I fully understand that I (we) are a different type of nail polish consumer. The main difference between me (us) and your average salon consumer is a big one: Volume. While the average salon patron or nail polish customer may purchase one or two polishes every couple of months, perhaps spending up to $20, we, the nail polish connoisseur, are no strangers to purchasing twelve polishes at a time, usually more, spending more on one polish purchase than the average polish consumer will in her lifetime.
Polish connoisseurs like you and I buy polish because we love color, and we love being able to have a little fun with our nails. We don't buy polish because we have to maintain our perpetually sheer-pink tips and our only bottle of Essie Ballet Slippers is running out. We buy it because we love it.
In my opinion, that should give us more pull with polish companies when they consider the colors for their collections. I feel like the only look at what the salon consumer is likely to purchase, but us polish junkies need some love too!
Please don't think I am being ungrateful and whiny- I know that polish companies have been very good to us. They've been listening to what the nail polish connoisseur wants, and giving us a little something every season. I mean, even Essie, the queen of sheer pinks, gave us Mesmerize this season. China Glaze gave us two unique collections, Romantique and Summer Days. Zoya's spring collection rocked my socks, and do I even have to mention Barielle and Color Club? I know they've been good to me, but I still can't help but feel like some things are missing.
Here are my nail polish wishes for this year.
I want....
GREENS!!! Specifically, Mazoo's 'Bahama Greens'. But really, I'll take all the greens I can get. Please skip the light golden-shimmer greens, please! We need a variety of greens in all tones and finishes. The world is severely lacking in dark to medium greens. We have a reasonable amount of light greens with gold shimmer, as well as pale pastel green cremes and chromes. We need more Zulus, more Recycles, more Evergreens, more Date Nights, more Rainforests, more, more more! And we need creme, yes, but frosts, shimmers, glitters, duochromes, jellies and holos! May this be the year of the greens.
I also want....
Camouflage colors! Drab green, olive, dusty grey, dirty brown. Not enough of these colors exist in the world, and I don't want to have to resort to 'frankening' my own. They are chic ad much as they are edgy, and I think people would be open to them if they had the option to buy them. And not just the traditional Woodland camouflage, either! How about desert camo, snow camo, urban camo, heck, even pink camouflage pattern themed colors? You could sell them in sets of three or six. It would be awesome.
I want....
More holo colors! Not just duplications of the holographic colors we already have, I want entirely new shades of mesmerizing holographic goodness! We don't really have a true red holo, nor do we have a dark blue or green holo. We don't have a yellow holo that isn't gold, and we don't have an orange holo that isn't pink. I want darker hologrpahic shades to contrast with all of the very light bordering on pastel holo shades we already have. And I wand more smooth holo like this Nfu Oh- it's extra awesome.
Also,
I want more unique glitters!! We have plenty of gold glitter, plenty of silver glitter, heck, even plenty of plain holographic glitter. I want more funky shades! Dark colors are especially rare. I bet people would love a dark blue glitter, and just look at the frenzy that China Glaze Emerald Sparkle caused! I know that a few people were even hoping for black glitter, and I think it could work. How about darker shades with a handful of holo glitter? Think about the Massini glitters and how much they rock. And don't be afraid to mix shades together, like these mind-blowingly awesome gems in a bottle:
I also NEED....
More Magnetiques! We only have a blue and a brown, think of the possibilities! And don't make them country-exclusive and don't make them limited edition. Does Lancome hold the patent on these? If not, why hasn't anyone else created these?! I have never gotten more compliments on my nails than when I wear Bordeaux Esmee.
I want...
More Mattes! I have both ManGlaze shades, and two Knockouts, but all together that's only six matte shades available for purchase. Two blacks, a grey, a white and a pink. You can do better than that. Matte is cool, we just need more variety. How about a matte red, a matte blue, a matte olive or a matte green? I think the green should look like moss, and maybe even be named moss.
And last but not least, we need more...
FLAKIES!!! The polish finish that magically transforms a plain polish into something special. There's nothing like flakies. And really, outside of Nfu Oh, there are no flakies that are easy to find. There are maybe one or two readily available shades from CND and Nubar, but other than that they have all been discontinued. Flaky polishes are truly unique and the possibilities for creating opal-like shades are endless. Please give us more.
There are a ton more things I'd like to see created by polish companies, but I could really go on all day. This post is long enough with my demands :) Maybe I will do a part two?
I hope that one day I get to see some of these things come to life. Every time a polish company releases yet another red or sheer pink (on top of the thousands and thousands in existence), I feel a little bit sad and wonder if it could have been something awesome instead.
