and the most exciting poop-your-pants color they chose to bring back is iconic Starry Starry Night. The other shades don't really interest me, but you can see them on my friend Karen's blog.

I've wanted this polish since I can remember being interested in polish, but never found it. And I wasn't going to pay ridiculous Ebay prices for it, considering there have been some half-decent dupes created by indie brands in the last few years. The original polish has a navy blue jelly base, kinda muted, with diamond dust silver microglitter. Doesn't sound super groundbreaking right now, but honestly it was a big damn deal when it first came out, which is hard to pin down, but I think the first release was back in the 1980's.

Starry Starry Night (revival) has a squishy jelly base in a vibrant navy blue, with silver hex microglitter pieces. The cap on all the revival shades have gold four point stars on the cap, which is pretty cute. The formula wasn't the easiest to paint with, the jelly base was thick and kinda gummy, harder to spread over the nail than I would prefer. This took three coats to cover completely, because of the difficulty in spreading it left streaks on two.

The revival recipe is quite different from the original, from the base color to the size and amount of glitter pieces, and I've seen some comparisons (here and here) that will show you just how much this version differs. *le sigh* I am glad I have this one, but my craving for the original is still strong. I really don't know why it wasn't possible for them to make it look the same. It was even re-released at least twice from what I can gather, and those times it look the same! Damn it Essie, what happened this time?!

I picked up my bottle on Beauty.com for $8.50 but it looks like it's sold out right now. It's available on Ulta.com in a mini pack, not sure of any other places yet, but it should be on shelves at the places Essie is usually sold in January. Did you pick this up? If you haven't yet, are you going to? Do you think I should give up hope on getting the original and just settle for one of the dupes?? Have a good day and I'll see you again soon :)

❤ Kellie

Cirque Colors ICON Duos for Nordstrom x OC Pop-In Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to share with you some new limited edition Cirque Colors lacquers that are available in special duo packs. They are part of the specially curated Pop-In Shop event at Nordstrom celebrating the NYC fashion brand Opening Ceremony. These six shades are inspired by the OC pre-spring color palette, available in gift sets each containing 1 crème and 1 holographic shade.

Press Sample

Image via Cirque Colors

Selvedge is a navy blue crème, deep not so dark that it looks black which I appreciate. The formula is really great, it's almost a one coater but I did use two here.

Tangerine Dream is paired with Selvedge; it's a medium pumpkin orange, that leans a touch red, holographic. The holo bits in this really pop, it's very vibrant. This applied effortlessly and was also almost a one coater, but it deepened slightly on the second coat.

El Capitan is an olive green crème. Another amazing formula, really close to being a one coat wonder but again I did two here. A slightly brighter version than other olive shades that I have, so I'm happy to have this in my collection.

Modern Muse is in the duo with El Capitan, a start contrast in a dusty princess pink-gold linear holographic. This one was kinda thin, but covered well in two coats. The holo is a bit stronger in person than it appears here.

Storm King has a crème formula in an icy light blue. This had a great formula for being such a pale color, no streaking and good coverage in two coats. This is a color you could wear all year long and you'd always be in season!

Oporto is Storm King's duo partner, a mahogany burgundy jelly with scattered holographic shimmer and red sparkle bits. This one was a little bit thin, but not difficult to apply at all. Two coats for full opacity.

These duos retail for $22 each, but I noticed on the website that they are on sale for $14.74 per duo, so hurry to grab them at a great price if you want them! They will be available until January 3, 2016 exclusively at Nordstrom.com and the following retail locations.

• Downtown Seattle
  500 Pine Street 
  Seattle, WA 98101 
  206.628.2111
• Bellevue Square
  100 Bellevue Square 
  Bellevue, WA 98004 
  425.455.5800

• Michigan Avenue
  55 East Grand Avenue 
  Chicago, IL 60611 
  312.464.1515
• San Francisco Centre
  865 Market Street 
  San Francisco, CA 94103 
  415.243.8500

• Tyson's Corner Center
  8075 Tysons Corner Center 
  McLean, VA 22102 
  703.761.1121
• NorthPark Center
  8687 North Central Expressway 
  Dallas, TX 75225 
  214.231.3900

About Pop-In@Nordstrom
Curated by Olivia Kim -- Nordstrom's wave-chasing, Prada-wearing, tattoo-collecting Director of Creative Projects -- Pop-In@Nordstrom is an ongoing series of themed pop-up shops showcasing independent designers online at Nordstrom.com and select retail locations.

Let me know what you think of these! Which duo is your favorite? Thanks for stopping by today, and Happy Christmas Eve to those who celebrate!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Guest Post by Nail Polish Pursuit: Christmas Nail Art + Video Tutorial

Please enjoy this guest post by my friend Paola from Nail Polish Pursuit!

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Hi Pretty Polishers and Kellie Gonzo fans! I'm Paola (Pa-OH-La) aka Nail Polish Pursuit. I am SO honored that Kellie asked me come back and do another fun and cute guest post for her amazing blog! Kellie has been a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me throughout my nail polish blogging journey. Isn't she the best? I know we can all agree Kellie ROCKS! So for my guest post today, I've got 4 Christmas nail designs to show you. These are pretty simple and quick in case you need any last minute Christmas nail art ideas.

To create these designs you will need the following:

That's a lot of polish right? If you don't have all of these colors you can use what you have, or you can create only 1 of these 4 designs and paint the rest of your nails red or green for the holiday season. You also don't have to use these exact colors I used, but in case you're interested, here is the list:

Gold polish - Ziv by ZOYA
Red polish - Sooki by ZOYA
Green glitter polish - Logan by ZOYA
Nude polish - Rue by ZOYA
Pink polish - Lo by ZOYA
Blue polish - Sia by ZOYA
Silver polish - I'd Melt For You by China Glaze
Orange polish - Lady & the Vamp by China Glaze
Black polish - Never Have Too Mani Friends! by OPI (Hello Kitty Collection)
White polish - French Tip by Color Club

You're also going to need a dotting tool or toothpick, a fast drying top coat (I used HK Girl by Glisten & Glow), straight nail vinyls or tape, and a thin nail art brush.

Now let's take a look at how to create each one:

CANDY CANE
Yummy, simple, and festive!

1. Start with a white base. I love using French Tip by Color Club because it's a one coater and super opaque!
2. Apply a fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 15 minutes.
3. Apply your nail vinyls at an angle to give the appearance of the candy cane swirls. If you don't have nail vinyls you can cut tape into different sizes.
4. Apply 1 coat of your red nail polish and remove the vinyls or tape immediately while the red polish is still wet.
5. Once that is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design. TIP: Apply the top coat sideways so you don't smear the design.

SANTA CLAUS
So jolly and bright!

1. Start with your red polish and apply only a small amount to the top 1/3 of your nail closest to your cuticle.
2. Then apply your nude polish to the middle portion of your nail. Don't worry about making the division of colors perfect because you will be covering it up.
3. Next take your white polish and create a "french tip" line at the bottom of your nail to create Santa's beard.
4. Once that is all dry, take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and create a line of dots side by side in between the red and nude polish to create Santa's hat.
5. Now take your dotting tool dipped in black polish and make two small dots in the nude polish section of your nail to create Santa's eyes.
6. Then use your thin nail art brush dipped in black polish and create a half moon shape under the eyes to create Santa's smile.
7. Last you're going to take your dotting tool dipped in your pink polish and make two dots at each end of Santa's smile to create his jolly and bright cheeks!
8. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

CHRISTMAS TREE
This isn't a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

1. Start with a white base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 15 minutes.
2. Next take two pieces of vinyl or tape and make an X across your nail to create the outlining of the tree.
3. Then add your green nail polish in between the "X" outline. While the polish is still dry, remove the vinyls or tape.
4. Let that completely dry and you can leave it as is or you can add ornaments to you tree like I did.
5. Using your dotting tool dipped in gold and silver polish, make dots inside your tree to create the ornaments.
6. I added a star on top of my tree using a tiny nail art star that came in a wheel I bought at my local beauty supply store. You can also find these on amazon.
7. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

SNOWMAN
With a carrot nose!

1. Start with a blue base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 5 minutes.
2. Then take your white polish and create a circular mound shape at the bottom of your nail.
3. Next take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and make dots at the top portion of your nail to create snowflakes.
4. Now take your dotting tool again but this time dipped in black polish and make two dots at the top of the white mound to make the snowman's eyes.
5. Last take your thin nail art brush dipped in orange polish and make a sideways triangle to create the snowman's carrot nose.
6. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

You're all done! Hope you enjoyed these cute and fun Christmas nails! Remember you don't have to make these look perfect, even the best nail artists make mistakes. Your designs will be unique and beautiful.

I also have a step by step video tutorial for these nails on my YouTube channel here:

I wish everyone a very Happy Holidays and a huge thank you to Kellie for giving me this opportunity to be a part of her awesome blog!

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Thanks so much for guest posting again Paola! I love nail art oh so much and I fail so hard at it, so thanks for bringing some creativity to my blog! Let me know what you think! What are you wearing on your nails for the holidays? Be sure to stop by the Nail Polish Pursuit blog and subscribe if you want, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube!

❤ Kellie

Baroness X Cuticle Care Review

Hi folks! I apologize for the slim posts the last little while, my poor mountain town has been experiencing a lack of sun lately which makes it hard for me to take swatch photos. I don't know if I'll ever figure out how to get good indoor photos of my nails that I don't hate or have to edit the colors for an hour to get them to show up correctly. *le sigh* Anyway, I thought I'd do a review of some skin care items from indie brand Baroness X for you today!

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

I heard about a new product from Baroness X from my blogging friends Jenny from Lavish Layerings and Nichole from Bedlam Beauty a while ago and had to purchase it immediately when it became available. It's their Matte Cuticle Balm aka "swatcher's balm". It's designed to give you hydrated skin but leave a low sheen finish on your skin. Most oils, balms and lotions leave your skin looking greasy and too shiny, a problem mostly for people taking photos of their hands and nails (like me!). I have had trouble with this for a long time, because I take my photos in the sunlight, my camera picks up every bit of moisture on my skin and makes it gleam like crazy, which can be distracting and unattractive. This balm has great ingredients for moisturizing your thirsty cuticles, like jojoba oil, mango butter, and aloe, but also powders that leave your skin satiny instead of shiny.

Before they were offered for sale, I offhandedly mentioned that I wished it to be made with the scent Pink Sugar on their Facebook page, because it's my favorite, and the maker totally delivered! How cool is that? Demi from Baroness X generously threw in another scent of the balm in addition to the one I purchased and a Pink Sugar cuticle oil for review.

I've been using this balm every time I swatch now. It's a better alternative than the oil I was using before, then using lint-free wipes and water to help it soak in. It does need to be rubbed in well or it can kind of stay on the top of your skin. I would say this gives you a perfect matte finish if you take indoor photos. But since I take outdoor pics in the sun, my camera can still pick up a bit of shine after I use it. To fix this, I run a dab of nail prep (basically watered down rubbing alcohol) around the edges of my nail after applying the balm, and it works like a charm. Matte but moisturized skin! And the scents are terrific! Their Pink Sugar scent smelled a bit different than the one I am used to, but it still is lovely. The Peppermint scent is my favorite that I've tried so far.

The Royal Oil hydrating and healing cuticle oil she sent is in a pen sized container with a brush on one end and a pump on the other to push the oil up. The blend of quality oils she uses for this formula is vegan and contains such oils as jojoba, apricot kernel, avocado, kukui nut, and argan. (Full list of ingredients on the website.) I've been using this for more than a month and really like it. It sinks in easily and moisturizes my cuticles really well, which is what we all want right? I love the pen style of applicator too, it's very convenient! And I love that is refillable

You can buy these on the Baroness X website. The Matte Cuticle Balm is available in 10g for $5.50 (on sale now for $5), and 20g for $9.50 (on sale now for $9). The Royal Oil comes in a either a refillable 4ml pump brush pen for $8 (on sale now for $6), a 15ml bottle w/ brush for $11 (on sale now for $9), or a 15ml plastic dropper for $11 (on sale now for $9). They are available in a ton of different scents and also unscented. Their sale ends on 12/26. And a little bird told me they have a new polish collection up for pre-order!

What do you use to keep your cuticles moisturized and healthy? Cuticle care is essential to my routine and I am happy to have found these items!

❤ Kellie

Some of the products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

GlitterDaze Holiday 2015 Glitz & Glam Trio Swatches & Review

Hey again! I have the second trio for Holiday 2015 to show you today from indie brand GlitterDaze, I showed you the Winter Night trio the other day in case you missed it. These three are holographics in metallic shades, great for your holiday parties or New Year's Eve! I did not put a top coat on these so I could show you their total holographic-ness, but I did put try a top coat on them later and it didn't affect the look, which is nice. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

All That Glitters is a metallic gold linear holographic. This has a lovely neutral gold hue, not too yellow. Easy formula to apply. I used two coats here, but I noticed after looking at the photos there was still a bit of see-through-ness on the corners of my nails so I could've used one more coat.

A Pretty Penny is a rich metallic copper linear holographic. A bit on the bronzey side of copper, this is a unique shade to my holo collection. The holo particles look a bit bigger in this one than the other two in this trio. Easy formula, two coats for opacity.

Rosé On Ice is a pale metallic rose gold-y nude linear holographic. I thought this would be the most subdued of the three, but the fire is really strong in the holo, it even shows up indoors in lower lighting. This is two coats, but I might've needed one more to get the sides covered a bit more like the first polish.

These are available for purchase now on the GlitterDaze website for $12 each, or $32 for all three. Tell me what you think of these holo metals! My favorite has to be Rosé On Ice, it's perfect for all occasions!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

GlitterDaze Winter 2015 Winter Night Trio Swatches & Review

Hey there and happy Monday! I have a trio for the Winter 2015 season to show you today from indie brand GlitterDaze. They have six shades to make up their seasonal release, but they can be purchased as gift sets in trios so I'm going to show them to you separately. This trio is called Winter Night.

Press Sample

Cold Nights is a cobalt blue jelly polish packed with holographic micro shimmer, holographic flakies, real silver flakes, iridescent flakies, and color shifting metallic flakes. This is a stunning shade of blue that makes the multicolored flakes pop out like northern lights! The jelly formula builds up nicely. This is two coats but you may need three depending on the opacity you want.

Fiery Embers has a deep, glowey maroon jelly base full of holographic micro shimmer, holographic and silver flakies, as well as iridescent and color shifting flakies. This shade kind of overtakes the colors of the metallic flakes, but in a good way, giving them all a berry wash making the shade look incredibly complex. More opaque than the blue, this is two coats.

Twinkling Lights is a dark charcoal grey jelly filled with multicolored shifting metallic flakes, silver and holographic flakies, and holographic micro shimmer. The flakes in this one seem the smallest and more varied, making it a confetti like mix of glitter in a galaxy night base. Great formula and opaque in two coats.

These are available for purchase now on the GlitterDaze website for $12 each or $32 for all three. I really adore all three, they might be my favorite GlitterDaze shades ever?? Fiery Embers has my heart though, I would definitely recommend that one to everyone! Which is your favorite? Stay tuned for the next trio from GlitterDaze, coming soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

The Holo Hookup January 2016 Indie Collaboration Box Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! Today I have the pleasure of showing you a new indie polish collaboration box called The Holo Hookup. Indie brands Cupcake Polish, DIFFERENT dimension and Glisten & Glow will be each collaborating, along with a surprise guest brand, to each create an exclusive polish for the monthly box. If you hadn't guessed from the name, all of the polishes will be holographic! So if you're a holo lover, you will definitely be interested! This box is available via pre-order only so you will have to order in advance each month.

Press Sample

The theme for the January box is "Love Is In The Little Things" and the guest brand is Polished By KPT. "Love is in the little things like your first date night, while enjoying a little bit of bubbly, followed by walks in nature and then you have your first kiss..."

First we have Cupcake Polish First Kiss, a very light pink super linear holographic. This has an incredible smooth formula. It's almost a one coater, but I did two here. Two coats make it slightly more intense, which is crazy considering how super vivid this holo is! This is definitely a brand to watch for, I'm very impressed with what I've seen from them!

Next we have Glisten & Glow Walks In Nature, a deep green linear holographic polish with blue undertones, with added purple, blue, and gold micro flakies. This has a very smooth, slightly jelly-ish type of formula. I used three coats for full coverage, but you may only need two. I love that this isn't your typical green, it's so pretty!

Here is DIFFERENT dimension A Little Bit Of Bubbly, a gold holographic polish loaded with shimmer and metallic microglitter. This blew my mind in the sunlight, it looks like there is a glaze of silver in there as well as that sunshiney gold but it could be the holo playing tricks on my eyes. Easy to apply with great coverage. I used two coats here. Dries a touch bumpier than others due to the glitter, but using a thicker top coat I didn't notice a texture on the finish.

Special guest for this box is Polished by KPT Date Night, a dark charcoal holographic polish filled with a multitude of purple color shifting micro shimmers. Colors in the shimmer shift through blue, violet, purple, olive, and gold. This polish went on effortlessly, it was almost a one coater but I used two here. This is my first polish from this brand and I'm really liking it!

The collection will be available to purchase at www.theholohookup.com. The pre-order dates for this box are Monday, December 21st at 9pm EST through Monday, December 28 at 9pm EST. The previous box was $40 so I'm guessing that's the normal price, which is pretty good considering these brands price most of their individual polishes higher than the $10 mark. Remember that these are exclusive to the box, so if you want these shades be sure to pre-order! They do ship internationally. You can also check out their Facebook and Instagram for more swatches!

Tell me what you think of these amazing holographics! I really love them all, I can't pick a favorite! Would you be interested in picking up a collab box like this? I love the idea!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Virago Varnish Holiday 2015 Ugly Christmas Sweater Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I have a new holiday polish collection to show you today from indie brand Virago Varnish! They have put out seven glittery lacquers for the season called the Ugly Christmas Sweater collection!

Press Sample

Abstain From Champagne is a holographic champagne full coverage microglitter in a clear base. This wowed me right off the bat, super blingy and the glitters are a little bit flatter than I expected which made it very easy to apply. Great glitter payoff, making it almost a one coater for me! I did use two to totally cover my nail, but I was super surprised at the coverage on this.

Happy Holla Daze is a festive glitter topper with hex, circle, square, and shredded glitters in white, red, green and silver. I layered one coat over OPI Cinnamon Sweet. This is a "typical" holiday glitter mix, but it's a little more unique thanks to the shredded white pieces. I really like this look. It would also look great over black or a dark green!

Lit Ladies Dancing is a microglitter mix of holographic royal blue and white matte small roundish hexes with black shreds in a lightly tinted blue jelly base. This was on the thick side, but not too difficult to manage. I did a normal first coat and dabbed a little on the second coat to get the coverage you see here. This reminds me of baseball for some reason...not sure why haha!

That Sleigh-Doh has a black jelly base with a mix of black and white matte and holographic microglitter and larger grey hex and square glitters. There are also some twinkly bits of iridescence popping out, which makes it more dimensional. This one was also a little thick, a bit tricky to apply evenly. I really like the result though, this is one of my favorites in the collection.

Where the Elf Is Santa? is a holographic deep teal green and blue microglitter in a clear base. This was pretty easy to apply, but there wasn't a ton of glitter payoff on the first coat. I build it up with three coats. This is a nice variation on the traditional holiday green we always see!

Stay Jolly My Friends is a red and white version of Lit Ladies Dancing, except instead of black shreds there are white squares. The red glitter in this one is really reflective, super christmas-y! This was a little easier than the blue version to apply, not sure why. Two coats here.

Indies Do It Sweater is a multicolored holographic glitter topper with hex, square and triangle glitters in a clear base. I layered one coat over Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (original). This is a nice departure from the type of glitters we normally see in holiday collections, very party appropriate. Great glitter payoff!

These all dry to a more matte finish so a top coat is recommended for all shades. The heavier glitters may need two coats to be completely smooth. The normal cap for Virago Varnish polishes is black matte, but for this collection they all come with a white matte cap. If you prefer the original black, just leave them a note at checkout. My friend Phoebe has a live application video review on this collection on her YouTube channel if you want to see these in action!

These are on sale now on the Virago Varnish website. The two microglitters, Abstain From Champagne and Where the Elf Is Santa?, retail for $11 each while the rest go for $10. The full collection sells for a special price of $68.50. They always offer free shipping over $50 using the code 50FREESHIP. (They ship to the US & Canada, email them for international orders.) And luckily, they are holding a sale right now through tomorrow Friday, Dec. 11 at 11:59 pm PST giving you 20% off your entire purchase using the code 3DAYSALE - wow! So run over if you want to pick these up in time to use for the holidays!

See you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.