October is 2 days old, you guys! Can you believe it?!?!? I honestly can’t. I think it is madness that September flew by so quickly, and that it is now October. And that October is already 2 days old before I realized it, which means this month will also fly by much too quickly. All of that probably made no sense at all once I typed it out loud. But it made perfect sense in my rambling brain. Scary!
I am doing a Topic Tuesday today! Yay!!! I’m pretty excited about this, because it has been a while since I’ve done one of these.
Todays topic is: What are your favorite drugstore polishes in your collection? And the above graphic is a collage of mine. On the top row, L to R: My sweet pup, Shiner, who looks so adorable when he is sleeping … mostly because it means he is not getting into trouble. Haute Koffee … Blue La La … and Flip Tease. On the bottom row, L to R: Cinderella … Namaste the Night … Copper Pot … and Courtney Orange.
Going into this topic, I knew I would only have Sinful Colors polishes for this answer. Sinful Colors is pretty much the only true “drugstore” brand I purchase. I sometimes purchase China Glaze or OPI at my local drug store, if they have something that interests me or catches my eye. But I don’t consider those brands to be true bargain-basement, “drugstore” brands. And, by the way, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with drugstore polish. Drugstore brands put out some beautiful colors and some fabulous formulas, too! Plus, they are a great price, which means it is easy to treat yourself to a little pick-me-up if you’re having a bad day or something. In my younger years, I bought a lot of Revlon, Loreal, and Sally Hansen, as well as Sinful Colors. When I got back into nail polish a few years ago, the only drugstore brand I gravitated back to was Sinful Colors. I had such great memories from this brand, and I think that is why I went in search of it when I started collecting as an adult.
Let’s jump into the colors! Because, really, that’s why we are all here, isn’t it? Yep!!
Haute Koffee released in 2016 as part of the Kylie Jenner Trend Matters Collection. Remember how there were several fairly large Kylie collections (or should I say “kollections” — ha, ha!) throughout 2016? That was a crazy amount of polish! I see this polish is a blackened purple-red. It has a great formula that is opaque in 2 easy coats, and it dries matte.
I do not love this polish matte. First of all, you guys know I don’t love any polish matte. I am a girl who needs the shiny! But, in particular, I feel the prettiest parts of this polish are lost when it has a matte finish. I mean, just look at that beautiful shimmer! It seems to glow off the nail, like mysterious embers or something. I love how dark and vampy this polish is. I also love how luxurious it looks on the nail, and all for the price of around $3!
Blue La La originally released in the Summer 2014 Chill Out Collection. This polish is a beautiful, slightly muted periwinkle. It has a fantastic creme formula that is opaque in 2 easy-peasy coats.
This polish always reads more blue to my eye than what I think of as a true “periwinkle”. Even so, you can see some purple undertones in here. For me, this is a calm and serene color that goes with pretty much everything. I love how it looks on my nails and against my skin. I love how it looks fabulous under nail art. I pretty much just love everything about it.
Flip Tease originally released in the 2017 Kandee Johnson Vintage Anime Collection. It is a turquoise with a subtle pink shimmer. This one has a decent formula. It isn’t perfect, as it tends to streak. But it is workable and buildable. I generally like this polish in 3 coats.
I freaking LOVE the color of this polish. It is light, airy, and almost powdery in appearance. The shimmer is not overly apparent on the nail. I wish it showed a little more, but even that can not dim my love for this one. I feel like this is pretty close to my “perfect” turquoise color. Seeing it on my nails makes me happy, happy, happy.
Cinderella is a pale, gray-toned, pastel blue with pink-orange shimmer running throughout. I hate to say it, but this polish has a terrible formula. It is on the thin side, and it tends to streak. I generally need 3-4 coats with this one before I am satisfied with the overall look.
So why is this on my favorites, you might ask? Because, after all, it has that terrible formula. And I do mean terrible. This polish is a diva and a half! You really have to struggle for the manicure. And yet, any time someone asks me what my favorite Sinful Colors polish is, this is the one that immediately pops into my mind. I don’t know what it is, but there is something I LOVE about this polish.
It is also a sentimental favorite for me. This is probably the first Sinful Colors polish I purchased when I was getting back into doing my nails. This is way before I thought about collecting or following collection releases or swatching or blogging or … *ahem* hoarding. I flipped for it when I saw it in the display. At the time, I was struggling hard with depression, so there were not many things in the universe that made me flip like that. I bought it and had to wear it immediately. I was OBSESSED with this polish for weeks. It was, literally, the only thing I wore. Because it made me happy. And I had forgotten how to feel happy for a long time.
Namaste the Night originally released in the 2017 Desert Divas Stoned Crystal Shimmer Collection. It is a deep, slightly red-toned plum with silver flakes. This polish has a great formula that is opaque in 2 easy coats.
Remember when this collection came out and everyone flipped a gear over Super Cooper? I feel like most of the rest of the collection kind of got ignored in all the hype over that gorgeous olive green. I loved several from the collection, including Super Cooper. But Namaste came out as my surprise favorite. And this beauty really did take me by surprise. It is unexpectedly dark and brooding on the nail. And the silver flakes give it a nice pop of interest. It makes me feel vampy and kind of mysterious when I wear it.
Copper Pot is an orangey-copper with a metallic finish. It has a great formula that is opaque in 2 easy coats and doesn’t show too many brush strokes.
To me, this is pretty much a perfect copper color. It is warm and seems to glow on the nail. I find it rich and elegant, and it works beautifully in all kinds of nail art. I am a big fan of copper polishes, as y’all know. And I think this one is one of the best in my entire stash. Now that’s saying something!
Courtney Orange is a medium-toned orange with gold shimmer. It has a great formula that is opaque for me in 2 easy coats.
This orange floors me every time I wear it. Which, granted, isn’t a LOT … because it’s an orange. But … damn!! It is so vibrant and gorgeous. I love the gold shimmer, which gives the polish such a rich look on the nail. This one makes me think of hard candy when I see it on my nails. It has that perfect sort of “glow” to it.
THE WRAP-UP:
Sadly, I don’t buy from Sinful Colors any more. I think it’s been over a year since I last purchased from the brand, and I ended up destashing quite a few during my swatch-a-palooza last year. I am still a fan of this brand. I love it. It’s a brand that can be hit-or-miss, like most mainstream brands. But you can’t beat the price point. I think Sinful Colors generally gives you great value for your money. I still have quite a few Sinful Colors in my stash, and they are much loved.
I fell down the indie polish rabbit hole hard. I seem to purchase more indies than anything else, and I am always planning to try new indie brands. I don’t find myself browsing drugstore displays as often as I used to. Also, my collection has grown quite a lot. So, when I do browse those displays, I usually find I already have polishes that are similar to those in the display. This makes it easier to talk myself out of purchasing things!
What about you guys? Do you have any drugstore polish favorites? I would love to hear all about them.
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