Top 16 Polishes of 2016

Hello all,

I hope you had a wonderful new years and ended 2016 happily. I myself spent new years eve relaxing and had a very calm day. I wanted to share with you today my top 16 nail polishes of the year 2016. Now some of these polishes were released in 2016 and others I just happened to discover in 2016. I do have a lovely mix of core collection colors and a few limited edition shades. I will be listing them in no particular order because I just can't pick a favorite among these easily. 

Three coats of Hookah Smoking Catepillar

Let me start with a lovely Indie polish, Hookah Smoking Caterpillar by Girly Bits. This gorgeous shade is from their "A Little Madness" collection that was inspired by the Alice through the Looking Glass movie that came out this year and it is amazing. I personally try to stay away from buying Indie nail polishes, I think they can be overpriced and you have to buy them online which can at times result in a color variance. But when I saw this shade, I did not want to wait for a sale or any reviews, I just bought it and am completely in love with it. This shade can be opaque in two or three coats depending on how thin your coats are. It has a very distinct duochrome of purple and blue plus lots of holographic microglitter that just add extra dimension to this shade. Personally I have been very excited about all things Alice in wonderland this year which brings me to the next polish in my top 16.

Two coats of Cheshire China with top coat.

This is Cheshire China from the Sinful Colors Live in Colorland collection. This shade is just a beautiful color but it also has a sentimental value to me because my good friend Liza, actually searched for this shade and sent it to me in Canada. It was just a very sweet gesture and I will always think of her kindness when I wear this color. This shade is a semi-matte finish and because of that, you can still manipulate it without it drying too fast. I however prefer to wear it with a top coat.

Two coats of Atlantic Mist with top coat.

This beautiful teal sage shade from Formula X is a surprising favorite for the year 2016. I had ordered this shade on a whim sometime in November and tried it out on my toes. I fell hard for this shade it is completely unique in my collection. It is a very light teal sage where in some lights you can see the more blue tone and in others you can see the grey-sage tones. It has a beautiful formula and glided on with ease. 

Two coats of Pouty

This next one should not be a surprise to anyone because I have reviewed this shade and talked about how much I love it. I got this beautiful shade from Pretty Woman in my Ipsy bag one month and online the pictures did not do it justice. This shade is a bright fuchsia that borders neon in my opinion and the formula is perfection. The brush on this particular shade is so unique and it very opaque and dries quickly. 

Two coats of Cherry Bean.

Continuing with Pretty Woman, I also had a chance to try out this gorgeous light taupe shade with a touch of purple undertones. This shade was my go to this year so something simple and flattering. This is part of their nudes collection which is designed to suit many skin tones and I definitely think this shade was well curated.

Two coats of Wine-O.

This is the last Pretty Woman polish to make the list and I just loved the shade so much I had to include it. This shade is actually a relatively new launch but this shade is absolute perfection for this time of the year. It is a beautiful mid-tone red with a lot of depth to the color without coming off as obviously dark. I think Pretty Woman nailed this shade and I can see myself reaching for it a lot in the future as well.

Three coats of Cashmere Sweater with top coat.

When I walked into Shoppers and saw this shade, I just knew I would love it. But when I got this on my nails, I was ready to go back and buy a back up even if it was at full price. I generally do not buy many Quo by Orly nail polishes as they can be very expensive and a lot of the colors do not excite me but this one I am very happy I bought. This shade is a lovely dusky purple, it is a lighter tone so it works very well as a fall or winter shade. The formula is alright, you may be able to get away with two coats but I prefer three.

Three coats of Enter Wonderland.

Three coats of Enter Wonderland with top coat.

This could possibly be my favorite polish of 2016, I even have a back-up of this. This is Enter Wonderland from Essence's Hidden stories collection. The formula is impeccable, completely opaque in two coats, I had to do three for my swatch because I nicked my nail while it was wet. This is marketed as a matte but it does not dry down crazy fast like a lot of mattes do, so you can manipulate this easily. Now, if you are familiar with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, you will know that it is a white base with a few drops of grey. This shade however is the complete opposite; it is a very light grey with a few drops of white. When I compare the two, they actually look like duplicates of each other but I prefer the Essence one.

One coat of Pink Satin.

Pink Satin is by no means a new shade to the Sally Hansen Xtreme wear line but it was certainly new to me in 2016. I really enjoyed how much dimension this shade had and course that it was opaque in one coat. I have used this for stamping as well and really enjoy this shade.

Two coats of I Lilac You with top coat

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line usually hits the formula out of the park for me and this shade was no exception. I really enjoyed this dusky lilac in the fall months and to pair it with nail art. I always love the brush and opacity in this line so it is no surprise that one of them ended up in my top 16. In my opinion because it is a dusky lilac, you can wear this shade all year round.

Two coats of Feline Sauvage.

In my collection of over 700 nail polishes, it will surprise you to learn that this is my only emerald green polish and it's a mini. I love the having an emerald green nail polish and I really want more but I cannot seem to find many. This particular one is very lovely and I have to applaud L'oreal for doing a mini polish right. The brush on this is the same as you would find in a Sally Hansen CSM or Wet and Wild; very wide. And that is an amazing feature to have in a mini nail polish. I really wish I had a back up of this one.

Two coats of Huntress with top coat.

Another Formula X and Ipsy find for me this year. I received the mini bottle of Huntress in one of my Ipsy bags this year and I loved it so much that I had to buy the full size. This shade has so much to it that this picture does not do it justice. The base of this shade is actually a navy blue, you can clearly tell in the first coat but it does blend away in the second. On top of that it is a green to golden shift almost like a duo-chrome but not quite there. It looks different in almost every light and I just really enjoyed wearing this shade.

Two coats of Hang up the Heels.

I did do a review on the Essie gel couture line  and this was the shade I did my wear test with. This shade is a dark metallic grey with a green shift and it looks very elegant on the nail. I enjoyed the formulation and how this color complimented my skin tone. I do recommend this line of lacquer.

One coat of Berry good Looking with top coat.

My last indie polish to make it in my top 16 is from Cupcake Polish. The color speaks for itself in my opinion, one coat will get it opaque but I do add a second coat to deepen the color at times. The formula on this is not the best, this shade does have a tendency to peel off of my nails. However, I purchased this shade for myself when I got a new job and for that it will always be sentimental to me and to top it off, it is a color like no other.

Three coats of Magik Touch with top coat.

One of my favorite nail polishes to wear are definitely lilac like shades and this shade was quite beautiful to me. It is a lilac with a touch of blue and some very faint shimmers. You can pick up the shimmer in real life in good lighting and it just makes the color seem very soft.

One coat of Penny Talk.

To wrap up my top 16 of 2016 I want to mention Essie's shade in Penny Talk. This is a pretty iconic shade from Essie and I always always hesitant to buy it because of its price tag but I did catch it on sale this year and I am very happy I got it. It is absolutely opaque in one coat and dries down fairly fast. Now personally, I do not enjoy wearing this tone by itself with my skin tone but I love using it for detail work. This shade stamps like a dream and I would repurchase even if it wasn't on sale.


That does wrap up all my stand out polishes in the year 2016, I did try quite a few but these are the shades that really stuck with me. Feel free to leave me a comment below and let me know if you fell for any polish in 2016!