Textured Nail Polish - Nail Art, Manicures, & The Difference in Finishes!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday to you all!  As we start off 2014 together, I have SO many fun things to share with you!  Now if you've been following my social media over the last year, you've kept up with some of my favorite trends and products but sadly I've neglected my blog for a bit.  That's all changing now and I'm back!  I figured I would start off with one of my favorite trends from 2013 that I see continuing this year (and am VERY happy about!)

Textured polish!  Now there are many different types of textures and different brands that make them so here is a brief overview for you of all those polishes that don't require a top coat and dry quickly!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  Deborah Lippmann I Fought The Law

Deborah Lippmann has created the Punk Rock Collection which consists of 3 polishes.  Each of these has a definite texture like sand granules, however it's not overly glittery.  I Fought The Law is the only one with a shimmer to it and it's not really too evident on the nails unless in direct light.  You can see the texture as soon as you apply the polish and it dries within a few minutes.  This collection retails for $19 each and has a very pronounced texture to it.

Above:  Illamsqua Paranormal Collection

The Paranormal Collection by Illamasqua's main feature is that it glows under a blacklight.  However another feature to it is that it has a satin finish when left without a top coat.  A satin finish is very smooth and shimmery and feels soft to the touch, rather than slick like a top coated polish would.  I did this nail art also using the rubber finishes from Illamasqua which I've reviewed before that are more like a matte satin finish and look rubbery.  The Paranormal Collection retails for $17 each and comes in 3 shades.

Above:  Jesse's Girl Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Gradient

Jesse's Girl Cosmetics Frosted Gumdrops are now in their second 6 piece collection with the Holiday collection.  The first textured polishes we saw last year are like this, fine glitters that dry to a sandpaper like finish.  The Julie G are a bit thick to work with but for $3.99 per bottle, it's a great price.  They are really fast drying and have a nice glitter payoff, and as you can see above, work easily for nail art!

Above:  Jin Soon Mica and Obsidian

Jin Soon released a matte top coat that gives a satin like finish which I love.  I showed it above over Mica and it gives a super smooth, fast drying finish to any polish.  I find this is more smooth and sleek than most matte top coats and doesn't leave a chalky residue like many can.  This top coat is from the Tibi PR collaboration and retails for $18 and is great to give any shade you already have a different finish.

Above:  L'Oreal Hidden Gems and Sexy in Sequins

Last fall, L'Oreal came out with the Colour Riche Gold Dust Textured Collection which has 2 different types of textured polishes, those with finely cut glitter and then 3 with these, a mixtures of fine glitter and larger glitters.  I like the combination of the two as it makes this more sparkly.  They dried very quickly and retail for $6.99 each and have 9 different shades so far.

Above:  unnamed ManGlaze

Ok I just threw this one in for fun but ManGlaze made me this custom blue glitter and has a slightly rough texture and I love it!  Here's hoping they release it for real!

 Above:  Nails Inc Concrete Effect in Stonehenge

 Above:  Nails Inc Leather Effect in NoHo and Denim Effect

Above:  Nails Inc. Leather Effect 

Nails Inc. has 3 different effects I'm showing here.  First is the Concrete effect which weirdly enough actually feels like pebbled concrete!  This is more smooth than the Deborah Lippmann with larger particles but definitely has a "chunky" finish.  The Denim Effect has a more rough finish and feels like unrefined denim and has a bit of a sparkle to it.  The leather effect feels like leather and dries to a more shiny finish.  The Denim Effect definitely dries the fastest of these three while the leather and concrete effects take about a half an hour to set.  All of these retail between $7 and $11 when they are still available.

 Above:  OPI Alcatraz Rocks

 Above:  OPI Alcatraz Rocks and Solitaire Gradient

Above:  OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand

OPI has the Liquid Sand line that retail for $9 each.  The Liquid Sands were one of the first textured polishes and started off with all fine glitters and has moved into a mixture of fine and chunky with their holiday collection this year.  The formulas on these are great, easy to work with and super fast drying, plus the colors are really sparkly and multi-dimensional.  

 Above:  Zoya Chita

 Above:  Zoya Dahlia and Chita

 Above:  Zoya Sunshine and Dahlia

Above:  Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Art

Last but not least is the Zoya Pixie Dusts, the first textured polishes I ever knew about!  I remember seeing these at NYFW in September 2012 and being amazed by them!  They are up to 18 shades now, all fine glitters, most of them containing at least 2 different shades to give them a lot of dimension!  I'm in love with these, so fast drying, great for a manicure on the go!  These are available to $10 a piece and are well worth it.

Whew!  There you have it, lots of glitter, leather, denim, concrete, satin, and more!  I really do love textured polishes and hope they aren't going anywhere.  More and more brands like Jordana and Sally Hansen are now releasing them and I think it's only a matter of time before the high end brands jump on board!  Let me know what you think below!

What do you think of these polishes?  Any must haves?  What are your favorite textures?

Some of the products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.