The Glitter Army

With December just around the corner, the party season is almost upon us. And there's no better way to prepare than to form your own glitter army of nail polishes. I adore glitter polishes and there's such a good range out there at the moment there's really no excuse not to adorn your nails in the same way you'll soon be adorning your Christmas tree.

My Glitter Soldiers

Deborah Lippmann: Ruby Red Slippers (£16)

The polish that I gave my glitter virginity to, Ruby Red will always hold a special place in my heart. Every time I wear this I get tonnes of compliments . I like it best worn over the top of a dark red, such as Chanel's Rouge Noir. Big red glitter flakes are suspended alongside tiny flakes in a transparent black polish. The overall effect is amazing. Somehow Deborah Lippmann makes glitter super sophisticated with this polish.

Deborah Lippmann: Glitter in the Air (£16)

The first time I used this polish I was disappointed. I expected it to cover my nails in sparkle in the same way that Ruby Red Slippers does, but this wasn't the case. Instead Glitter in the Air makes your nails look as if they've been sprinkled delicately with flakes of soft pink and baby blue glitter (rather than dipped straight into a pot of glitter). After a couple of uses I completely changed my mind, and I really like this polish now. I wear it over a light base coat and it creates a really pretty effect. The colours sort of remind me of a winter wonderland too.

Louise Gray for Topshop: Pinch Punch (£6.50)

Definitely my favourite glitter at the moment, Louise Gray's creation for Topshop looks incredible on top of almost any base colour. It contains large silver and rose gold glitter particles and thousand of teeny tiny ones too. The glitter really stands out against a dark base coat, and it is oh so eye catching on top of corals and pinks. I really can't get enough of it. It's limited edition so if you want to get your mitts on this you must hurry! I'm itching to try out the other ones in this line.

Available here.

Deborah Lippmann: Across the Universe (£16)

Similar to Ruby Red Slippers, only with blue and green glitter as opposed to red. This looks fantastic on top of a deep blue base coat (I usually use Chanel's Blue Satin). If you really want to sparkle, two coats of this bad boy will do the trick.

Nars: Arabesque (£14)

I had to hunt this sort-after little number down. Every time I visited a Nars counter for weeks it was sold out, but perseverance paid off and I eventually found one. At least two coats of this are needed to get a nice even glitzy coating, and although I do think the finished result is very pretty, sparkly and wearable, I prefer glitter polishes with different size particles; I just think they create a much more eye-catching and interesting effect.

Available here.

Topshop Nails: Silver Bullet & Moonshine (£6 each)

Ok, so these aren't exactly glitter polishes, but I've included them in this post because they're still perfect for the party season and provide plenty of glitz. I'm always impressed with Topshop's Nails range and these two were no exception. Worn on their own they look great and I find that they work particularly well against tanned skin (or fake-tanned at this time of year). I think Moonshine (right) is my favourite of the two; it's a very light rose godly colour with lots of little shimmery particles. Again you'll need two coats.

Available here.

Deborah Lippmann: Razzle Dazzle (£14)

I received this miniature quite a while ago from Glossybox. It's similar to Ruby Red Slippers in colour, but it only contains lots of tiny red glitter flakes and doesn't have any big ones. I like to wear it in the same way (on top of a deep red base coat) and usually find that one layer of glitter is sufficient to transform my nails into a dark red glitter ball.