Can you believe 2012 is almost over? This year was a big one for me… I started my new job, recently moved to our new home, started blogging and taking my polish and beauty obsession to a whole new level, and along with that, I met some amazing people in this community.

It’s been a little quiet on my blog lately, mainly due to my big move just before Christmas… I thought I would catch up, not only on a blog post or two, but also share some of my top polishes of the year (with links to the original posts).

Hope this is a fun read for you!

In no particular order, here is Aphrodite Lacquers’ It’s My Party topped with The Icing on the Cake. I immediately fell in love with this hot pink jelly (and its glittery topper), and can’t wait to wear this with a little tan!

My most popular post, even garnering a shout-out from Suzi Weiss-Fishman, OPI’s Creative Director, on her twitter chat recently (!!), was the Monet jelly sandwich. This was created using OPI’s Funny Bunny with Shimmer Polish Linna, and it turned into one of my favourite manicures.

Oh Zoya Ornate Collection, how I love thee! After patiently waiting for this gorgeous collection to arrive, I created my very first striping tape mani using Zoya Storm and Aurora:

Another day, another gorgeous Shimmer Polish! Karina, a deep vampy red jelly, is beautiful and glamorous and oh-so-sparkly!

I loved the sparkle of this mani: a-England’s Dorian Grey topped with Shimmer Polish Vanessa. Look at that sparkle!

And so you can see why I love Dorian Gray, look at this steely pewter:

This year I also tried my very first Nubar polishes, and I fell in love. Look at shiny Nubar Espresso from the Simplicity Meets Elegance Collection:

From the same collection, here is Nubar Rouge, another gorgeous pink I fell in love with:

Up next, another of my most popular posts comes courtesy of OPI’s first foray into magnetics, from the OPI Skyfall Collection to commemorate 50 years of Bond films: OPI Magnetic Lacquer Is that Silva? I just love the holo magnetic!

Blue is my favourite colour though I’ve often steered clear of it in my manicures. But Revlon Royal, especially combined with Aphrodite Lacquers’ Doorman, was something spectacular….

Who doesn’t love a sparkly linear holographic polish? The ladies at Glitter Gal have made holos their business, and let me tell you, Glitter Gal Wisteria does not disappoint!! I loved the subtlety of this light hue…

I am a fool for sparkles, and Aphrodite Lacquers Peacock Earrings was distracting. Here it is, layered over China Glaze’s Liquid Leather for optimum sparkle and shine:

I think by now you know how much I adore jelly sandwiches. (And I should really do more of them!) Another Zoya collection that I was lusting after, Zoya Gloss, is a jelly-lover’s dream come true. Here is Zoya Frida layered with a relatively new indie, Kiss Your Elbow Polish’s A Drop in the Ocean:

This list wouldn’t be complete without Picture Polish and their Mesh shade Tease, a glittery silvery-pink beauty that I received as part of their Blog Fest for 2012:

Next is a sparkly vampy black jelly courtesy of Aphrodite Lacquers, Nebula. Though I love vamps, I don’t always wear straight black polishes, unless, of course, they have a little something like Nebula does. Filled with aqua and silver glitters, Nebula has depth and sparkle:

And last but not least, the one that started my love affair with Aphrodite Lacquers, Grapetini! I think it’s fair to say that AL is one of my favourite indies, having created a number of polishes that I wear again and again… and Grapetini, with its purple squishiness, was part of my very first AL order that was not meant to be. It has the unfortunate distinction of being my first polish to arrive smashed to pieces lol.

And that, dear readers, is my first top… 16 list! It was meant to be a top-12 but there were simply too many that I adore. There are many more that I love and wanted to share, but in the spirit of keeping this a somewhat shortish blog post, not all the beauties could be included… Perhaps I will share another top-12 list soon.

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I have enjoyed selecting my favourites. May the New Year bring you and your loved ones much joy and happiness, success and love.

~xo