Hi Goddesses
Today we look at one of my favourite categories, Nail Art Blog of the Year.
It's weird, because nail art is my "thing", it never occurred to me that for so many of you it's unnecessary. This is why I love Readers Polls. For some of you, it's ALL about the polish, but for those of us who like to play with our polishes, this is where it's at.
So, who were our winners last year?
3. Polish Art Addiction
2. The Nailasaurus
1. Chalkboard Nails
Again, thank you to everyone who voted for me, but I have left myself out of the final results xx
*****************************
In 3rd place then - my bestie - Gnarly Gnails. I am so glad you feel the love for Missy's blog! For me, she is the most original nail artist out there - I wish I had half her inspiration.
In 2nd .... oooh and this is a shocker, Chalkboard Nails. Last year Sarah dominated every single poll, but this year, she is No 2.
I think this is for 2 reasons. To me, she seems to have had a quieter year. It feels like she has blogged less, even though a quick look at her blog shows she has only slowed down by 15% or so in her posting. The second reason, I think, is because the winner has had such an AWESOME year.
In 1st place - The Nailasaurus. Sammy has had an incredible year. She was always brilliant, but this year she seems to have established a league of her own, a league of immaculate nails, great skittles, endless variety AND cool new techniques and tutorials. I suspect it's her ability to draw you in with a good tutorial that you're loving.
For a long time, The Nailasaurus wasn't essential reading for me, but now it is. Even on the days when she's not "teaching", I feel I learn something from her use of colour, her insistence on using "normal" polishes (and RE-USING her stash), and the effortless way she combines patterns into the most exquisite skittles.
If these are the only 3 nail art blogs you ever read, you will learn loads, and feel inspired. Great choices xx
Hi Goddesses
Being a swatcher is a TOUGH gig, and I really don't think most blog readers / casual polish fans realise how much work goes into it.
Just bear in mind, as we celebrate your favourite ladies (who can make ANY polish look good) that they are each probably spending a minimum of 30 hours a week on their blog - IN ADDITION to a full-time job, a family etc. So, these ladies have my utmost respect.
Let's check who you loved last year -
3. A tie between Chalkboard Nails, Fashion Polish, Pointless Cafe, and Let Them Have Polish
2. The Polishaholic
1. Scrangie
To everyone who voted for me, thank you, but I deleted myself from the final line-up.
***************
In third place, we have Scrangie. It's a sign of how much you love her that she has even featured on this list, as she has had a very quiet year.
In 2nd, Sheila from Pointless Cafe. I know Sheila fairly well and I honestly do not know who she does it lol. Not only does she post more than me (takes some doing), but she also finds time to do comparisons. She swatches mainstream and indie, and I think she's a genius at layering glitters over the right base.
And in first .... the amazing Jen from Polishaholic :) And she's not just your winner, she's your winner by a MILE, with almost 3 times as many votes as 2nd place.
Jen is lovely, and incredibly hard-working. I did some blog catching-up last week, and every day she had posted a collection - so that's 7 days when her blog featured at least 6 polishes. I don't know about you, but there's no way I can swatch 42 polishes in a week! I think she has Hermione's time turner .....
Jen's blog is so professional. Clean design, simple photography and - crucially - you know what you're going to get, namely the polish in light and shade, a good summary of the polish, and Jen's HONEST opinion of the polish. Considering she's one of THE most established bloggers, I respect how much polish Jen still buys, and I think this gives her a real polish lover's freedom to express her opinions. Oh and her comparison posts ROCK.
Well chosen Crumpeteers - you can find out MY Swatchers of the Year in a couple of days xx
Hi Goddesses
The best indie polish of the year is another difficult category. With sooooo many polishes being released, it's hard for any one polish to stand out from the crowd.
Before we see who won this year, let's check out last year's finest -
3. KBShimmer - Oh Splat, Quantum Leaf, Witch Way AND NerdLacquer Cyance Friction, Enchanted Polish Hot Chocolate, a-England Holy Grail, AquaDaisy Shazaam, I Love NY by Whimsical Ideas by Pam and finally ... Cover Band Sticks and Stones
2 - Floam
1 - Above The Curve - Funfetti (fact: you introduced me to this amazing brand; I'd never heard of it before you voted this polish your winner.)
So, what won your heart in 2013?
In third place we thankfully have fewer polishes than last year!
This year we have a-England Briarwood, a stunning burgundy holo with heavy hits of brown.
and Mentality Nail Polish Gumdrop, a spectacularly bright jelly holo - gorgeous!
We also have a joint 2nd place with Emily de Molly's Cosmic Forces your favourite polish from this amazing maker.
Unbelievably, the other joint 2nd place winner is ALSO from Oz, Nicole from Lilypad Lacquer. You voted the amazing True Blood your 2nd favourite indie of the year - what a damned good choice!
So what was your winner? Well with 3 times as many votes as the 2nd placed polishes, it's Birefringence by ILNP. You just couldn't get enough of this stunning multichrome.
Thanks to Sheila from Pointless Cafe and Lucy from Lucy's Stash for the use of their photos.
Hi Goddesses
THIS is where it gets sexy. The Best Indie category is highly coveted and extremely competitive. There are now so many good indies out there that it is almost impossible to form a consensus.
You nominated 87 brands in total ! And I bet that's not even a quarter of what's out there. In the end, only a handful of them scored serious votes, but before we check them out, here are last year's results.
3. Girly Bits
2. Pretty and Polished
1. KBShimmer
And the results are -
In joint 3rd Place we have ILNP and Elevation Polish, 2 very different brands.
ILNP has made a huge splash in 2013. Superb branding and packaging, product that was so on the pulse it hurt, and a great pre-ordering system - it's hard to deny ILNP this position.
Thanks to Sheila from Pointless Cafe for the use of her gorgeous swatches.
Elevation is a brand I have fallen hard for this year. In my year of glitter-apathy, I have been quietly seduced by the unpretentious nature of Lulu's polishes. Unfortunately, I've bought about a dozen and swatched (I think) 2 - otherwise I am sure Elevation would have featured in more of my Best Of posts.
We also have joint winners for 2nd place - A-England and Mentality Nail Polish.
This thrills me for 2 reasons - I love Adina and her vision, her passion for colour - there is a real warmth and love to her brand that is so captivating.
Mentality, on the other hand, are just at the start of their journey. They have *almost* produced more new polishes this year than I have had Chinese meals (takes a LOTTA doing), and again, they've appealed to my glitter-apathy with their cremes, mattes and holos. I'm so delighted you've admired that in a brand too.
*****************
And our winner - by a LANDSLIDE - KBShimmer again. What can I say? You must all REALLY love KBShimmer for Christy to have won twice, and by significant margins both times.
Of course, it's not hard to see why she has won. Awesome colours, pretty much every type of finish you could want, and - significantly - between herself and Harlow and Co, almost always in stock, and I think that is starting to matter more and more.
So well done Christy for 2 in a row - what an incredible achievement in the most competitive area of the polish world, and where competition currently knows no bounds.
Only 51 weeks to go to see if she can make it a hat trick :)
Hi Goddesses
Today we have your favourite mainstream polishes of the year. This is always one of the harder categories to get a winner from - everyone has a favourite, and it's only a very few polishes who get more than a couple of votes.
Before we start, let's see what the final 3 was last year -
3. China Glaze - Riveting
2. GOSH - Holographic Hero
1. Zoya Aurora
Ok, let's see what got you drooling this year :)
In joint 3rd place, we have -
OPI Muir Muir On The Wall
thanks to Nory of Fierce MakeUp and Nails for the use of her photos.
I feel it's sacrilege that I haven't worn mine yet, cos I really do know, deep in my soul, that I'm going to love it. Deep, dark and transfixing - OPI doing what it does best.
Zoya Dream
This polish hasn't even been on my radar, but it was your favourite Zoya this year.
thanks to Missy from Gnarly Gnails for the use of this photo.
In second place, but only by 1 vote more than our 3rd place polishes, OPI Jinx. You all went gaga for this dazzlingly bright orange texture. I didn't get this one, and I'm still hesitating - I bought a KIKO that was very similar which just did NOT match my skin tone. There's no denying though - I haven't seen a single bad swatch of this.
And your winner - by a mile - with almost 4 times as many votes as 2nd place .... OPI Alcatraz ... Rocks.
This stunning texture was one of the standouts of the San Francisco collection, and you loved its purpley smokey tones.
It's interesting to note that OPI produced 5 of your 8 favourite mainstream polishes this year - who would have bet on that 12 months ago??
