Hi Goddesses
Wow, it's been a mad few days in the nail world, hasn't it? Time got the better of me this weekend, so I couldn't do a blog post on the Mentality soap opera, but I may still do a video post this weekend. We'll see.
One of the things I DON'T want the Mentality issue to cause is a distrust of indie brands in GENERAL. Let's be very clear - the Mentality situation occurred because the man was an ASS, not because he was an indie maker. If the situation had been handled well from the start, then we wouldn't be where we are today.
Anyway .... the purpose of this post is to rebalance the universe, share some indie love, and reassure you that you SHOULD still use indie polishes. About 95% of my polish purchases are indies. I am going to guess that at least half my entire polish collection is indies, and that over the last 3 years I have bought, tried or reviewed well over 50 indie brands.
So what I wanted to do today was share with you the brands I would stake my life on (and my nails). Brands who *I* believe are safe, and to be trusted. This list is not exhaustive, but I felt there had to be 2 conditions to appearing on this list -
1. that I have used the brand regularly
2. that I have had enough conversations with the owner to build trust in that individual
There are some indies I love who are not on the list, and that is simply because I haven't spoken to the makers in a long time, or ever, I haven't used the product for a while, or ever, or indies who I feel are too new to the scene to be judged.
So here you go, for what it's worth - The Crumpet's Golden 10 - all linked to take you directly to their shops.
Girly Bits
Literary Lacquers
Indigo Bananas
Grace-full Nail Polish
Different Dimension
Darling Diva
Lacquistry
Elevation Polish
Cadillacquer
a-England
I repeat, if the indie isn't on the above list, it ONLY means I cannot personally vouch for them, either because I don't / haven't yet used their product (eg Love, Angeline), or because I don't really have a relationship with the owner (eg KBShimmer).
Mistakes happen, ladies. That's why Lacquistry is on the list. When she discovered bleeding glitter 2 or 3 years ago, she replaced EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE she'd ever sold of that polish. In my experience, that tends to be the indie standard - awesome customer service from ladies who love mkaing polish as much as you love wearing it.
Feel safe, and continue to enjoy xx
