Wallis by Butter

As you already know, I bought this incredible color specifically for New Year's, and let me tell you that it did not disappoint. First, the butter bottle is petite and gorgeous, the square top pops off to reveal a round top for easy gripping, and the brush itself is thin and firm which provides perfect precision. Now, onto the color. In the bottle it appears to be an almost brown-gold, but on the nail it has a certain green-gold quality to it. It's a bold and unusual take on traditional gold polish, and I couldn't have asked for a better manicure to kick of the new year. The polish held up for the near week that I wore it, and the complexity of the color seemed to change constantly.

Rating: A

Holly by Zoya

Though my next color should have been Trina by Julep, I skipped ahead on my color wheel as a special Christmas treat to myself. My first experience with Zoya polish, Holly was a metallic green with breathtaking depth, and I could not have asked for a more perfect Christmas color. The Zoya brush was thin and easy to use, the polish went on thick enough for full coverage but not so thick that it would be difficult to apply, and this manicure stayed chip free for its entire duration. In order to really get into the holiday spirit I used a half moon manicure combining Holly with Glitzerland by OPI. This combination turned out to be one of my all-time favorites, and I was so sad to see this manicure go.

Rating: A+

Glitter Frankens

Last Christmas I gave nearly every female in my life custom frankened nail polishes. Then today, while I was supposed to be writing a paper, I was struck with the brilliant idea of frankening my own glitter polishes. I mean, there's no such thing as too much glitter, and how great would it be to able to specifically select my own color combinations?? Turns out, it's pretty freaking great.

It being Sunday night, Michael's and Sally's were both closed by the time I went out to buy supplies. That meant I was stuck with the selection at Target. I was stoked about being able to find bottles of clear polish for just $2.50 (Xpress Nails), but a little bit less than stoked about the lacking choices of glitter. I settled on a pack of six tubes (copper, gold, white, silver, and black) that was just $3.80. As you can tell, one of the biggest draws to this idea is the affordability. When I got home I got right to experimenting, and I made sure to capture every step!

Step 1: The supplies

glitters, clear polishes, index card, Scotch tape

Step 2: The funnel

Use the index card and Scotch tape to create a funnel that will fit into the mouth of your polish bottle. This gives total control of how much glitter you put in at one time.

Step 3: Setting up

Take your brush out, making sure to get as much excess polish off as possible and set it aside. Then fit your funnel securely into the bottle. Select your glitter start adding in small intervals. 

Step 4: Shake, shake, shake

After each little bit you add, put the top back on and give the bottle a good shaking. Mixing progressively like this makes it easier when your bottle is entirely filled with glitter. This is especially important if you'll be using more than one color of glitter. 

Step 5: Having gorgeous new glitters

These are my finished products. The bottle on the left is just copper glitter; I used less glitter in this bottle so that I could use it to layer with other polishes. The one on the right is a combination of black, silver, and copper. I absolutely love how they both turned out and I can't wait to wear them.

Gentle Ginger byUlta

Once again, I have been so pleasantly surprised by the constancy and coverage of the Ulta brand. This color looks like an almost sheer gold in the bottle. One the nail it achieved total coverage with just two coats. The shade of gold is soft, not brash, and catches the light so beautifully. Every time I look at it I seen a new glint or depth to it. Definitely one of my favorite golds, and perfect for the holiday season. 

Rating: A