My Favourite Polishes of 2020

*Post contains both purchased polishes and PR samples*

Happy New Year's, everyone! I think it's fair to say that this year has collectively been the most challenging one we've ever experienced. I don't think there's many people who will argue with me that we'll be glad to see the tail end of 2020.

One thing that hasn't sucked about 2020 has been the polish that has been released. From old favourite brands to new to me brands to brand new brands there have been some really amazing polishes released.

I didn't put these polish in any order. They are the ones that I purchased or was sent as a product review in 2020 and just that was hard enough to do without adding them in a specific order.

Without further ado....

Femme Fatale Crystal Citadel (October 2020 PPU)

Described as a sheer, blue-toned iris purple with a pink flash that shifts to a soft golden green and a soft holo finish. This polish is so delicate while making an impression at the same time.

Femme Fatale is becoming one of those brands that I make a point of buying from in PPU each month because I feel like they are always gorgeous. Plus, FF's branding is simply perfection and I always feel extra classy when using them.

Treo Lacquer Malfurion

Malfurion is a tri-coloured thermal that goes from clear when warm to a cornflower blue in transition to a violet purple when cold with iridescent glitter that flash yellow and gold and tiny green microglitters. It sounds like a lot but the result is so worth it.

Treo Lacquer is a new Canadian indie brand that has really impressed me this year. I have been around the indie polish community for about 8 years now so it's nice to see a brand take it's time, learn the community, and offer a product from the start that is quality. 

Bluebird Lacquer The Ryan King (November 2020 PPU)

The Ryan King is a a deep hunter green sparkly mega holo.  Okay, so at first glance I was like "oh, nice green, but I'll probably pass because I don't wear much green" but when I saw how it had skyrocketed to the best seller for the month of PPU I had been waiting for (The Red Carpet), my FOMO got the best of me and I grabbed a bottle. Friends....the hype is real.

Bluebird Lacquer is a brand that has quickly gone from just on my radar to me watching closely for when new releases will happen. My polish budget is much tighter than it used to be so I don't just buy all the things anymore.  After this brand's winning 'Centaur of Attention' and 'Left of Centaur', I am confident that I will like the quality of what is offered.

LynB Designs Lei'd Back (June 2020 PPU)

Lei'd Back is described as a peach when warm to grey blue to purple when cold tri-thermal polish with red-green-gold shifting shimmer, pink-gold shifting flakes, and pink-copper-orange shifting flakes.

It was super reactive and I love the very big contrast in colours from warm to cold.  LynB Designs is a brand that I feel often gets overlooked but she makes some really great polish.

Top Shelf Lacquer Long Lost City of Atlantis (April 2020 PPU)

Long Lost City of Atlantis is a beige creme base with green-gold shifting UCC flakes and a gold-green shifting shimmer. As you can see in the photos, it's the perfect nude with my colour of skin. 

It's no secret that Top Shelf Lacquer is one of my favourite brands. I have 90% of what Amy has made over the years and I always have loved her formula and colours.  This polish is by far the most unique one I bought in 2020 and I feel sad that it didn't really get the love it deserves.

JReine Rainbow Kingdom (October 2020 PPU)

Rainbow Kingdom is described as an explosion of fuchsia, orange and green micro flakes with an intense holo sparkle. 

The shift on this one is insane. It's smooth as butter and has a wow factor that's hard to describe. 

Fair Maiden Polish Mindfreak (July 2020 PPU Rewind)

So, I'm kinda cheating with this one BUT I foolishly skipped this polish during its original release so I'm counting it.

Mindfreak is the perfect fall polish. Orange jelly, leaf like flakes, and amazing syrup formula. I am so glad I finally bought this.

My Indie Polish Halloween 2020 *PRESS SAMPLE*

Halloween 2020 is an orange when warm, brown when cold thermal filled with gold glass fleck.

I love how unique My Indie Polish is with her thermal polishes.  When I'm looking for a thermal that reacts quickly to my body temperature and I won't see in a few places, this is where I turn.

Great Lakes Lacquer Bubblegum (FTLOF Box October 2020)

Everyone has their go-to brands for certain kinds of polishes and I always turn to Great Lakes Lacquer for polishes that are flakie filled in a cruelly base. These polishes always remind me of leaves in water.

GLL doesn't make a ton of pink polishes. But when she does, she always gets them right. I saw a teaser of more of these pastel flake cruelly polishes to come and I'm excited. 

Femme Fatale Sugar Cubes (May 2020 PPU)

Sugar Cubes is described as a pale indigo base packed with pink/gold/green shifting shimmer, matte white glitters, and holographic sparkle. I'm not usually drawn toward purple but if 2020 did a lie detector test on me, it'd say I was lying.

Sugar Cubes is the polish I used after the birth of my son and I finally had an hour to focus on myself so it holds a sentimental place for me.

Vapid Lacquer You Lost the Substance by Grasping at the Shadows (October 2020 PPU)

You Lost the Substance by Grasping at the Shadows is a tri-thermal that goes from pale grey blue when warm to a denim blue to a blurple when cold with magnetic ultra chrome shifting flakes.

I had no idea that the flakes in this polish were magnetic! I loved it so much as it was that now I am very excited to go back and try it again knowing this information.

Cadillacquer Charlie (May 2020 PPU)

Charlie is a light purple to mauve to eggplant tri-thermal with pink-orange-gold flakes.

It mostly stayed in it's medium and cold states on me and I didn't get that pale purple very easily, which is okay by me. I adore these crelly bases with the flakes and thermals are my jam so adding this one to my list of top polishes was a no brainer.

Treo Lacquer Succubus (September 2020 PPU)

Succubus is a charcoal holographic when cool and a light lavender holographic when warm.  It has tiny holographic microglitters that dry with a texture so I used a nice thick coat of top coat to smooth that right out. 

This is the second polish from Treo Lacquer that ended up on my Top of 2020 Polish list.  I love love love how delicate this one is, how easy it was to apply, and how catching it was in person.  I am marking Treo Lacquer as my 'brand to watch' for 2021.

Well folks....that's my list for the year. It's been a year filled with ups (the birth of my son) and downs (every other single thing) but we made it.  While it's been ages since I have shared on this page, it was nice to be able to come back and put my thoughts down in writing.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with any of my choices? Think I missed something glaring?  I'd love to hear from you!

I wish you all a happy, healthy, and hopefully less socially distant 2021 <3

Fiendish Fancies - Moments of Horror (PPU March 2020)

Hey, y'all. It's been a hot minute since my last post. I am currently in my last weeks of pregnancy and my energy levels have been depleting. Nothing to make you sit up and take notice than a pretty polish on your fingertips. Now that I am officially done work for a while, I have been back to polishing my nails again and I am so excited to share Fiendish Fancies' offering for March 2020 Polish Pickup.

Moments of Horror (March 2020)

Moments of Horror is a mossy olive green (when cold) to golden peach (when warm) thermal that is filled with golden shimmer and small gold flakes.

There's no secret that I love me a good thermal nail polish but I do find that it has become increasingly difficult to find ones that don't look exactly like duplicates of what I already have because of the limited thermal pigments available.  But somehow, this one fit the bill and is completely unique in my collection. The flashpoint of the temperature change was just right and I saw a constant changing of the polish from inside to outside.

Moments of Horror is based on the horror movie 'The Mummy' (the classic, not the modern) and the theme this month of Polish Pickup is 'Ancient History', so it works perfectly.

I used three thin coats of Moments of Horror to get the coverage you see in these photos.  Two coats were more than enough, but I like to ensure the camera won't pick up any unnecessary nail line.

Thermal pigments are known to be thicker when mixed but I didn't find the polish too thick to work with.  That indie polish thickness where you place it on the nail and it stays put and doesn't flood the cuticles and not that thickness that makes it gloopy and difficult, if that makes sense.

Moments of Horror is currently available from Polish Pickup and will continue to be so until Monday, March 9th at 11:59pm.

It is listed as $12.50 USD and is capped at 75 on the US site and 15 on the UK site.

Have you grabbed this polish?

Fiendish Fancies

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Until next time! Hopefully it won't be as long!

Top Shelf Lacquer - Fall Holo Fun Collection

Grab a latte, a giant blanket scarf, your favourite riding boots, and a cozy sweater because I am here with the first fall collection of the year!

It's no secret that Top Shelf Lacquer is my favourite brand. Just recently while reorganizing my Helmers, I finished filling my third drawer of TSLs. This collection had me falling in love with the brand all over again.

**Note - The bloggers' collections encountered some minor settling of the microglitters/flakes.  Amy (the owner of Top Shelf Lacquer) notified us of this issue and all bottles that will be sold have had the settling rectified. A good shake helped when swatching but customers will not run into this issue upon purchase.

On a First Name Boozeis

'On a First Name Boozeis' is a fall red linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny red to orange glass fleck. The glass fleck really gives this one some depth and interest.

This one reminds me of fall campfires and warm sweaters. I used two thin coats for opacity.

That's Showbooze

'That’s Showbooze' is described as a teal linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny teal glass fleck.

First, teal. Second, glass fleck. Third, linear holo. Forth, one coat.
I feel like this polish has the necessary ingredients to be a huge hit with the fan base.

A Boozed Ego

'A Boozed Ego' is an eggplant linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny purple to red glass fleck.

I feel like I need to preface this with the disclaimer that I always say purple isn't my thing but then I scream about how much I love these purples. But..... I LOVE THIS PURPLE. Deep, red flecks, ONE coat. Yeah. Honestly, this one is going to make purple lovers swoon. Did I mention one coat?

Boozey Bee

'Boozey Bee' is described as a mustard yellow linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny golden glass fleck.

Mustard yellow = fall. This is the type of yellow that will look good on paler skin and AMAZING on darker skin tones. I usually have to make sure my yellow polishes don't give me lobster hands but no issues with that here. Two coats for opacity.

 None of Your Boozeiness

'None of Your Boozeiness' is a chocolate brown linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny red glass fleck.

This is the brown polish you never knew you needed. It's that medium brown that doesn't lean too yellow or too taupe, which I often find is my complaint about browns. This one is like melted milk chocolate.

Another ONE coater! That's right, just one coat and I got this coverage you see here.

Every Bump & Booze

'Every Bump & Booze' is a navy linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny blue to purple glass fleck.

I'm not usually a blue girl but fell head over feet for this polish. It screams fall and is dying to be paired with tall boots and a plaid scarf. You know, the basics. I used ONE coat of this polish.

Rubbing Elbooze

'Rubbing Elbooze' is a medium burgundy linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny red to orange glass fleck.

Besides loving the name of this polish, I found it a very unique colour in my collection. Almost a muted raspberry wine. I did two coats for photos but feel that one would have been more than sufficient.

Booze-ing With Excitement

Booze-ing With Excitement is an olive green linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny green glass fleck.

The most holo of the set for me. Also the colour I wasn't expecting to love but did. I have a love/hate relationship with greens because I don't always love the colour but I do enjoy how they look on my nails, if that makes sense. This is my pick of the collection.

I used two thin coats for opacity.

Back to the Boozeics

Back to the Boozeics is a medium grey linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny bluish purple glass fleck.

Guys, no photos of this polish will ever do it justice. The blue fleck is simply amazing. And......ONE COAT! One.

Thrown Under the Booze

'Thrown Under the Booze' is a Burnt Orange linear holographic polish with scattered holo sparkle and tiny copper glass fleck.

Pictures lean a touch more brown than the polish is in person. Two thin coats to get full nail opacity. I have been wearing this polish since last Friday without any wear or chips!  Definitely a must have for fall.  

So, there you have it....the Fall Holo Fun Collection from Top Shelf Lacquer.  I love how perfect these are for fall combined with an amazing formula that wears well and I think it's a winning collection. 

This collection releases Friday, August 16th at 8pm EDT.  The full size bottles (15ml) retail for $12 each and the Polish Shots (8ml) are $7.50.  Full sets are available at a discounted price.

Do you have a favourite?

Top Shelf Lacquer
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