My #4 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Merida!

Merida was released as part of the Zoya Urban Grunge collection for Fall 2016. There are six cremes and metallic holographic polishes (including this one) in the collection. I knew I had to pick up this green once I saw it. I also picked up a few more from the collection as well. You really need to try ZOYA polish if you haven't. They are so consistent with their formulas and their colors and finishes are so unique. Especially this gorgeous Merida! It opaque in two easy coats, the formula is perfect and the holographic shimmer is so beautiful! And it's just as easy to remove as regular polish. So what's not to love?

I don't have any comparisons for this polish in my collection!

I don't tend to wear holo polishes as a solo mani. I feel that can be a little overwhelming (in my opinion).  But, when used sparingly in nail art designs holos add SO much without being to overpowering. You know what I am trying to say? So, here is the design I created for this one. I think simple works well with a stunner like this one. And, it's so easy to do! 

Click on the link below for the full length tutorial. You can go polished for the New Year holiday too!

Nail Tutorial: Center Holo Stripe Design

-Go Polished

My #3 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Getting Groovy!

 Getting Groovy was released this winter as the namesake of the Essie Winter Collection for 2016. The formula of this polish really surprised me. It is the perfect blend of metallic and very fine gold glitter. It has just enough glitter as to not leave the appearance of lines, as often happens with metallic polishes. It is also SO great to use in nail art. I have really fallen in love!  It is opaque in two generous coats and shines even more with a glossy top coat. (I have HK Girl on top in the swatch below.) You need to hunt this one down, it's getting harder to find, so GO, NOW! :)

If you want to see comparisons for this polish please click on the link below where I have comparisons for the entire collection. I also have a link to my live swatch video in the post.

Essie Winter Comparisons Post

I really wanted to come up with a little less than traditional Christmas design because I have done some many traditional ones in the past. I came up with this. I love purple polish, especially with the shimmery gold and silver.

Do you want to go polished this holiday too?! Just click on the link below for a full length tutorial. I also have links to all the products I used listed in the description box of the video.

Nail Tutorial: Purple with Gold and Silver Christmas Tree Design

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

-Go Polished

My #2 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is.....

OPI Front Runner!

This green is everything!! The green polish is more on the yellow/green spectrum, but it has just enough blue in it as well, making it the perfect shade in my opinion. And, the formula is one coat of awesomeness. Unfortunately this polish is hard to find and I am regretting sticking it in my favorites just because of that reason :/. It was released as a limited edition polish, exclusive to Ulta from the OPI Fall/ Winter collection this year. . It's so pretty, and it's perfect for fall or the holidays. I am so glad I picked it up, but I don't think it is SO unique that you guys couldn't find something similar.

 So, I wanted to get some comparisons for you.  Here are the greens in my collection that are most similar. Now, keep in mind that greens tend to discolor in the polish bottle and what you see isn't necessarily what you get:). You will see what I am talking about when I get them on the nail (below), but here are the colors from left to right: Essie Stylenomics, China Glaze Near Dark, OPI Front Runner, ZOYA Hunter and Essie Off Tropic.

Now, also keep in mind that under my bright lights you will see slight differences made very clear. In natural light these differences aren't as noticeable. I don't have any exact dupes in my collection but, Stylenomics comes the closest. The only difference is Stylenomics is slightly more blue-toned and Front Runner is more yellow-toned. I wore these all for one day and they both looked pretty identical on the nail in a natural setting. (See below)

I also think OPI Christmas Gone Plaid from the Gwen Stefani collection will be pretty close- I don't have that one. I also saw +Young Wild and Polished post a picture of Nails Inc Bruton Mews a few days ago and it looked like a dupe, so check both those out! Seriously...check them out, you all need a dark green in your collection!

Okay, here is the nail design I came up with featuring the lovely Front Runner. I saw this "frosted berry" design created by @mirdinara on Instagram and knew I wanted to use it for a holiday design. It's just beautiful! She is so talented! I wish I could have done it more justice for her, (haha) but I did the best I could. I wish I could paint like her! Check her out.

Click on the link below for the full length tutorial! You can go polished this holiday too!

Nail Tutorial: Frosted Berry Design

Thanks for reading my blog, and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel :)

-Go Polished

My #1 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Wrenn Uncorked!

Look how stunning this polish is! It is so unique and so flattering on any skin tone, This maroon polish has a very fine shimmer that flashes from cranberry to slightly bronze/gold, and the formula is fantastic. You definitely need to try this one :)

Here is the design I created using this favorite. I wanted to keep it simple and classy, just to let the star of the design shine. What do you think?

Do you want to rock this design? You can go polished too,  just click on the link below for the full length tutorial. Check it out!

Nail Tutorial: Gold Christmas Tree Design

-Go Polished

My Winter Favorites for 2016!!

Here are my top ten for Winter 2016! It had a hard time finding colors from the new releases this year that I craved this season. So I picked a few good ones from my stash. I have a good mix of cremes and shimmers for this that are great for these cold month and the holiday season. Stay tuned for photos, live swatches and nail designs for each one in the coming weeks.

Below is the link to my video where I talk about each one. Go and watch!

My Winter 2016 Nail Polish Favorites

POLISHES:

Wrenn Uncorked

Essie Getting Groovy

Essie Gala-Vanting

OPI My Pal Joey

OPI Coca Cola Red

ZOYA Merida

Essie Hang Up the Heels

Essie Go With the Flowy

OPI Front Runner

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

Essie 'Getting Groovy' Winter 2016 Collection Comparisons!

This collection is really growing on me and I have a few ideas on how I want to use some of these colors in some nail art designs! Did you watch my live swatch and review of the entire collection?!

 If you haven't, click on the link below.

Essie Winter 2016 Live Swatch and Review Video

Alright now let's get to the comparisons: 

Go With The Flowy- a gorgeous pale dove gray color with silver and blue shimmer/fine glitter. 

I have nothing in my collection that compares to this, so you might want to snag this one! I did want to have a photo with Now and Zen (new from the Essie Fall 2016 collection), just so you could see how much lighter and cooler GWTF is.

Getting Groovy- A gold metallic with yellow gold fine glitter.

While Good As Gold looks like the same color in the bottle, the shimmer in Getting Groovy makes it more of a yellow gold than a white gold. And of course GAG is a metallic with no shimmer. I have to say that I have already used Getting Groovy in some nail art designs (for Chirstmas) and it goes on SO amazingly smooth. I will be picking up a back-up bottle for sure. I LOVE this one so much! I also love GAG. They are both needed for sure!

And here they are close together on the nail. You can see that GAG is more of a white gold. They really aren't the same at all.

Oh Behave!- A mauve pink with a strong gold metallic shimmer.

Well Essie did it again with a unique polish. While this one isn't one that I would naturally gravitate towards, it is growing on me. I did want you to see it next to Eternal Optimist just because if you love that color, than you will most likely love Oh Behave. It seems like OB is EO and with gorgeous gold shimmer added. I have nothing in my collection that compares to this at at all.

Satin Sister- A green toned teal

It was pretty hard to capture the slight difference in these polishes. They all look pretty much the same, but Satin Sister is more green toned than The Perfect Cover-up and CIA. I have heard SS is basically the same as Go Over board (a polish I don't have in my collection). While SS isn't too original, the formula is fantastic if you are looking for a nice winter teal. Just make sure you wear a base coat because it stains slightly.

Here is a close up on the nail. You can see the differences a little better here, but my camera still had a hard time capturing the green tone of this teal.

Party on a Platform- A pink toned red polish with fantastic formula.

Another red...but the formula is great. Pretty much the exact color as Jump in My Jumpsuit and SO many other Essie reds. But, if you are needing to add a red to your collection at the moment, this is a good one!

Ready to Boa- A brown based polish with burgundy and gold metallic shimmer.

I don't have any Essie's like this in my collection. I have heard that Essie Decadent Dish is very close though and I don't have that one. The closest I could find was OPI Muir Muir on the Wall. They aren't the same, but are pretty similar. I also pictured Carry On here because the base colors are very similar and it gives you a good idea of the tone RTB. 

Here you can see the diffences of these two polishes a little closer up. MMOTW has more of a black base and a raspberry and gold shimmer while RTB has more of a brown base with burgundy and gold shimmer. In natural light you can't really see a difference between the two. Both are very gorgeous colors. :)

That's all for comparisons. Are there any you want to add to your collection. What are your overall thoughts about this collection?

-Go Polished

Essie Fall 2016 Colleciton Comparisons

I am falling more and more in love with this collection you guys! It's such a great balance of lights and darks, the formulas are great, and most of the colors have just the right amount of dustiness to them. Which I love this time of year. Have you picked any up yet?

I have a full review and live swatches of all six polishes on my YouTube channel. If you haven't see it, click on the link below.

Essie Fall 2016 Collection: Live Swatch and Review

Okay, let's get into the comparisons for each one.

Go Go Geisha- a soft, dusty rose nude polish. It really is a pretty neutral shade. I love it!

Here it is compared to similar polishes in my collection. OPI's Don't Boss Nova Me Around is just about the same color tone (maybe a little more tan), but it's a few shades lighter. I'm Gown for Anything is more purple toned and doesn't have the dustiness that Go Go Geisha has. 

A closer look at the three.

Now and Zen- a dusty gray with a touch of warmth.

Doing this comparison made me realize that I need more gray in my life! These are the only similar shades I have. You can see that CG Intelligence, Integrity & Courage is more cool toned, and Petal Pushers has much more blue (while still being gray). I love the warm tone of Now and Zen on my warmer skin tone. It's beautiful!

A closer look at the two closer shades. You can see the warmth when compared to I,I & C.

Udon Know Me- a dusty and soft dreamy blue. This polish also has a touch of warmth to it. One of my favorites :)

At first I thought it would be very similar to Truth or Flare, but as you can see it's softer and warmer. It's very similar to First View. First View does have a slight shimmer to it and is slightly cooler. 

Here's a closer look at FV and UKM. I personally like UKM better because the warmer tone looks better with my skin tone. They are both beautiful though!

Playing Koi- a warm, rusty and dusty orange. Another one of my favorites from the collection:).

I fell in love the OPI's It's A Piazza Cake last year and thought they might be dupes but... they aren't. Comparing the two together made me push IAPC aside for Playing Koi. It's much richer and slightly more red toned. Well done Essie, this one is SO original! I added Yank My Doodle (which is new this fall too) just so you could see how orange the others are. It also let's you see the mauve tones in Yank My Doodle.

Here's a closer look. Wow! I just love PK SO much. Can't wait to actually wear it!

Maki Me Happy- a slightly dusty red with purple undertones.

Maki Me Happy seemed very close to Gala-Vanting, but Gala-Vanting surprisingly has even more purple undertones when applied to the nail. MMH almost identical to the cult favorite OPI Magnala Wine. While they both have great formulas, they are different. I added Bahama Mama so you can see that all these polishes lean purple, but not as much as BM does.

A closer view of these three. 

Kimono Over- a deep dusty purple. Another of my favorites, it's a great color for fall.

Here it is next to Turn 'n Pose and as you can see it's much darker. It is very, very similar to OPI's Grape Affair. So if you have that one, pull it out this fall!

Here's a closer look at KO and AGA. AGA is slightly brighter and not as dusty, but it's very, very close. In regular indoor light they are identical.

What a great collection! I hope you guys found those comparisons helpful! Let me know what shades you will be wearing this fall. I would love to see how you are going polished! :)

-Go Polished