Hmm. Where to begin? I guess I’ll start with a nice neutral white. This isn’t just any boring old white though. It is Gaia from Zoya and Gaia is a not-quite-sheer winter white laced with a beautiful, subtle golden glimmer. It sparkles like the snow, which is why I thought it appropriate for this time of year. I’m not sure how well the camera catches the gorgeous gold lacing, but in person it literally looks like sparkling snow! Stunning! J
For those neutral lovers out there, or for a nice subtle Thanksgiving shade, I have another choice from Zoya. It is called Rue. I’m not a huge neutral lover, but this shade is a lovely pale tan with just a smidge of rose. It’s just a touch deeper than my skin tone so it shows up, but doesn’t scream “look at my nails!” Very pretty and kind of the perfect neutral for my skin tone.
Sticking with the brownish / Thanksgiving themed hues, we have theBalm’s Root Beer Gloat. I always find browns seem like such boring, ugly colors in the bottle, but on the nails I find that they are usually quite flattering. Root Beer Gloat is no exception. It’s kind of a subtle metallic deep reddish-brown. I find it difficult to consider brown a “pretty” color, but this is definitely a pretty brown!
Moving right along to shades that are perfect for any festive occasion – metallics!!! It probably wouldn’t be the Holiday season without gold. To fit the bill when it comes to a nail polish, I’ve chosen Nefertiti from Deborah Lippmann. It is what seems to me to be a very yellow gold, but it’s not too brassy nor too antiqued. It’s almost a white gold and it has to be one of the nicest gold metallic formulas I’ve come across! No streaks, no brush strokes, not too foiled, and not too glittery. Unfortunately, I believe this is only available in a mini bottle from a set of 2 on HSN. The good news about that is that the other mini bottle contains Raspberry Beret, which is a gorgeous raspberry fleck polish that would look great this time of year as well! J Definitely worth hunting down Nefertiti as it is probably my favorite gold ever!
A pale rose gold metallic from Butter London is up next! It is called Champers and is a very subtle rose-y gold neutral that is still a bit metallic. Again, it’s not too foiled and in-your-face and it applies like a dream! It’s the kind of metallic that works on pretty much any skin tone without being too stark or blinding. Gorgeous stuff!
Last of the metallics and really the only shade that is kind of a traditional Chanukah themed hue is another Zoya polish. This one is called Trixie and it is a straight up silver. As with my other picks, it’s not too foiled but definitely still has a metallic finish. It is very cool-toned and can therefore be rather harsh against the skin, but it’s still strikingly beautiful and very festive! J
Moving on to the Christmas-y shades. I’m going to start with a deep forest green. It is from Mineral Fusion and it is called Mossy Bank. Not much to say about this one really. It’s a nice deep green with a very subtle almost metallic sheen. Great for Christmas – it’s green while avoiding being too “in-your-face.” Perfect really! J
Another beautiful green that is actually rather similar to Mossy Bank in all but one way is Veruschka from Zoya. Veruschka is another deep green, but it looks quite different from Mossy Bank because it has a matte finish! It really makes a huge difference in the appearance. I couldn’t choose between the two, so they both made the cut! J I also really like the matte effect for the Holidays as something a bit different.
Ah, reds. You can’t have a Holiday roundup of nail polish without about a dozen reds! I don’t have a dozen…anymore…but there are a few! The first is from Deborah Lippmann and it is a lovely deep red with a subtle metallic finish. It is called Through the Fire. It’s not so deep that it’s an oxblood or a burgundy, but it’s definitely not a traditional Christmas red either. It’s just a beautiful polish and is easy to paint evenly in just one coat, even with my poor painting skills! J
For one that is a traditional Christmas red, I went with another Butter London polish. It is the shade Knees Up and it is a beautiful standard Christmas-y red with a subtle metallic finish. I’m suddenly noticing a pattern with the “subtle metallic” bit. J This polish just screams Christmas to me. It’s really gorgeous and is a red that is dying to be noticed! J
Last of the reds and transitioning into the glitters, we have yet another polish from Butter London. Let’s face it. Butter London does glitters like no other! J This time I’ve chosen the color Chancer and it is a long-time favorite! I absolutely adore this polish! It is such a gorgeous red base filled with beautiful red sparkling glitter. The photos definitely do not do it justice. It’s like having a beautiful Christmas bauble on your nails. So striking and another polish that is sure to be noticed…in a good way of course! J This polish, though it is a glitter, is completely even and opaque in two coats, not to mention it removes without too much trouble! It is definitely not a “topper” kind of polish, but a beautifully sparkly number that is just Christmas in a bottle. This is by far one of my all-time favorites! J
Moving on to a glitter that is suspended in a clear base, but is so chocked full of micro-glitter that it appears completely opaque in two or three coats. It is another one from Butter London in the shade West End Wonderland. This is another one of my all-time favs! It is the most beautiful gold glitter that just sparkles and shines and works for any festive occasion. The glitter is so fine that it lies quite flat to the nail, avoiding much trouble with chipping. I tend to add a top coat, but you really don’t have to. This has been one of my staples for years and I highly, highly recommend it!
If you’re more interested in a gold topper type of glitter, this one’s for you! J It is from Zoya and it is called Maria Luisa. It has the most beautiful gold flecks suspended in a clear base. The spacing of the flakes is just perfect as well. Not too much, not too sparse. It’s just gorgeous and would look beautiful over virtually any other nail polish. I think this would be particularly stunning as an accent nail over a red polish – perhaps Through the Fire or Knees Up (However here it is over Zoya's Raven). J
Another fantastic topper that would definitely steal the show on New Year’s Eve is from KB Shimmer. It is called Ice Queen and it a spectacular mixture of holographic micro-glitters and larger multi-sized hexagonal glitters. This polish really sparkles and has a definite party feel to it. It would work over virtually any other colored polish and actually could work nicely on it’s own as well. This is another all-time favorite polish around the holidays! It’s one of those polishes that keeps you staring at your own nails. It’s really pretty! J
Last but not least, we have another polish from KB Shimmer. This one is called Band Geek and has multi-sized hexagonal glitters in bronze, gold and silver. They are all suspended in a semi-transparent black base that can either be built up to be opaque (about three coats), or layered over another black polish for a more intense black contrast (as shown in the picture). This is another polish staple for New Year’s Eve and it is absolutely stunning! Love, love, love Band Geek! J
And that’s going to do it! About time, I know. J I hope this helps give you some nail inspiration this Holiday season! Again, I apologize for the lack of non-Christmas shades. I really did try to find some shades, but the polishes I have in the traditional colors for other holidays just didn’t look quite right. Most just seemed kind of drab and not very festive. That’s probably a good thing given that I could only narrow this down to 15! J I hope you’ve enjoyed these polish picks regardless of what holidays you may celebrate this time of year! Let me know what some of your favorite nail polishes are for the holidays. I’d love to know because clearly I’m a giant nail polish junkie!!! J Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all enjoy this holiday season more than any other!!!
