LTHP's Favorite Nail Polishes of 2011- Top 10 International/Indie Picks

Happy Thursday and good morning to you all!

  Today's post is my Top Ten Picks in the International/ Indie brands category. The reason why I decided to give these their own post is because there have really been some excellent polishes to come to us from smaller and international brands this year. This way it was also easier to be able to narrow it down to 10 picks per category. When I first took on the task of picking my faves of the year I thought I'd have like 54 picks :D.... Anyways.. Enough rambling! In no random order, I give you my Top 10 Indie/International brand picks for 2011.

A England Tristam: The Mythicals Collection

A England comes to us from.. You guessed it! England! This brand was started up the the very lovely Adina and she burst into the scene with a super strong collection. Tristam is Navy Blue scattered holographic perfection. Not only is this color unique and beautiful, it has an outstanding formula. When Adina created this color she really knew what she was going for because this was no mistake :D. The whole collection is really beautiful but Tristam is on a league of its own.

Chick Nail Polish All A Twitter: 2011 Collection

Chick Nail Polish has not been around very long but man did they grow on me fast! This Baby Blue creme just blew me away! It is THE perfect shade of Bridal Blue and it also has an outstanding formula. This brand is new to the scene but if Julie keeps coming up with colors like this one Chick Nail Polish will soon be a part of everyone's collection.

Glitter Gal Lizard Belly: Released in 2011.

 Blackened Green linear holographic goodness... What more could you ask for? This Aussie brand really knows how to make a killer holo. When this color burst into the scene we all went crazy and when I finally got to try it I could see why. While the base is clearly green it looks practically Black and I had been dying for a black linear holo.

A Englad Galahad: The Mythicals Collection

This could easily be my most favorite creme of 2011. This color also got a lot of love when it first came out. It is just Teal perfection. I could sit here and try to think of a flaw with this color but there are non.... 

Specialita HITS Hefesto: No. Olimpo Collection

When I first saw this my eyes popped out of my head. I love this shade because while it can be worn fully opaque it can also be layered over anything to give other colors a strong linear holographic finish. The formula on this shade is just brilliant as well. Brazilians make some amazing polishes!

Bettina Hustle: Dico Collection/ Fall 2011

Puerto Rican brand Bettina really makes some iller cremes but when they do a shimmer they really make a statement. This whole collection was a part of my "short list" but when it really came down to it Hustle kept screaming my name. I love the subtle Teal to Purple shift when it's layered over Black. I love that it looks spectacular on it's own and droolworthy over Black.

Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude: A Day at the Races/ Summer 2011 Collection

  Florida based Cult Nails is ran by the awesome Maria who really knows how to wow us with her amazing creations. This is just the perfect shade of nude for my skin tone but I am also in love with the awesome Pink/ Golden flashes that play hide and seek in this creamy base. This was my first true nude love. 

 Cult Nails Captivated/ A Day at the Races 

 Do I even have to explain why this is in my top 10 picks? I hope I don't lol... 

Bettina Coutour: New Classics/ Fall 2011 Collection 

This muddy Taupe is just so sophisticated and just a classic (no pun intended). Mostly I am madly in love with how it makes my skin look. It really plays well with my skintone and that really made this shade special for me. 

Bettina Starfish: Resort Collection/ Summer 2011

This is, hands down, my favorite shade of Orange in my collection. It is just amazingly bright and juicy. When i think of Orange, a true shade of Orange, this is what comes to mind. I wish Oranges would photograph better but regardless this shade needed to be in my top 10 because I LOVE it!!

  That is it for my Top 10 picks from International or Indie brands. I could have easily done a top 20 but I had to cut it down lol. This year I really got to experience different brands from different countries and companies of all sizes. It is nice to see what is trendy in other places and what smaller companies who are not so much influenced by media and fashion can come up with. I have not been blogging for very long but it seems like there was a slight boom in cool international and indie shades this year. A lot of brands also became a lot more accesible to us U.S gals thanks to etailers like Llarowe, Overall Beauty and Harlow &Co. I cannot wait to see what these companies will do in 2012!

Thoughts? Faves? 

♥ Cristina