My Favourite Festive Nail Polishes

Christmas and New Years is the time of year for me when I feel it's totally acceptable to crack out just about every sequin dress or glittery accessory that I can get my mitts on and nail varnishes are no exception. Whether used as a top coat, an all over finish or as an accent nail, glitter or metallic polishes are the perfect way to add a pop of sparkle to your nails. I'm more of an all over the nail girl myself. I've gathered up a handful of the ones I own to share with you today ranging from the more subtle to full on sparkle. A few of these are really old and difficult if not impossible to get your hands on now but there's a massive selection of similar or duplicate shades out there. This is just to give you a little nailspiration this year!

China Glaze | Just Be-Claws: Firstly, I love the names of China Glaze polishes, they're always so random or contain some sort of pun and I'm a sucker for a good pun. This is my go to Christmas shade, a deep metallic red that just screams Santa Claus. The formula of China Glaze polish is wonderful, they apply like a dream and in two coats or less you have a wonderful opaque finish. This is a little more subtle than a lot of the glitters but is still nice and festive.

Barry M | Pink Silver Glitter: Annoyingly I think I've had this shade so long that it's started to go really thick and gloopy in the bottle. Even more annoying because it's a really pretty pink and silver glittery shade, it's a nice fine glitter, nothing too intense or in your face. The colour doesn't exactly scream Christmas but it's really nice to add a touch of sparkle for the party season.

Barry M | Christmas Limited Edition 2012: I've had this polish for what feels like forever and it's still going strong. Barry M have such a huge range of colours and finished to choose from, I'm sure they'll have something very similar. The finish is similar to that of the Orly polish but it's just a true gold shade. What I love about this is that it's not too yellow either.

China Glaze | I'm Not Lion: Again, another fab pun. Gotta love em. This is similar in finish to the Barry M pink glitter nail polish, it's a nice fine glitter that can be used as a top coat or built up to create an opaque finish on the nails. But unlike the pink glitter, this is full on festive. It has a gold finish but I'd say it leans more towards the champagne end of the spectrum, it's nothing like a tacky yellow gold. I love to layer this up with the gold Barry M polish as they work really nicely together.

Orly | Rose Chrome Foil: I've never tried any polishes from Orly before, in fact, I'd never even heard of them before I popped into Boots the other day and came across this really pretty rose gold polish. Now it's a little on the pricey side, even more so than Essie but the finish and colour of this is beautiful. I always like to do two layers of polish but this goes on beautifully with one to create a metallic rose gold finish. This is a little more on the subtle side of things if you don't want to go full on glittery.

China Glaze | Lorelei's Tiara: This is my second bottle of this polish, I love it that much. It's a little more intense than the others, with a base of silver glitter flecked with chunkier blue pieces. It's everything I expect from a China Glaze polish, easy to work with and build up to a full on glitter finish or simply use as a top coat. It's like Winter in a bottle.

L-R Just Be Claws, Pink Silver Glitter, Christmas LE, I'm Not Lion, Rose Chrome Foil, Lorelei's Tiara

Are you a fan of glitter nail polishes? What shades will you be rocking this festive season?