Crumpet Readers Poll 2012 - Your Favourite Blog

Hi Goddesses

Today we're going to go through the remaining categories of The Crumpet Readers Poll 2012 AND crown your ultimate blog.

Unfortunately, there were some categories in the poll which just didn't work, and it was impossible to pick winners from!  A classic example was Your Favourite Polish of All Time - nothing got more than 2 votes!

Your Most Used Polish was also funny.  A bit like me, the most used ones aren't the "classics", but the basics - for me that means OPI Black Onyx and (my most used polish of the year) OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  For a lot of you it was Wet n Wild Black Creme or Cult Nails Nevermore.

Lemming was also funny.  There is NO 1 Lemming to Rule Them All lol.  Out of 170 suggestions, only this handful had more than 1 vote - 

Chanel holographic

Enchanted Polish Beatles Collection

OPI DS original

Essie Starry Starry Night

OPI Black Spotted

China Glaze omg

Max Factor Fantasy Fire

MAC Bad Fairy

Fantasy Fire had 5 votes - way more than other polish, and I guess it is one of the polishes that caused a shark frenzy this year.

Customer Service ... aaahhh, this one did not work at all :(  Again, no clear winner, but lots of brands with a similar amount of votes, and I think a lot of it comes down to where you buy your polish from.  However, you gave big thumbs up to Zoya, Ninja Polish, Llarowe and Lacquistry, Different Dimensions, a-England and Cult Nails so well done to all of those brands.

And so, to your Blog Of The Year ... dum dum dum !

In 5th place, a blog I wasn't even following, but I am now - Lace and Lacquers

In joint 4th 2 great blogs - Let Them Have Polish and The Nailasaurus

In 3rd, it's the woman who can make any nail polish look good, Scrangie.  (Does anyone else say her name to the tune of The Rolling Stones' Angie, or is that just me ?)

In 2nd, another great swatcher, Jen of The Polishaholic.

And YOUR Number 1 blog is ..... Garfields Nails !!  Yay I am so pleased for this little blog!!!  Oh, who am I kidding ??  Of course it's Chalkboard Nails lol :)  Sarah's world domination continues - hurrah !  so she gets a very glittery crown x

Lol.   She's a gem xx  She might very possibly kill me, but she's a gem.   I only know Sarah a little bit, but it staggers me how she has no idea how special or talented she is.  Everytime I have posted her as a winner, she has messaged me to say how shocked she is.  Bless - at least one person in NailLand was shocked then :)

Well that concludes both our Crumpet Readers Poll and my own round-ups of the year.  I do hope you've enjoyed them, they took a MASSIVE amount of work, but I had great fun doing them.

I am now off to maybe think of a New Years Eve mani, and maybe get that Splodgerama tutorial organised for tomorrow, and then after that - GULP - it's January and OH MY GOD the New 31 Day Challenge ... and the Digit-al Dozen ... oh and some polishes I have for review ....  honestly, I do plan to post less .... I really really do :)

Lots of Crumpet love, I leave you with 2 of my favourite things, Bluebelle and Beth xxxxx

Crumpet Readers Poll 2012 - Nail Art Blog of the Year

Hi Goddesses

A couple of days ago I declared Chalkboard Nails my favourite nail art blog of the year.  Well, now it's your turn !!

There were 2 absolute runaway winners, 1 blog in 3rd, 4 blogs tied for 4th and 4 blogs tied for 5th.

Ready ?

In joint 5th, we have some cracking blogs.   We have Spellbinding Nails, run by my friend Sarah and probably the best stamping blog in the world.

2 absolute legends - Sonoma Nail Art and Nailside - and then another of my favourite blogs - Nailed It.

In equal 4th, we have 4 impeccable ladies - Kayla Shevonne, Lucy's Stash, Colores de Carol and Chit Chat Nails.

And then in 3rd, we have the lovely Leslie from Polish Art Addiction.  Another great blog that's too classy for words.  

It's interesting to note that only 1 vote separated 5th and 4th, and 1 vote separated 4th and 3rd.  However, 2nd place got 4 times the votes that 3rd place did, and number 1 got half as many again.  Let's see who's 2nd.

Yep, it's Sammy from The Nailasaurus - a VERY popular choice.   I totally share your appreciation of her talent, but if I'm honest, her blog is not one I gravitate to.  Maybe it's because she is soooo perfect, and I know I can never reach that level.   One thing I will give her credit for though - she very rarely *just* swatches - she's definitely one blogger who's kept her focus on the nail art.

And finally, Goddesses, your winner (and mine!) ....

Wow, this is getting really boring :)  I'm not going to share any more of Sarah's manis because by my counting she's hogged at least 2 other posts already lol. But yes, we agree !!!!

Lots of love xx :)

Crumpet Readers Poll 2012 - Indie Polish Maker of the Year

Hi Goddesses

Wow, has this been an amazing year for indie polish makers.  Just think back to this time last year and tell me if you'd ever heard of Etsy or BigCartel lol.

My love of indie polishes has grown and grown this year, as has their creativity.  I'll be honest, there are also indie makers I have fallen in and out of love with, and I think that's as much a reflection of my changing tastes as anything.

courtesy of ThingsILoveAtTheMoment

You see, when the year started, a colour with a bit of glitter was all it took to get me excited.  As the year has progessed, the base polishes have become more complex, as have the glitter mixes.  Some of those glitters have been pre-mixed, meaning every man and his dog has sold a similar polish; whilst others have thought that all you have to do is throw it in a bottle with some suspension base and slap a $10 label on it.  No.  And again, no.

One of the other Indie sadnesses is that trends have become a little overdone.  Near the start of the year, Pretty & Polished released Jawbreaker, a groundbreaking polish which was white, with coloured glitter in it.  Since then, almost every indie maker has released something similar, with even China Glaze jumping on the bandwagon in the last month.

However, the indies have ended on a high.  Halloween, for me, was the greatest outpouring of creativity I have seen in ages, with each and every indie maker really raising their game and releasing stunning colour combos.

Finally, the indies have single handedly been responsible for my untried box resembling Everest.  I have bought and bought and bought all their sensational (and some not so sensational) wares.  I have duped myself into oblivion, and lightened my bank account by a number I'm too scared to even admit to.  For me, in choosing MY indie maker of the year, that means I have a difficult choice - for so many of them remain untried for me.  So if you're wondering why there's no mention for Nail Pattern Boldness, Nail'd It, Enchanted Polish, Elevation, Different Dimension, and a dozen other awesome brands, that's why :(

So, let's see who YOUR favourites were -

Firstly, I want to say that I think this category is a victim of it's own success.  There are so many awesome brands out there, that the votes ended up being spread quite thin.   There really isn't a runaway winner in this category.  Although the top 2 did have significantly more votes, a lot of brands ended up with very similar scores.

  It may seem ridiculous, but yes, we're starting in 6th place.  Partly because the votes are so close, and partly because they're both awesome brands that deserve a shout out - well done to Jindie Nails and Different Dimension

  is Enchanted Polish.  This brand has made a HUGE splash in 2012, from her holographic / Beatles inspired collection, through the awesome Halloweenies through to her duochromes ... there has been no end to her creativity.

  is a-England.  Not an indie brand in the sense of Etsy, but still fairly independent.  I'm a huge fan of Adina's polishes, her eye for colour, and that she delivers a quality product, but almost everything she's released this year has been outside my colour palette.  I'm hoping for something a lot less gothic next year.

 rd place goes to a brand I have a LOT of affection for - Girly Bits.  Pam was my first foray into the wild indie world, and she never disappoints.  Her polishes are always classy, and they always come with a lot of heart too.

  is Pretty and Polished.  Chels Marie has had a sensational year.  She really kicked things off with Jawbreaker and since then has turned out more and more great polishes.  Midnight Rider, one of her earliest, is still one of my fave indies.

KBShimmer !   I think you have chosen well, Crumpetlings. KBShimmer has released so many great collections this year.  I love all my polishes.  Christy has a great eye for colour, especially in knowing what will pop *just* enough.  Her polishes have been inventive, colourful and fantastically varied.  Well deserved.

So what about me ?

Well, I too chose KBShimmer, but surprisingly a lot of my other faves didn't register as highly with you -

Dollish Polish - Dolly just doesn't put a foot wrong.  She has released a LOT of polishes this year, all of them inventive, and all of them of a very high quality.  I've said if before, if you're nervous of trying an indie, there's no better place to start.

HARE.  I am really late on the HARE bandwagon, but when I landed on it, I bought EVERYTHING lol.   Nikole has an amazing eye for colour, and chooses glitters that are extra special.  I've got a lot of HARE swatches coming up for you soon, and some of them literally take your breath away.

CrowsToes.  No other brand featured in as many of my "best of" posts as this dark and twisted glitterbombmaker.   Crazy glitter overload.  There is NOTHING subtle about this brand, but I love it.  Genuine creativity and artistry.

Black Cat Lacquer - I am really loving this brand at the moment.  Lots of inventiveness, plus lots of homages to my new fave TV series - Dexter.

The Polish Bar - beautiful polishes, beautifully themed.  I haven't been disappointed with one yet.   

I hope that gave you some pointers if you're looking to buy some indies.  Don't forget, there's still the half-finished Indie Corner you can click on (underneath the title banner) and also click the link earlier in the post for Things That I Love At The Moment - Michelle has a great indie section on her blog.

There's one more indie post to come - my favourite indie polish ......  see you soon !

Enjoy xx :)

Crumpet Readers Poll 2012 - The Collection of the Year

Hi Goddesses

Today's post is all about which Collection blew our socks off this year.  As we discussed in the mainstream brand post, a lot of the big boys really brought their toys to the table this year, and there is a LOT of good stuff to choose from here.

Ler's get right into it, starting with your favourites :)

I'm going to do this one a little differently, to highlight just how popular some brands were.  So, good ole

who netted 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th positions.

7th place went to the On Safari Collection

6th was the just released Cirque du Soleil

5th place went to their New Bohemians

and in 4th, your favourite China Glaze Collection was ... surprise ... The Hunger Games / Capitol Colors Collection

I can't argue.  China Glaze have had a brilliant year, and surely they've released more polishes and more collections than anyone else ??

Then we have OPI, who scored 2nd and 6th place.  

6th was the Germany Collection - so perfectly autumnal, and full of future classics.  AND it heralded a return to that amazing OPI shimmer.

And in 2nd, the Skyfall Collection.  This one left me a bit cold, but it's your OPI highlight of the year.

In 3rd place, you loved the Zoya Ornate collection.  We've waited a long time for Zoya to do holo, and they didn't disappoint, although they should be shot for that hairy monstrosity they included!

courtesy of Let Them Have Polish

Proving that we love holo more than ANYTHING else lol

Well done Color Club.  I think they've had a really low key year, so well done for pulling victory out of quite an empty hat!

As for MY favourite collections of the year, there were 2.  The Barry M Gelly polishes were OUTSTANDING, and I loved them all.  Super glossy, super pigmented, and a lot of 1 coaters.

And Jade, for their holographic collection.  DEFINITELY the best holos I own, and as you know, I own A LOT.

As a collective, I think the indie makers also deserve a shout out for their Halloween Collections - as a purple lover, they made me VERRRY happy :)


See you soon with more winners :)  xx