I am a *huge* fan of vampies. To avoid having a top 20 list made up almost entirely of them, I decided to pick only one. Surely, that would have been an insurmountable task but Zoya Casey is so incredible that the choice took only seconds. In my original post concerning this color I wrote:

“Holy &*%^. Zoya Casey is by the far the prettiest vampy I’ve ever seen, ever. It’s a deep deep deep deep jelly-like ultra glossy plum with a red base. The color is an ‘almost black’ which normally would irritate me to no end but there is just something alluring about this color, dramatic and intense. My ultimate test for nail polish is whether a color makes me continuously stare down at my nails. Casey definitely caused some major mani rubbernecking. Despite my nail polish ADD, I didn’t want to remove Casey. This is one for the top 20 list for sure.”

And like I predicted then, it did make it on to the list. Love this color.

Alright, today we’ll be resuming The Top 20 Polishes of All time countdown. For a recap of the colors so far check out the Top 2o (2008) category.

Number 13 is China Glaze For Audrey. I wore For Audrey last Halloween. I was dressed as Marie Antoinette and the costume was a similar shade of blue. This color was released in 2007 as a Limited Edition polish in honor of Audrey Hepburn. Fittingly, For Audrey is a nearly true Tiffany Blue. A true match is unlikely because, apparently, Tiffany & Co. holds a color trademark on their famous blue.

The minute I saw the promotion for this color I simply had to have it. Now… I’m going to impart some information that many of you may find shocking. I don’t particularly care for Audrey Hepburn. I’ve only seen portions of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and didn’t really care for the film either. And… I really, really dislike Tiffany & Co. jewelry. My point is that I love this unique color for the actual color and not for anything that China Glaze intended for it to represent. There is just something extraordinary about For Audrey. It will always have a special place in my collection (even though it does absolutely nothing for my skin tone).

OPI La Boheme was my NOTD a few months back.¹ This color is a major favorite among nail polish enthusiasts but it never really called my name. Shimmery, sparkly reds just aren’t my thing.

Then one day, for no particular reason at all, I decided to pick one up. I can see why everyone loves it. It’s very pretty, but to me it’s just another sparkly red.

La Boheme was released in 2003 as a part of the very glitzy Holiday on Broadway collection. That collection featured a few sparkly and glittery low intensity duochromes. La Boheme has the reputation for having two versions in existence, like OPI Black Tie Optional, one version is a high intensity duochrome that changes from red to amber, the other version only has a slight duochrome effect.

I believe mine is a dud. Everyone warned me to watch out, lest I be distracted by the sparkly duochrome-y-ness while driving. It was very beautiful and I admit I starred down at my nails during a few red lights, but I just didn’t see the magnificence that other people see.

Happy Holidays everyone!

OPI Up Front & Personal is a glitzy sheer light gold toned multi-colored micro-glitter that flashes green and pink. This color is a tough one to pull off. It looks gorgeous in the picture but it was less flattering in person, although, I wouldn’t say that I didn’t like it on myself. I think it would probably work wonderfully as a layering polish. This swatch is 1 coat of OPI Start to Finish base coat, 4 coats of color, 1 coat Seche Vite.

I got an email from a British nail polish enthusiast that was having trouble finding bright pink Zoya swatches online. She wants to find a replacement for her favorite color, Nails Inc. Walton Street, which has been discontinued. These are the colors she requested.

Zoya Gweneth, a crimson creme that pulls towards pink, is my second favorite from this set of swatches. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.

Zoya Jewell is a bright hot pink with very subtle purple shimmer that adds dimension to the color. It’s so subtle you can’t even see it in the pictures. It’s nearly invisible in real life too, however, I haven’t seen it outside so it is possible that the shimmer pops in the sunlight. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.

Zoya Morgan is my favorite from this set of swatches. I’m usually not a huge pink fan but this one, I LOVE. I’d call this creme, Hollywood Cerise (as per wiki haha).  This one has exceptional application, perfect in 2 coats but I preferred adding a 3rd.

Zoya Trinity is a hot magenta with purple flash shimmer. It has a metallic-y feel to it but I wouldn’t label it as such. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.

For any one who has made requests in the past, I apologize for the lengthy delays. I promise I will have all requests up soon, bear with me. Also, I haven’t gotten a chance to reply to comments in the last few posts yet but I will soon. : )

(Sounding like an infomercial in 5…4…3…2…) Misa is offering you guys a really great deal. 1 free polish of your choice, you only have to pay a flat rate $3.00 shipping and handling fee. If you want to pick up more bottles while you’re at it, Misa will give them to you for $1.50 a pop at a maximum of 12 polishes. Meaning if you decide to order 12 polishes, their total price is $23.50 because the 1st bottle is free + 11 bottles x 1.50 + $7.00 for shipping. If you decide to order less than 12 shipping will be somewhere between $3.00 and $7.00. The offer is good until January. All you have to do is call them at 1- 888-733-6472 or email them at info@misacosmetics.com, tell them what colors you want, and mention that you saw this offer on The Polish Addict (or Scrangie.com since she’s also participating in this offer.) You can check out all my Misa swatches here. If anyone does end up taken advantage of this offer, I’d love to hear about what colors you’ve decided to order!

Many girls steer clear of Essie’s soft colors. I, however, compulsively buy them. I just can’t stop myself. The result is a drawer full of off white, taupe, nude, and a soft pink Essies that I only occasionally dig out for use. I’m always pleasantly surprised by how much I like these colors on myself. Essie Pound Cake doesn’t look like much in the bottle but it’s very chic on the nail. It’s a beige creme with a slight tinge of smokey muted pink. I would refer to it as a borderline mushroom-y color. The application wasn’t amazing, but not horrible. This mani is 1 coat Essie First Base base coat, 4 coats of color, and 1 coat seche vite. I really loved it.

Completely unrelated to this great color, I’m taking a small pseudo-hiatus until mid January. I’m sure many of you have noticed that I’ve been doing a lot of one-polish posts lately. I’ve been working on a few polish related side projects that, along with my internship, have taken up all my free time. I’m going to keep posting more or less in the same manner that I have been, i.e. NOTD posts, the Top 20, etc. but I won’t be able to cover large collections for a little while. I have a tone of collections to cover for you guys once things quiet down a bit, so I hope you’ll stick with me through this period of meagerly posting. I also want to apologize a head of time, many of the NOTDs for the next few weeks are going to be professional colors again. In any case, everything will go back to normal shortly.

It’s pretty rare to find a color that looks so abhorrent on me that I can’t manage to wear it for a full 24 hours. Usually, if I do encounter one, it’s shimmery. I think this might actually be the very first time in the history of my obsession with nail polish that I’ve encountered an unwearable creme, OPI Pink of Hearts 2. Let me quantify that statement, I don’t think this color is inherently unattractive. I think if my skintone were lighter, if my nails were less yellow-stained, and if they were shorter so as to not reveal as much VPL, this color would look okay, maybe  even very good. However, the condition my nails are in right now is just not conducive to successfully rocking this color.

With all that said, even though I’m 2 months late with this post, purchasing this color is for a good, deserving cause. OPI donates $25,000 every year to Susan G. Komen for The Cure. I don’t believe the donation is tied to the purchase of the polish but I still think it’s an excellent way to show support for the search for a cure to breast cancer. Last year’s Pink of Hearts was gorgeous so I have high hopes for next year’s installment, assuming OPI continues to relaunch variations of Pink of Hearts for breast cancer month. This mani was 1 coat OPI Start to Finish base coat, 4 coats of Pink of Hearts (it’s very very sheer, but not streaky), and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

So, let me take a second to shamelessly plug some Zoya products. I am really, really, bad at buying gifts so I enjoy prepackaged gift sets like no other. I figured I would share some of Zoya’s pre-packaged gift sets for my gift adverse readers out there.

Zoya has a slew of these little mini polish and lip gloss box sets, adorable. These feature Zoya’s best selling polishes and a matching lip color. These little sets are perfect as stocking stuffers or as small gifts for the polish addict in your life (haha). Clockwise: The Enchanted Evening Set – Zoya Evageline & Hot Lips Starlet, The Sugar Plum Party Set – Zoya Casey & Hot Lips Visa, The Red-E To Go Set – Zoya Dianna & Hot Lips Disguise, The Opposites Attract Set Zoya Raven & Hot Lips Sparkle.

Next up, Zoya’s manicure sets. On the left we have the Qtica set. It comes with a large bottle of Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator, Qtica cuticle repair balm (which I love), and mini bottles of Qtica Extending Top Coat and Qtica Half Time Polish Drying Accelerator. On the right we have the Zoya Treatment Cube which includes minis of Zoya Armor, Zoya Anchor, and Zoya Hurry Up.  The Zoya Treatment Set retails for $12, so I really recommend it for anyone who wanted to try these but didn’t want to shell out a lot of money without knowing for sure that it would be worth it (which it is).

I’ll share these sets even though they are outside the normal realm my expertise. These are great if you need to buy gifts and also need an excuse to place a Zoya order. The Gift Spa set on the left comes with Grapefruit Surprise Sugar Scrub, Grapefruit Surprise Luxury Lotion, Grapefuit Surpise Shower Gel and little set of shower gloves. The Gift Spa set on the left includes Lemon Dream Sugar Scrub, Lemon Dream Luxury Lotion, Lemon Dream Shower Gel, as well as a little set of shower gloves. Both of these sets smell delicious. My Mother *loved* them.

Finally, Qtica Hands & Feet Set and Qtica Feet Set. On the left is the Hand & Feet set which includes Qtica Foot Repair Balm and Qtica Hand Repair Balm. On the right is the Qtica Feet Set which includes Qtica Foot Repair Balm and Qtica Foot Scrub. I’m a pretty big fan of Qtica’s moisturizers, these are no exception.

These sets are all available under the holiday set section of the Zoya and Qtica areas of the Art of Beauty website, respectively.

Now, I know what you all are thinking, “Why is stopping the countdown!!??” Well… I reached a color that I haven’t photographed yet but also I wanted to share a recent discovery.

Behold:

There is no need to adjust your monitor. This is actually a frosty with NO visible brush strokes. I know, it’s shocking. I didn’t think I would ever find one in my life time and yet here it is in all its non-brush stroke-y glory. The one downside, at least for me, is that this very flattering light muted minty green is less metallic than other frosties. Still though, this color is very unique, very pretty. This mani 1 coat base coat,  3 coats color, 1 coat Seche.

(Adorée is available from Esther’s Nail Center in the U.S. and Pro Nail Store in Europe, specifically Sweden.)

I’m following the unloved OPI The “It” Color with the ridiculously loved China Glaze Ruby Pumps. I actually surprised myself by deciding to put this on the list. I resisted buying this color for eons. Everyone constantly raved about it and I just didn’t see what the big deal was all about. I hate to say this, but I even had a little bit of disdain for this color because it was so popular. China Glaze Ruby Pumps is like the Da Vinci Code of the nail polish world. It’s the same reason I don’t own OPI I’m Not Really A Waitress. In any case, I did not fully understand or appreciate how disgustingly gorgeous this color is until I purchased a bottle. I got it inadvertently because I really wanted China Glaze Emerald Sparkle and Ruby Pumps came in the set. I found that pictures simply don’t do it justice which is part of the reason why I wasn’t able to understand all the raves.

Ruby Pumps is stunning, plain and simple. The bright red glitter under the jelly red base has a complexity that just does not translate well into photographs. If you’ve been fighting the Ruby Pumps lemming like I once did, stop it. Get a bottle right now. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

I drool all over myself when I find a truly unique color. It’s a pretty rare occurrence, but every once in a while it happens. I know many of you will be surprised to see this color on the list. It wasn’t popular with the masses, probably because it’s very ‘out there’ but that’s why I love it.

This truly gorgeous dirty mustard yellow reminds me of run ways and high fashion. In a perfect world, colors like this would be staples for everyone. Until then, I’ll keep drooling for these rarities.

As a meaningless side note, I tend to associate certain polishes with whatever was going on in my life the day I wore it. I wore The “It” Color while studying for finals last spring, specifically I was studying Criminal Procedure Police Practices. I remember constantly staring down at my nails which significantly hampered my study efforts. You can read the original post on this color here.

Some girls will trample innocent people to get their hands on Chanel Le Vernis. Me? Um… not so much. Chanel is overrated. 99.5% of their colors are boring and the wear is not exceptional for the price tag. Excluding the amazing but impossible-to-find Chanel Holographic (which wasn’t released in the U.S. because why would they ever release something actually worth buying in the U.S.), I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Chanel that made me jump out of my seat… until I saw Chanel Kaleidoscope.

Kaleidoscope is the quintessential non-glitter ultra-bling polish. It’s like ultra-bling all grown up. The blinginess is more subtle indoors, it becomes a mirrored greenish platinum in indirect lighting. If you only ever buy one Chanel, it has to be this one.

Of course, this color was ‘Limited Edition’ as per Chanel’s modus operandi of creating articifical hype for their polish -insert eye roll- so sadly, it’s probably no longer available in stores. If you want it, you’ll either have to turn to evilbay scalpers and shell out absurd amounts of money for it or  you can settle for one of the very worthy alternatives.

One my favorite sites is the consumer watch dog blog The Consumerist. For polish addicts bad sellers are a huge problem. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear some horror story about someone buying nail polish from an unscrupulous seller. It’s time for us to fight back. I’m going to start a category called ‘Buyer Beware’ that is listed in my link bar below my logo. In this section I will post any stories you send me about purchasing experiences. It can be anything, a rude sales associates, misrepresented auctions, or any problem you might experience. This is meant as a way to keep consumers informed and to keep a check on bad sellers.

Lilacs and lavenders always look horrible on me but I wear them anyway. I just love lilacs and I always will. Of all the lilacs I’ve accumulated in my effort to find one that does not make me look undead, Orly Bon Bon comes out on top as my favorite.

My original review of this color explains my love for Bon Bon extensively. Since I can’t possibly give a better explanation for why this color is so deserving of being on this list, I’ll leave you with a brief quote from my original post (but I recommend reading the whole thing if you are not convinced.)

“[To] my astonishment, I found that [Orly Bon Bon is] actually a really gorgeous, ethereal color. Honestly, I could not stop staring down at my mani, that’s how other-worldly it looked on my nails. If angels wore nail polish, this would be their go-to shade.”