Top Ten of 2011

Hey gals, today I have a little something in store for you. Everyone seems to be doing top 10 or 20 or 25 of their favorite polishes of the year, but I can't narrow down... and also, as I was putting my stash away in my new Helmers, I discovered so many pretties I obtained this year that narrowing it down would be nearly impossible with them all fresh in my mind. Instead, I decided to give you my top 10 discoveries/favorite products of 2011 :)

10. E-tailers/online polish hunting: the day I discovered transdesign.com was a sad day for my wallet. Shortly thereafter came polish hunting on amazon.com, nailderoyale.com, buyincoins.com, ebay.com, harlowandco.org, shop.llarowe.com, etsy.com, and many more. Polish hunting from my cozy computer chair in my PJs?! Yes please! I've found some great goodies and brands this way, as well as nail polish jewelry - win!

9. Zoya: maybe this is just me, but when I first started becoming interested in polish (sometime in 2010), the brands were OPI, China Glaze, and whatever I found at the drug store. Zoya came along in 2011 when I realized they had great customer service and amazing promos. Their polishes are great quality and some of my favorites for the year were from Zoya (I'm looking at you, Feel collection).

My first three Zoyas, can you guess which (or find the old post)?

8. Stamping: when I was younger, I got what I now know to be a stamping machine. I was probably about 9, and it was this complicated machine that you put a plate in, and it had various stages of a design (for example, the white part of a candy cane and the red part separately) and you would put your finger inside and then twist it to get the designs on in the same place. It was a pain in the butt, but I'm sad now that I can't find it, because from all the stamping plates I acquired in 2011, I'm sure I could have had some fun and been unique in the stamping world!

One of my first attempts at stamping for Valentine's Day, I had a long way to go ;)

7. Good top coats: prior to 2011, or maybe even 2010, I didn't even use top coat. In my nail biting days, top coat was my only polish! But when I wore color, rarely did I go through the process of base and top coat. In 2011, though, I discovered what a difference a good top coat can have on a de-grittifying a glitter, prolonging a holo, or just finishing off a mani. My favorites are OPI top coat and NYC In a New York Minute fast drying top coat, but I have many more waiting for me to try!

6. Lex Cosmetics: another great discovery this year: Lex Cosmetics! The premise really drew me in: I loved that fans made the polish story, composition, and name and Lex would make the most popular (by vote). I also love that $1 of each polish goes to charity. I'm excited to say that in 2012, my polish is being made (look out for Tuilleries) and I cannot wait!

Lex Cosmetics Seashell

 5. Lynnderella: I bet a lot of you are surprised Lynnderella is #5 and not #1! Well, she definitely holds a special place in my heart and I will forever be a fan of hers, so long as she never starts a line of shimmers or duochromes *shivers* The Glittering Crowd would have definitely been in my top 5 favorite polishes of this year!

4. Twitter: even though I had twitter before this year, this was the first year I realized how valuable it could be! I've met some great gals on twitter, and great people to talk to, including: Jacqui, Radha, Jamie, Steph, Mandy, Amanda/Melissa, Nicole, Dana, Arlyn, Amanda, Robyn, and on and on and on. When I have 5 minutes at work, I check twitter - and it's all because of these lovely ladies and the way they cheer me up.

3. Linear holo: this was a huge discovery for me this year. I remember stumbling upon the OMG collection at the beginning of the year thinking "oh, that's cool" and by the end of the year I was like "OMG I NEED OMG." and I've accumulated a few :) Since then, Glitter Gal, Nfu Oh, Hits, and various others have entered my world and it's a very welcome addition!

Nfu Oh 65

2. Helmers: my dear, dear boyfriend got me two of these for Christmas and they've changed my stash, seriously. I feel so much better and more organized just having them in my room. They look so nice and organized, it's been a welcome change (Thank you, Brandon!!!!).

1. Rainbow glitters: did you all see this coming? I hope so! This was THE YEAR of rainbow glitter, and my stash flourished. I did a post back in the day comparing all my glitters, but since then I've at least doubled my stash of rainbow glitters. Every brand has their take on it, so trust me when I say I own pretty much all of them. If you ever encounter a rainbow glitter, know that I will lovingly accept and use it ;) My favorite of the year? Lynnderella The Glittering Crowd (see, that's why she wasn't #1...).

Just four of the many I own

What do you guys think? Which of my top 10 do you agree/disagree with? What would you add?

xoxo,
Amanda