The Top 10
of 2011 – Being A Polishaholic
Hi
Goddesses
I wanted to end the year with a bang and a
bit of a roll call of honour. I have
some Top 10s planned for you all and I wanted to start with this – the 10
Bestest Things that I have learnt / acquired / “got” from being a Polishaholic
in 2011.
There were going to be in order, really they
were, but they’re not, so let’s just dive right in ….
1.
Zoya Remove, THE number 1 nail polish
remover, hands down, no competition, nothing else compares. This helps nourish your nails, and yes it is
expensive, but seriously, I can TELL the difference.
2. Poshe
top coat. I’ve tried a few this
year. I started with OPI (because that’s
how my year started, just OPI) and was quite happy, and then I kept hearing
about these other top coats. Now I am
the sort of insane person who, even when I am happy with something, *still*
wants to check out the alternatives – madness!
Oh, and expensive! So I tried
Seche Vite and hated it (shrinkage) but I do love my Poshe. Fast drying and super glossy, this makes your
nails feel like molten glass.
3.
Water marbling. Love it or loathe it, you can’t but admit how
GORGEOUS it is. Nothing looks quite as
amazing on a nail as water marbling. I
love doing it but can’t yet get the pattern to look like how I plan for it to
look. Colette at My Simple Little
Pleasures is the goddess on this one and has her own YouTube channel with at
least half the world’s population following it.
4. Holo !!! come to momma!! And in this we also have to include
SpectraFlair for those make your own magical experiments. I had no idea polish could be holographic,
but wow, I’m so glad it is – nothing brings me happy quite as quickly as a holo
mani.
5.
OPI Nail Envy. This makes nails feel like they’re made of
steel, feel healthy and strong and look glossy and healthy. What’s not to love. I wear Sensitive and Peeling, but they do all
sorts of varieties. Try it and feel the
difference.
6. PAA or
Polishaholics Anonymous. A Facebook
group of 800+ insane women who live, breathe and probably eat nail polish. It’s basically a group for women to talk
about polish, but it’s become so much more than that. There are many days when they have been my
laughter, and my lifeline. I have made
no secret that I suffer with depression, and knock it all you like, but this is
when belonging to a group with a common interest really serves a purpose. Girls, there are days when you have gotten me
through and days when you have just made me smile – thank you, you are some of
the highlights of my year.
7.
Swapping.
Or to give it its technical term, Oooooh, Swapping! Swapping has become my new love and
obsession and I have made some great swaps these last couple of months. They have been a great way to get my hands on
polishes from other countries, but beyond that, there is NOTHING so exciting as
nail mail lol, and some swappers know how to pack happy in an envelope.
8. Top
Coats that aren’t just a top coat. By
this I mean Ozotics, Nubar 2010, Unicorn Puke (which I don’t own) and other
similar polishes – clear substances with ethereal sparkle in them, that when
you pop them on top of another polish just take it to a whole other level.
9.
The Joy of Blogging. I’m not really sure if I know the ONE reason I
got into blogging, but all my life I’ve been a writer who has never quite
gotten it together (mainly cos I get bored quickly and get bored of writing my
own masterpiece!). Writing this blog has
been a perfect creative outlet as it has allowed me to express myself without
(yet) boring myself. It’s been nice
bite sized chunks of creativity and it’s made me feel good about myself, and
that’s what matters.
10.
Friends. The friends I have made along the way. Wow, you have really made my year. I am
talking mainly here about the women in our PAA Birthday Club – you, more than
anyone, have brought me joy, laughter and nail mail. Some days, you have brought me sanity and
other days well, you’ve just laughed at me J I love you all. There are also some other great friends who
aren’t in that group – put it this way, if I interact with you, you matter to
me.
So, that’s my year of being a polishaholic –
who knows what next year will bring ? Hopefully it will bring me more art
skills and Clairvoyant and a lot more of the same.
Ladies, it’s been a pleasure spending the
last year with you xxxx
J
