My 2009 Best of the Best Polishes & Collections

Above: A difficult decision, but these are the top ten picks of my favorite polishes acquired in 2009. In no particular order of preference, the winners are: Top L-R: GOSH Golden Dragon, Lippmann Don't Tell Mama, CND Effects (brilliant invention!), Essie Matte About You (another brilliant idea!), Chanel Gold Fiction. Bottom L-R: China Glaze BFF (or any of the OMG shades that I bought this year!), Essie Huckle Buckle, MAC Toast of the Town, Sephora by OPI Absinthe Makes the Heart (also wins for Best Name of a Polish based on alcohol!), BB Couture Pipe Bender.
Below: 2009 saw some incredible collections filled with beautiful shades, unique textures and creative names. These are my personal choices for the Best All-Around Collections in 3 categories: small, medium and large. This post is long enough as it is, but had I chosen an 'extra-large-jumbo-ginormous' category, that honor would definitely have gone to China Glaze's Glitters, Shimmers & Cremes.
Above: My winner in the 'Small Collection' category is Orly's Metal Chic Metallic Mattes. Coming in with only 3 shades, this collection brought us one of the biggest trends of the year, the matte finish. The colors are metal shades, a favorite of mine, and the application and wear are perfect.

Below: The winner in the 'Medium Collection' category is Color Club's Wild at Heart. This 6 piece collection offered a variety of finishes, including 2 holographic shades and a duo chrome. The colors themselves are truly breathtaking shades.

Below: My choice for the winner in the 'Large Collection' category is Barielle's All Lacquered Up. A wide range of 12 colors and finishes including an olive green, a stunning black-based teal glitter and a deep periwinkle with copper glitter helped make this an easy and obvious winner.

The votes have all been tallied and the results are in. Granted, I was the only one participating in the voting, but that's all right! I thought it might be fun to go through all of my photos from this past year and choose my personal 10 favorite polishes that I've acquired during the year. While I was at it, I also chose the top 3 collections in the large, medium and small category. This has taken me several weeks to go through the photos, but I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting many of these polishes. I'm happy to say that they still bring me as much happiness as the day I got them. Ah, the many powers of a simple bottle of nail polish!

I want to wish each one of you the the happiest of New Year's, and also thank you for your continued support, comments and friendship. When I started writing my blog 10 months ago, little did I know how much enjoyment I would get from it. I remember how excited I was when I had my first couple of followers, and I recall thinking how happy I would be if I could have 50 followers by the end of the year. The fact that you take a little time out of your day to spend it here with me, continues to motivate and inspire me. So cheers to you all as we ring in the New Year. You are truly the Best of the Best!