Y’all! I’m actually going to do my January birthstone posts right in a row today. I had planned to spread them out a bit more, but you all know how my “plans” go — ha, ha! It’s the same old story for me: Work remains busy. As a result of that, Life remains busy. Blogs get pushed to the background, unfortunately. My pre-scheduled posts, so far, have been going okay. I wanted to get a couple ready to post last week, but I was only able to pre-schedule my Saturday post. Womp-womp. Even so! At least I got one thing pre-scheduled. I am calling that a win for my disorganized self.
Anyhow, we aren’t here to hear me yap about my life challenges. We are here at the tail end of January to talk about some January birthstone polishes. When I think about January, the one gemstone that immediately springs to mind for me is Garnet. So, that is the stone I decided to focus on for my January posts.
This is one of my very favorite garnets from my own collection. It is a Rhodolite Garnet, and I ended up setting it in a rose gold setting. Rhodolites are generally a purplish-red color, although mine is mostly red in pretty much every type of lighting. Every so often, I can catch the purple undertones in this stone. But I have to look quickly for them! This may mean that my particular stone is somewhat less valuable as a “Rhodolite”, but I could not care less. I fell so hard for this stone from the first moment I saw it, and I treasure its vivid, strong color.
For general Garnet information, my limited internet sleuthing uncovered that red is the most common (and probably most expected) color for Garnet, but this stone comes in a wide variety of colors, such as orange, pink, peach, yellow, blue, purple, and even brown. The “Garnet” designation encompasses several different varieties and species of stone, and some stones are even hybrids between multiple species. Garnets have a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, so they are a wonderful stone to use in a variety of jewelry.
Okay! Let’s jump into my mainstream Garnets! As I said in the beginning of this post, I mostly focused in on the reds, since I think red is the color most people associate with Garnet. Plus, it’s the predominant color in my own favorite Garnet beauty! I have 10 mainstream polishes to share in this post.
First up is China Glaze, Conduct Yourself.
This would make for a very deep, dark, brooding garnet. All of my garnets are faceted, as that’s the type of gemstone I tend to love. I’m all about the sparkle, y’all! But Garnets are also sometimes cut and polished as cabochons. I could see this color making for a beautifully bold, statement piece cabochon!
China Glaze, Haute Blooded.
Wow, Mama! This polish, to me, makes for a gorgeous Garnet. Look at how deep and red it is. I love the depth of color on this one. Plus, once you top it with a glossy topcoat, you even have that bit of sparkle and shimmer.
China Glaze, Modern Auburn.
This polish is another very deep, very red Garnet. I find a tiny bit of brown in the undertone of this one, and I think that’s also fitting for this type of gemstone.
China Glaze, Now or Nova.
Aaaaaaah! I can’t even with this polish, y’all. Seriously. Can’t. Even. It is so pretty that words pretty much fail me. But this photo made me think “Garnet” right away when I was looking through my pictures and putting this post together. It has that depth of red I like in this gemstone. But it also has a tiny bit of orange shift to it. My own Garnet can sometimes shift between colors, so I feel like this shifty quality also makes this one a winner!
China Glaze, Rock ‘n’ Royale.
Here, we have a Garnet red that is deep, dark, and luscious. But it also has a brightness to it that feels representative of the glow or sparkle you can get from these gems. I love this polish. It is so, so rich and perfect.
OPI, Cantaberry Have Some Fun.
This is an older OPI polish in my stash. I don’t wear this one often, but I really should pull it out more. Just look at how pretty it is. And this one has “Garnet” written all over it, in my opinion. I love the depth of color and how very red this polish is. But this one also has that bit of purple undertone to it that makes me think “Rhodolite” when I look at it. And look at that bit of sparkle from the shimmer!
OPI, Can’t Read Without My Lipstick.
This pretty polish would work for Ruby as well as it does for Garnet. I think the deep, rich red color tone drops it right into both of those categories. This is another polish I don’t wear often — mostly because it’s red. But I need to rethink my feelings toward reds, y’all. I feel so happy when I look at photos of these polishes. I really need to wear this color tone more often!
OPI, I’m Not Really a Waitress.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say this is probably one of the most well-known and most iconic OPI red polishes. This is another beautiful, shimmery red that works equally well as a Ruby or a Garnet. I love the brightness, boldness, and shimmer in this polish.
OPI, Let Your Love Shine.
This is a Garnet beauty that has shimmer and sparkle galore. I love the orange-toned golds in this polish. And I love the depth and richness of the red. This is another Extremely Good Red from OPI, and we all know that brand is the Queen of Reds!
OPI, Prune Danish.
This is another red that makes me think “Garnet” because of the depth and strength of color. It is so luscious and elegant. I can see some purples in this polish, too.
THE WRAP-UP:
So that’s a “wrap” for my mainstream Garnets. What about all of you? What is your favorite color or type of Garnet? Do you have any beautiful Garnet-looking polishes in your stash? Do you have any of the polishes in this post? I would love to hear all about your favorites and your thoughts!
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