Ranking Every Polish Brand I Tried in 2023: The Top Ten begins!!

**10. Wildflower Lacquer** – this past weekend really solidified my love for Wildflower Lacquer. I wore Perhaps a Christmas Gourd for Christmas. Wildflower Lacquer polishes are unparalleled! Dense pigment, packed full of shimmer, most of their polishes you truly have to see in person to believe how magnificent they are. I’ve tried 7 of their polishes this year and absolutely loved every single one. 10 out of 10 for each. I also really admire how this brand runs their business and feel that it deserves a shoutout. They operate under an unlimited preorder model for new collections so even though there is a time limit for placing an order (from a few days to a week) there is no rush to get your order in right when the shop opens or you risk missing out. The maker, Taylor, is very active in the Wildflower facebook group and plans releases ahead of time and gives her customers PLENTY of notice. It’s a nice change of pace from other indie brands. Swatch pictures and videos are released early so there is plenty of time to consider if you want to make a purchase. Honestly I have nothing but positive things to say about this brand. Forever crying that I didn’t make an order from the Back to the 90s Vol. 1 and 2 collection because I had no idea I would love this brand so much!

**9. Holo Taco** – not only am I shocked this brand made my list, I’m shocked it’s so high up! I didn’t try Holo Taco until the Safiya release which had me in a chokehold. It’s not that I thought the polishes would be bad, I just wasn’t interested. I don’t watch Cristine’s videos and the marketing never got me. Once Safiya’s collection was teased I was intrigued. I used to watch Safiya a lot a few years ago and knew a polish collection by her would 100% be up my alley aesthetic wise. And in fact, I loved it! Spirit Fingers makes me weak at the knees quite honestly. Berry Me In Holo made me love crushed holo flakie polishes. I started eyeing some other Holo Taco collections, I watched some reviews and saw swatches and I was so impressed! I’m honestly a big fan now. I’ve tried shimmers, holos, creams, toppers…I really enjoy them! I won’t say I’m a die hard fan, I definitely don’t need everything they release, but they are a brand that is on my radar going forward and I can see why some people are obsessive about this brand.

**8. LynB Designs** – Price wise LynB Designs is the BEST indie brand out there! Every time a new collection drops you can get all individual polishes on the website for HALF off! Honestly, I love the formulas so much I would pay full price if LynB no longer did sales like that. I think this brand is really underrated and I’m not sure why. They do a variety of finishes and colors and I’ve never been disappointed with any of their polishes. If I were to guess I would say their swatchers are a bit underwhelming. It wasn’t until I saw swatches from jemima.nails on Instagram that I made a purchase because she showcases each polish GORGEOUSLY. Is that a word? Her pictures are accurate and not exaggerated and just so pretty! (side note: her swatches are actually what made me purchase my first WFL polish as well!) I’ve since purchased about 50 polishes (half off!!!!), someone please come take my debit card from me. Standouts to me are Happy Haunting (if you like pink just buy this. Buy it right now), Gemini (The Twins), Nice Day For a Cardigan, The Haunted Mask (LBOH), What a Druzy.

**7. Noodles Nail Polish** – This brand makes me go feral. Seriously. It all started with May PPU when Noodles released Dunkie Junkie. I am 1000% a Dunkin Donuts fanatic, but FOR SOME RIDICULOUS reason I passed on this polish. Probably in the vein of “sticking to a budget” or some other BS. As soon as the PPU shop window closed I was filled with DESPAIR and REGRET and I stalked the destash groups until I finally found one. It arrived and….there was an awakening of some sort. I was reborn as a new woman. A woman who loves….GLITTER CRELLIES! It sounds dramatic, but that’s because my feelings really were this dramatic! If you’re not familiar, a glitter crelly is a polish with a crelly base (which is in between a cream and a jelly in opacity) with some glitter thrown in. Sounds simple, and maybe it is simple, idk how to make polish. But it LOOKS anything but simple. It looks MAGICAL. I’ve worn a few glitter crellies from Noodles now and I abso-fuckin-lutely love every single one. I’m actually wearing one right now LOL. If you like skittles, these polishes are great in skittle manicures. I go all out and wear them on all my fingies, but it is a pain to remove because it’s glitter. It’s okay though, the frustration is worth it because they are so cute. I’ll struggle removing these bad boys with a smile on my face, but I won’t smile for too long because that would make me look unhinged. Have I gone back and watched swatching videos of every single Noodles collection from the past 6 years and screenshot the ones I want? Yes. So it appears I am unhinged.

**6. Death Valley Nails** – Ahhh Death Valley Nails. Probably the coolest nail polish brand name and marketing of them all (in my opinion). Death Valley Nails is a tad bit pricer than most brands I have showcased thus far, but they are 100% worth it. Fantastic formulas whether it’s a shimmer, a neon, a cream, or those super interesting polishes made with real raw materials, which I have yet to try out but that’s only because I’m indecisive AF. One of my favorites from the brand that I tried is An Electric Eel in Love, which first of all, what a dope-ass name. I’m really into their names for some reason. This polish is a shimmer neon and it’s got the most buttery formula I’ve ever tried. It was so easy to apply. My other favorite I want to shoutout is The Tomb of Wrestlers which is a neon red-orange. It’s the EXACT color of those reddish neon store signs, or brake lights on a foggy day. This individual polish has the best formula of any polish I ever tried. I distinctly remember applying this polish and saying out loud, “I could apply this with my eyes closed!” I want them all. I have a few unworn from them and I can’t wait to try them out.