Birthstones 2021: September Sapphires (Mainstream)

Hey y’all!

I decided today to start a new monthly series for my blog, based on the birthstones for each month. Me, being me (of course — ha, ha!): I am starting a year-long series more than halfway through the year. So, the 2021 edition of this series will only have September through December in it. But oh well! It will still be fun to look at some pretty polishes in a different light, so to speak. I’m not sure what 2022 will bring for this series. I may only run it through next September, completing a whole year. Or, I may go all the way from January through December for 2022. I haven’t planned it out that far — yet. Again: This is Me … being ME.

So, we are in the midst of September — almost exactly at the middle, actually! It feels like a great time to take a look at the September birthstone. From my very brief internet wanderings, I deduced that Lapis Lazuli is an alternate September birthstone, and I may do another post for that gemstone before the end of the month. For this post, I am going to focus in on what is probably the best-known birthstone for September, and that is Sapphire.

Y’all may remember that Mama is something of a gemstone and jewelry nut, so I love Sapphire in all its many shapes, forms, and colors. And Sapphire does come in many different colors! You can find it in pretty much every color under the rainbow, except for red — because red sapphires are classified as Rubies. I have a gray-blue Montana Sapphire, an orange Sapphire, and a couple of yellow Sapphires in my own gemstone collection, and I found a beautiful pink Montana Sapphire for a jewelry project I created for my daughter’s 16th birthday. But, I have to admit the blues are my favorite. No surprise there, right? Right! I also think most people automatically think “blue” when they think “Sapphire”. So I decided to focus in on that color with this post.

As I was going through my stash looking for polishes that fit my objective feelings of “Sapphire”, I realized something: I’ve got a lot of polish, y’all! And I quickly realized something else: I’ve got a lot of blue polish, y’all! At that point, I decided to split my Sapphire posts down into mainstream and indie polishes. And, within my mainstream stash, I really only pulled from three brands: China Glaze, OPI, and Zoya. These three brands make up the bulk of my mainstream stash, and they are the mainstream brands from which I consistently collect polishes.

Okay! That was a LOT of background information, and I can already hear you saying, “So what, Pish? I just came here to look at the polish!” So … let’s look at the polish, already!

CHINA GLAZE:

I found 3 China Glaze polishes in my current stash that, for me, said “Sapphire”.

The first one is Blue-‘Ya!, which was part of the Fall 2016 Rebel Collection.

Within the world of colored gemstones, color is KING (in tandem with “cut”, of course!), and everyone likes different things. Some people prefer a dark and inky, nearly black tone of blue. Other people prefer a brighter, more “cornflower” sort of blue, and still others like a much lighter, icier “arctic”-looking blue. My own internet research indicated that the best color for blue sapphires is considered to be a strong to vivid velvety blue to violet-blue in a medium to dark color tone.

Blue-‘Ya! would be a darker, deeper blue for a Sapphire. To me, it has that deep and velvety sort of look, and the shimmers reflect light through every layer of manicure. For me, this looks like the way a deeper, darker Sapphire will catch and reflect the light.

Dorothy Who was originally part of the 2009 Wizard of Ooh Aahz Collection. I believe this is part of the core line now.

This is more toward the tone of blue I prefer for my blue Sapphires. (I should say my hypothetical blue Sapphires, as I don’t yet have any fabulous blues in my gemstone collection. Boo!) I tend to be drawn to blue Sapphires that are lighter in color tone. I still like the velvety look to them, but I prefer that they are not inky-dark.

Again, with this polish, I feel like it’s the reflections off of the glitters that makes me think “Sapphire” when I look at it. This color tone is what I would look for in a blue Sapphire, and the glitters represent the sparkle that you can see inside a well-cut stone.

Simply Fa-Blue-Less was part of the Summer 2017 Summer Reign Collection.

This is a non-glittery polish that still reminds me of Sapphire, probably because this is another color tone I would like in a blue Sapphire for myself. I think this is about as dark as I, personally, would go for my own jewelry-wearing pleasure. And it would have to be a really clean and well-cut stone. Still … isn’t this color just so pretty? I think so!

OPI:

It will probably come as no surprise that I had more OPI blues than China Glaze. This is probably because I have been buying and hoarding away OPI polishes for a lot longer than I have China Glaze. I really only discovered China Glaze as a brand back in 2014 or 2015, when I was just starting to get back into wearing and loving nail polish. For this post, I have a total of 7 OPIs to fulfill our Sapphire Dreams.

Chills are Multiplyin’ was part of the Summer 2018 Grease Collection.

This one might almost be too dark for a “Sapphire” color. It would be a deep and inky-blue sapphire, for sure! But, this polish has that velvety quality, as well as a lovely inner glow to intensify the “velvet” look of it.

Chopstix and Stones was part of the Spring 2019 Tokyo Collection.

This is another polish that falls more into the tone of blue I would personally look for in a blue Sapphire. It is slightly on the dark side, but it looks blue in every type of lighting. It also has a gorgeously velvety glow that would be beautiful in any Sapphire.

Eurso Euro was part of the Spring 2013 Euro Centrale Collection.

This would make for a deep, dark, and velvety Sapphire, for sure! It has a touch of purple to it, which is something you might see in a deeper blue Sapphire stone. I think this polish also has a “velvety” sort of appearance to it.

Give Me Space was part of the Holiday 2015 Starlight Collection.

I like this polish as a “Sapphire” look both because of the color tone and the little glitters running throughout it. These glitters give the polish a beautiful sparkle, which would happen as a blue Sapphire catches and reflects light from its facets. I also happen to love this color of blue. It might be slightly on the darker side of what I would pick for a Sapphire to wear in a setting, but I think I would happily wear a stone this color.

Nessie Plays Hide and Sea-k was part of the Fall 2019 Scotland Collection.

This polish is deep, dark, and somewhat “inky” for a Sapphire. But I feel it still falls within the Sapphire blue color spectrum. This polish has a beautifully velvety look to it, and I looove all the little glimmers and shimmers running throughout it from the teeny glitters. For me, these look like the reflections and sparkles you would see down inside a gorgeous Sapphire stone.

Road House Blues was part of the Fall 2011 Touring America Collection, although I believe this is may be part of OPI’s core line.

This polish is on the darkest side of blue for a “Sapphire” polish. But I know many people love their blue Sapphires this deep, dark, and inky. This polish definitely has that velvety look that is prized in Sapphires. It also has the purple tones that you can sometimes see in these stones.

Yoga-ta Get This Blue was part of the Spring 2008 India Collection.

As with some of the others in this post, this polish is somewhat darker than I would prefer in a blue Sapphire. But this polish has the velvety look that is prized in blue Sapphires, as well as a beautiful glow deep down in every layer of manicure. Also, if someone gave me a blue Sapphire that was this color … Well, I would not kick it out of bed for eating chips!

ZOYA:

The biggest surprise for me in this post was that I had just as many Zoya “Sapphires” as I did OPI. I was not expecting that, but my Zoya stash has grown like gangbusters over the past couple of years. In contrast, I have slowed down on purchasing OPI. I guess this is a sign my Zoya stash is starting to catch up! For this post, I have 7 Zoya polishes to share.

Dream was part of the Holiday 2013 Zenith Collection.

For me, this falls into that “perfect” Sapphire blue zone. It is on the darker end of my “perfect” zone, but it’s still in there, y’all! I love this shade of blue in a Sapphire. It is dark and slightly velvety, but will still be obviously blue in every type of lighting. The holographic sparkles are the icing on top of the cake for this one, as I feel it mimics the sparkles you can see inside a well-cut stone.

Ibiza was part of the Fall 2009 Dare Collection.

This polish would make for a deep, dark, and inky Sapphire, for sure. But look how velvety it is and how it glows. I have seen many very dark Sapphires that have this type of mysterious glow deep inside. And they are beautiful!

Jen was part of the Holiday 2019 Twinkling Collection.

This is another polish that would fall into my preferred/”perfect” blue Sapphire color zone, albeit on the darker end. Again, as with some of the other polishes in this post, this polish has a velvety look to it, coupled with a soft, slightly mysterious glow. And that is what makes me think “Sapphire” when I look at this beauty.

Mallory was part of the Fall 2016 Urban Grunge Collection.

This polish, to me, falls more into the lighter/brighter “cornflower” zone in terms of blue Sapphires. I would not typically think of this polish as a “cornflower” blue, but blue Sapphires in this color tone are often called by this descriptor. This color, for me, would be on the lighter end of the spectrum for a blue Sapphire, but it would make for a beautiful stone.

Meredith was part of the Holiday 2020 Intriguing Collection.

This would be a darker Sapphire than I would personally prefer to wear. Even so, I think this polish definitely says “Sapphire” to me when I look at it. The blue is deep, dark, and inky. And the shimmer/glitters make for a beautiful sparkle, just like you might see from such a dark stone, if the lighting was just right.

Mirajane was part of the Summer 2016 Ultra Brite Neons Collection.

This polish would make for a Sapphire that would be slightly too dark for my preferences. But, I think it definitely falls into the Sapphire color spectrum and look because of the purple undertones and the deep and dark look to it.

Song was part of the Fall 2012 Diva Collection.

We have finally reached the end of my mainstream September Sapphires! Woo Hoo! Song jumped out at me as a “Sapphire” polish because of the depth of color and the beautiful glow it has. Both of those remind me of Sapphires that are considered very fine and would be popular with many gemstone lovers.

THE WRAP-UP:

Okay! That was a lot of Sapphire happiness in one post! Keep in mind this whole thing is very subjective. These are the polishes in my stash that make me think of blue Sapphires when I look at them. Your mileage may vary, and that is the beauty of both nail polish and Life!

What about all of you? What are some of your favorite “September Sapphire” polishes? If you had to pick any type of Sapphire, what color would you choose? Personally, I find Sapphires gorgeous in every color. But, as I said in the beginning of this post, I have a strong preference for the blues, as that is my favorite color. I would love to hear all about what y’all think!