My Favorite Nail Art of 2016

*Some Press Samples Included*

Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing my favorite nail art of 2016! I was disappointed in myself when I looked through my blog that I did so little nail art in 2016, but I'm definitely going to push myself to do more in 2017. I did start the 31 Day Challenge, but unfortunately I never completed it (I even have some manis I did for future prompts that I never even put on the blog!). Of the nail art looks that I did, these were my top picks for 2016.

My 2016 in Review and My Favorite Polishes of 2016

*Some Press Samples Included*

Hi everyone! Today I have a wrap up of my favorite polishes of 2016 to share, but first I wanted to give a little synopsis of my year so that I can lead into where my blog is going from here. 2016 was not a good year for me blogging-wise, even to the point that I considered quitting at the end of the year. My personal life has been a bit chaotic and I really let that affect how I viewed blogging. Not only that, I started to have feelings that I was just old news (this blog is almost 5 years old y'all!) and that newer, flashier bloggers and swatchers with impossible glamour shots were all the rage now so I was just fading into oblivion. 

I got a surprise promotion at the beginning of 2016 after my boss passed away suddenly and it came with a ton of responsibilities that I had to adjust to and a LOT of work I had to do to get our department up to date which took almost the entire year. In the midst of that, my husband lost his job and has been unable to find another one, so that added even more stress. I was very mentally drained, stressed, and depressed, so when it came to blogging I could barely make myself go. For those of you who have never struggled with depression, it affects people differently. In my case, I wasn't sad all the time, but instead it was a major task for me to do ANYTHING. I could function fine at work, but at home it was a task to make myself get out of my chair. It took me a long time to even realize that I was depressed and seek help. I stopped blogging for fun and did only what I had to do and it became like a "job", which isn't what I got into blogging for. I got behind on a lot of my commitments and then things snowballed and I had SO MUCH STUFF TO DO, I just wanted to throw in the towel. 

Going into 2017, I have a handle on my new job, things are running smoothly now and I'm actually enjoying it! My stress level is back to normal and I'm feeling like my old self again, so I'm going to put my focus back on blogging for fun again. I'm still going to review things of course, but I'm also going to make time for me. I want to explore my collection (which has to be at around 3000 bottles now, with lots of cool older stuff) and share that with you guys. I want to do more nail art because that is one of the things that I find the most fun about nail polish...playing with it! Heck I even want to do some features on layering which was my original form of "art" when I started this blog almost 5 years ago (hence the name!). I want to blog about my purchases, because I have bought from some cool new or new to me brands this past year that I haven't gotten to feature on my blog. All in all, I'm going to try to bring the focus back to what I love in 2017 and make blogging fun again. 

Anyway, just wanted to "explain myself" I guess for how things have been on the blog this past year, because I felt like getting it out there would hopefully help me move past it in the coming year. It's sometimes embarrassing to admit your shortcomings and it's just easier to act like everything is normal and okay, but it's also very cathartic to get it all out there on the table! New year, fresh start! 

So now, how about we check out my favorite polishes of 2016 now? After looking at a few "favorites" posts from other bloggers, I can tell that I have so many amazing polishes in my untrieds that very well would have made the list if I had had time to wear them (the number of untrieds I have is epic at this point!). I realized when I started making this list that there were also a few of my favorites that I neglected to take photos of, so I did a mini swatch session to prepare for this post (on my fresh baby nubs even)! There are a few things that really stand out about my picks this year: orange, green, blue, and purple. SHOCKER! Also flakes...all the ultra chrome flakes. And complex holo finishes really dominated the list as well, especially those involving my favorite holo shards/bits that finally became widely available this year!

My Best Nail Art of 2014

*Nothing to disclose*

Finally, here is my wrap-up of my favorite nail art looks for the year! I really like to see the progression throughout the year! I can only work to keep improving! I hope you enjoy these, I really enjoyed my nail art this year!

2014 Mainstream Favorites

*Some items in the post were provided for review*

Hi everyone! Today I have a wrap-up of my favorite mainstream polishes this year. Surprisingly, there were a ton of cremes on the list this year, but I really thought there were some excellent ones!

My Top Indies of 2014

*Some items in this post were provided for review*

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for not doing my "favorites" posts earlier, but I finally have the time to get them together this weekend. My indie post is going to be quite extensive since I'm largely an indie blogger, but in order to keep this list as short as possible, I trying to limit myself to only two polishes from my favorite brands (and I mostly did ok with that). I was aiming for 25, but you got 26 (and considering the amount of indies I have, that's pretty good narrowing down for me). So here they are in no particular order!

My Favorite Nail Art of 2013

Some of these will be repeats of past nail art posts...but bear with me! I've really caught the stamping bug this year!

Whew! That was a lot! Thanks for looking everyone!

My Favorite Polishes of 2013

I could have included SO many more in this list, but here are my favorite polishes of 2013!

1. Dance Legend Roz - If I had to pick an overall favorite, Roz would win. It is my multichrome dream polish.

2. Chaos and Crocodiles Ferris Wheel at Dusk (over piCture pOlish Cosmos) - This polish is a galaxy in a bottle. It is just fantastic!

3.  Zoya Dhara - I could probably include the entire Zoya Pixie Dust collection in my favorites of 2013, but Dhara has me completely smitten. It is amazing with and without topcoat (BUT LOOK AT IT WITH!!)

3. GameOver Polish The Magister's Curse (over Barry M Guava) - This polish is blue holo glitter greatness. I thought I really loved Lynnderella Aquamarine Dream, but this one beat it out (especially because it doesn't have all of the shape glitter in it that I'm not too keen on). I stared at my nails all day when I wore it. 

4. Jade Mirage - This was a latecomer to the favorites bunch as I've only worn it just this month but WOW what a green! It is so vibrant and wonderful. 

5. Julie G Sugar Rush - This one is dupey to OPI Jinx, I believe. With topcoat = breathtaking.

6. Oopsies Daisies Electric Lemonade (over Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream) - In a year filled with neon glitter toppers, this one was my favorite! Perfect color combination and I like that the glitters are opaque so you can layer them over anything. I also adored Oopsie Daisies Bluebird.  

7. Color Club Cosmic Fate - This (and Kismet) were my favorite of the 2013 Halo Hues. It is such a flattering color (and not even one that I expected to like, much less love!). 

8. piCture pOlish Lagoon - It was tough to pick my favorite piCture pOlish (it was a toss-up between this and Imperial) but the color of Lagoon won out in the end for me. I did not want to take this off when I was wearing it.

9. Smitten Polish Electric Lime - Smitten Polish knows how to make some amazing holos (and I could likely have included several on this list) but Electric Lime is just so unique and vibrant that it had to be my top pick. What Sorcery is This? is hot on its coattails. 

10. Smitten Polish A Wedding Dress That Isn't Bright Turquoise. Another beauty from Smitten Polish. This one edged out Ninja Polish Mystic Glacier because the base color is so vibrant. I love polishes with color shifting shimmer!

11. Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana - Just look at it. It is amazing! It's BETTER than OPI DS Exclusive (never thought I'd say that).

I had 3 favorites from Darling Diva Polish this year. I tried to just pick one, but it was impossible.

12. Darling Diva Polish Little Red Corvette (over Butter London Come to Bed Red) - This is red holo glitter goodness at its best.

13. Darling Diva Polish Leprechaun's Gold (over Revlon Emerald) - This simple glitter combo really stole my heart. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

14. Darling Diva Polish Crazy Little Thing Called Love - I still remember being mesmerized by this polish as I was in my car on a sunny day. There were a lot of great multichrome holos put out this year, but this was my absolute favorite!

15. Hare Polish Mad Chill - The shimmer and neon blue glitters really make this polish special. Squishy Hare goodness!

16. CrowsToes Indian Summer - This is another standout multichrome for 2013. I've loved a lot of CrowsToes polishes this year, but this one takes the cake!

17. Nail Pattern Boldness Elderberry (over Zoya Dream) - This microglitter concoction is just awesome. All of my favorite colors together in one bottle.

18. Zoya Dream - Just...perfect. One of my favorites of the year!

19. Pahlish Fleur de Sel - This polish was made to look like pink sea salt and it is perfection! The blush pink base is so flattering too!

20. Happy Hands Beachy Keen (over China Glaze Shell-O). This unexpected glitter mix is perfect for summer and the colors work fantastically together.

21. Emily de Molly Monet's Garden (over American Apparel Malibu Green). I adore this glitter combo and it really pays homage to the colors used in Monet's paintings.

22. OPI Get Your Number - This was my first venture into textured polishes, and while I really didn't care for this alone, with topcoat I was completely enamoured with it. I had a mini bottle at first, but I have since acquired a full-sized one. 

23. L.A. Girl Electric Coral. This whole collection was completely amazing, but if I had to pick my absolute favorite it is Electric Coral. I wish I had a better pic to share with you, but GAH I love this one!

24. Pretty Serious The Pink One - Hot (neon!) pink shimmer lovelieness.

25. Girly Bits Bachelor's Button - A soft and lovely cornflower blue holo that I adore. 

So there they are, my favorites from 2013! What do you think? Do we have any in common? I hope you all have a blessed New Year!