Making Time For Indie Polishes

Our nail guru, and Polish & Plates blogger, Amanda Rieter tells us why it's worth making time for indie nail polishes...

What’s on your list of favorites when it comes to awesome, on trend polishes? OPI, Butter London, Deborah Lippman perhaps? 

Well, if you're limiting your collection only to these mainstream brands then you are missing out on where a lot of the real innovation is happening – the world of indie polish. What’s an indie polish you ask? An indie polish is loosely defined as independent, hand made lacquer creations that you won’t find in your local salons or stores as they have smaller distributions - but that doesn't mean these polishes are not top quality or pushing creative boundaries. 

Indies' influence on mainstream brands is growing, think glitters, holos and micro shimmers. Access to global nail polish brands is improving, and I’m here today to tell you about some of my favorite brands from around all around the globe.

A ENGLAND (UK)

One of my first international indies was Her Rose Adagio from A England. At the time I had never had a polish like this before. A England celebrates glamour on nails and the creation of new classic, beautiful, unique shades as the ultimate personal accessory nail polish. 

The range is inspired by a passion for England: its light, utterly romantic weather, somehow Gothic charm and glory. Its creator, Adina is completely fascinating too with a background in fashion and a cat named Tristam (that's the unofficial mascot of the brand).

My personal favorite is Queen of Scots from the recent Elizabeth & Mary Collection.  The depth of color and the formula of this polish is simply sublime.

See more on Facebook and find out how to order here.

GIRLY BITS (CANADA)

Girly Bits Cosmetics is a Canadian company that has been handcrafting quality nail polish since 2011 in a dazzling array of colours and finishes. Available from nine on-line retailers around the globe, and a growing number of brick and mortar stores, you can be sure to easily find the season’s hottest new shades, as well as timeless customer favourites.

Their best seller of all time is A Stripper Has Been Sleeping in my Bed , which was created for the 2nd anniversary of Girly Bits Polish. Their creator found glitter in her bed, under the covers and jokingly asked her husband if he was sleeping with a stripper. And so the anniversary polish was born. A Stripper Has Been Sleeping In My Bed, is a clear based holo micro glitter-bomb.

See more on Facebook and find out how to order here.

IL ETAIT UN VERNIS (FRANCE)

New to the indie scene Il etait un Vernis launched in 2014 and quickly caught my eye, almost becoming an obsession to get my hands on. While still new Il etait un vernis is already on their third collection, each unique in its own way.  

Their current best seller is Light Box, which came as quite a surprise to the brand. It is now out of stock but I think that the combination of the scatter holographic flakes and the blue switching color flakes were never really seen before. 

What did I say about indies setting new trends?! In Teal We Trust is also a great success too and my personal favorite.

See more on Facebook and find out how to order here.

MYSTIC MUSE NAIL LACQUER (USA)

While Mystic Muse is probably the smallest brand I am highlighting today it is the closest to my heart. This US based brand is created and managed by two sisters. The polishes are high end, trendy and completely magical.  They have a variety of inspirations from classic Silver Screen movies to mystical dragons and New York City. 

The current fan favorite (best seller) is Bonfire from the Fall Foliage Collection. This stunning color is kind of unexpected, in a way. Bonfire is not a holo of any sort, She does not glow in the dark and is not heat sensitive. But what she is, is a beautiful smoky, dual chrome, that is purely amazing! What's great about Bonfire, is that she is a wonderful core color! She can be worn any season and even though she's packed with color, she remains a great neutral in a way.

See more on Facebook  and find out how to order here.

PICTURE POLISH (AUSTRALIA)

I don’t know what’s going on “down under” but some of the most fabulous polishes I’ve seen come from Australia. Choosing a favorite wasn’t easy as there are a lot of great indies but piCture pOlish is a favorite because of their unique, blogger collaboration inspired polishes. 

Their best-selling nail polish of all time would be ' Cosmos’ created with 'Pshiiit' and 'Grace' comes a very close second! My personal favorite is Dragonfly pictured here. piCture pOlish doesn’t disclose how they determine which bloggers they choose to collaborate with - but I assume it's only the very best. I’m always excited to see what this brand comes out with next!

See more on Facebook and find out how to order here.

There you have it, 5 countries, different languages, different continents but the same passion. Beautiful, healthy, cruelty free polishes. What is your favorite indie brand polish? Have you tried any global indie brands? If you haven’t, I hope this article inspires you to see what indie brands are popular in your country and maybe tempts you to try a few!