During 2016 I began to notice I was reaching for my nail polish collection less, I wasn’t excited about buying new colours or taking the time to even paint my nails. I have never been into nail art or trying out super fancy things with my nails, I’m pretty low maintenance in this department so I thought it was about time I downsized my collection even more (I did have a minor clear out of polishes that were past their best in the Summer)

Part of the reason I have been using my collection less is, I have found a lovely nail salon in my village and the ladies in there are so good and use really nice polishes, I never get gels only a manicure and polish which is only £10. So for the few times, I need my nails painting I have been going there to have them done professionally and its a nice pampering thing to do, a little me time.

I realised that I don’t need 4 polishes of a similar colour & that they were not getting used enough so I have managed to half my collection & my friends will be excited to get some new polishes. I love passing products on to people & one of my goals this year is not to hoard things that I know I won’t use, no matter how beautiful they are.

I condensed my collection down from 60+ polishes to under 30 and I’m very pleased with that number. Although after taking the photo of the colours I kept, I took 3 more colours out of the box to pass on. I have no desire to add anymore polishes to this and think I have a very good selection of shades, everything from bright oranges to black & a couple of glitters and duo chrome effects too. I think I have covered all bases.

I have kept quite a few of the Mavala Polishes as I really like that their bottles are smaller, I never finish a polish and their formula is so easy to apply and it dries quickly too.

I also enjoy the Nails Inc range and have a few colours, most of them have come free with Glamour magazine. I like how long these wear on me and the brush is a really nice one for applying in a hurry but not making a complete mess.

BarryM – always going to be a firm favourite and I think they have to be the best budget friendly nail polish brand. Their colour selection is huge and I have never been disappointed with the formula or application of their polishes.

I have tried to keep a good spectrum of colours and a few colours that I wear on my toes too. I love pinks and turquoise blues but I have a habit of wearing more nude shades most of the time. Glitter polishes are my pet peeve, I love how pretty they look on your nails but I detest removing them so I am only keeping two, one gold and one red option.

Although I am sad to let some of these colours go, how many blue polishes does one lady need? I fell out of love with Models Own as their formula seems to be quite thin and I only get 2 – 3 days wear without chipping. So I have parted with quite a few of them & some lovely colours too.

The NARS polishes although I really wanted to keep these I wasn’tusing them at all and I have similar colours in other brands that I prefer more and I know a couple of people that will love to have these in their life.

I am passing on many glitter polishes as I just can’t deal with the hassle of removing them.

So there you have it, I have started 2017 as I mean to go on. More organised and only keeping products I 100% love, even if they have sentimental value or cost me a fortune to buy. Its another step on my journey to living more consciously and more minimal.

Let me know how many polishes you own & how many you actually use.