Nailz.

More recently, I have developed a nail polish obsession.So I think I shall write a post about my history with nail polish and then give some recs and favs. 

In my early days, all I cared about was those Bon Bon nail polishes...

I would beg and beg my mom to buy me a tiny bottle any time we went to Jewel Osco. They were incredibly crappy, but oh so adorable in their tiny bottles and fun, loud colors. 

Then through my pre-teen and high school years, I wore the popular OPI shades and other drug store finds. 

OPI is a fine brand, no offense to anyone, but I'm not impressed anymore. But back in high school, everyone wore OPI. Not terribly profound in any way, and I would wear the same coat for months, letting it chip and look nasty for far too long. I got manicures every couple months, apparently I was a pretentious 15 year old. One time, I went into the nail salon with "I <3 Kyle" on my hand (or whatever boy I was "dating" that week... which meant we awkwardly said hi to each other in the hall). The giggly lady at the salon asked if I wanted to write my "boyfriend"'s name on my nails with some fun hearts or some crap. Really? Thank goodness I didn't let her do that, it was bad enough that I was giving myself ink poisoning by writing on my stupid hand. Sigh. Pre-teen Kaitlin was lame. Oh well! Thankfully I've learned since then, about nail color and beyond.

Essie is my current fav. I love all of their shades! The quality is awesome, and who doesn't love their cute cube-shaped bottles? Essie is chic, yet modern and bold. Here are some of my current fav shades by Essie:

MASTER PLAN

Every gal needs that perfect shade of "greige"... that color in the no man's land between gray and brown and beige and whatever that color is. No matter what it's called, this shade is an essential staple for any girl's artillery. It is so neutral, professional, yet oh so chic. Essie has a few shades of this "greige", and there are countless posts and reviews of which is best, but I love Master Plan. So there.

FOR THE TWILL OF IT

This is a super fun newer (fall 2013) Essie shade, with its interesting luminosity and constantly-changing hue (depending on angle and light source). Though it may seem a little bold, it definitely can be more subdued in normal lighting, but it gives that pop of interest if you flail your arms around when you talk (like I do with my Sicilian gestures). 

WINTER 2013 COLLECTION

This winter's collection is pretty fab. My current obsession is Mind Your Mittens. It's that great navy/teal color - a deep, rich blue with that hint of green to make it an elevated navy. That pinker shade is mislabeled, it should be called Warm & Toasty Turtleneck, which I also love right now. It's a little bit more preppy for my current mood, but it's a nice purple/pink that is more modern than girly. I really want to get the Sable Collar shade, it looks haute. 

 HOLIDAY 2013 ENCRUSTED TREASURES COLLECTION

Now, this collection is not for everyone. It has tons of texture and unique aesthetic, which I find totally fun to experiment with once in a while. I have the featured black, Belugaria it's called, and the blue/silver one called On a Silver Platter. These are temperamental polishes, of course, as there are more moving parts than your traditional polish. You absolutely need the clear base coat, perhaps a base coat of regular color,  two coats of the encrusted treasures shade of your choice, then a top coat. With that being said, I usually opt to do just one accent nail on each hand of the encrusted polish. It has a really cool effect, though! I love them. I probably like the less-lumpy On a Silver Platter better, which I should mention. I would like to try the whiter Peak of Chic, because it does look awful chic. All in all, these are cool and funky and worth a try if you are getting bored of your regular polish routine!

And finally...

MIRROR METALLICS

I love this collection! I'm totally obsessed with Good as Gold. It is literally the most perfect gold polish ever. Take my word for it. It has all the goodness of gold polish without being too yellow or orange or loud. It is a neutral gold, with that nice metallic sheen that isn't too much.I also love the more rose gold color called Penny Talk. It is also neutral enough to be worn to work and whatnot, it just has that hint of pink that is cute. My only qualm with Penny Talk v.s Good as Gold is that I have pink-skinned hands that look at little too close to the Penny Talk shade, so it can look weird in some lighting. Oh well! It's still real purty.

So there you have it! I'm an Essie gal, no offense to any other brand out there, but Essie has some amazing shades and quality polish. I hope I convinced you on some of these shades, even the more bold options ;)

I hope to review some more shades soon, especially with warmer weather somewhere out there at some point. Stay tuned!