Lacquer Lundi

The holiday season is upon us. I know this because today is my first day off school for two whole weeks of vacation (which of course, makes this a magical time of year). Although, I don't celebrate the religious aspects of this time of year, I do appreciate the festive ones. I enjoy a beautifully decorated tree, a twinkling set of lights and a candle-strewn mantle, among other things (like turkey, mashed potatoes and chocolate). So, in the spirit of the season, I will be presenting the "12 Polishes of Xmas" this week and next. These are my picks for decking out my nails in their finest holiday glory. Some polishes are marketed specifically for the season and others just look appropriate due to the colour or finish.


So, let's get on to the pretties:

OPI - Shim-merry Chic
- purchased at Trade Secrets for $ 9.95 CDN

I figured I'd start things off with a polish that was actually part of a seasonal offering, the OPI Holiday Wishes Collection for Winter/Holiday 2009. Shim-merry Chic is a golden bronzey-brown base with orange flakies and green micro glitter. It certainly is not the first colour most people associate with Xmas, but I really dig this nifty hue - it actually reminds me of gingerbread.

Although two coats would have sufficed, I used three coats to ensure opacity. I had only minor tip wear after two days.




Orly - Enchanted Forest & Color Club - Object of Envy
- Orly purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99 CDN
- Color Club purchased from Head2Toe Beauty for $2.50 US

Enchanted Forest is a super cool dark forest green, with dusky grey undertones. It is the perfect evergreen creme. It is, without a doubt, one of my favourite green polishes. I used two coats of Enchanted Forest, but with greater care I could have gotten away with a single coat because this polish is extremely pigmented.

Looking to add a bit more holiday charm, I immediately added two coats of Object of Envy, a gorgeous green glitter. Okay, I confess - I just wanted to see how gaudy I could make this manicure and I think I out did myself! Although, I think people must like gaudy, because I raked in a ton of compliments when I wore this combo.

The only issue with this look, is that it requires a nice thick layer of top coat to reduced the lumpy-bumpiness of the glitter. This manicure wore like iron - after three days, I only had tip wear and no chipping.


Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Rapid Red & Orly - Prisma Gloss Gold
- Sally Hansen purchased at Zehrs (chain grocery store) for $5.99 CDN
- Orly purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99 CDN

If you are looking for the perfect Xmas red, then get Rapid Red. It is the perfect red creme base (that requires only one carefully applied coat - yes, one single coat) for any holiday manicure. Like all the Insta Dri polishes, Rapid Red dries extremely quickly. However, the Insta Dri brush is quite large and may give some users a bit of grief. I, however, love this wide, flat brush, as it makes application super quick.

Top Rapid Red with three layers of Prisma Gloss Gold for a prismatic glitter sparkle. Be sure to really shake up the Prisma Gloss Gold, as all the glitter settles to the bottom of the bottle. However, the extra shaking is worth the effort, as this polish adds a beautiful twinkle to any manicure.

This manicure wore well - I had only tip wear after two days.


Zoya - Veruschka
- purchased at spaboutique.ca for $9.00 CDN

This season saw the revivial of the matte nail polish - a trend that was seen in the 90s. Almost every big nail polish manufacturer offered a matte collection and Zoya was no exception. Veruschka is from the Matte Velvet Winter 09 collection. I will admit that at first I was quite dubious when faced with the prospect of matte nail polish - I like me some shine! However, the trend has grown on me, obviously to the point where I had to try a few matte polishes of my own. Being the fan of green that I am, Veruschka, a spectacular shimmery green that is positively captivating on the nail, was my first purchase.

To use the matte polish, I applied a base coat to the nail, which I allowed to fully dry for five minutes. Normally, I only allow my basecoat to dry for 30s to a minute, but I wanted the polish to adhere well so I waited the extra time for the base coat to really dry. I used two easy-to-apply coats of Zeruschka to eliminate any streakiness. No top coat is added if the matte look is desired. However, I used top coat on my ring fingers just for a subtle difference (see the photo to the right to compare) and let me tell you, it is just as beautiful when shiny. A real winner - I can`t wait to try the other polishes in this collection.