I should probably start with a small introduction to this series of posts. Pretty ambitious of me to embark on a project that’s going to require me to post every day for 30 days straight considering I’m the most sporadic blogger on the planet, but sometimes I flourish under pressure (see my 50 polishes series).

I currently have five helmers. I also have absolutely no documentation on what is in them, nor do I have any idea how many polishes I actually own. I am concerned the number will be staggering, but the girls from The Scholarly Nail, Polished Claws Up and Sirena Sparklestar have convinced me that it’s high time I started a spreadsheet. And who am I to say no to my fellow vintage polish loving pals?

Documenting what’s in my five helmers seemed like the biggest task ever. There’s no way I could do it in one sitting, or even two or three. But if I broke it down to one drawer a day, maybe it might not be so bad. Then at the end of the month, it’ll be done. I could have fun with this. I could pick five polishes from each drawer that I either love or have never swatched before to feature on the blog. Yes, this could be glorious.

You probably figured since you’re reading this post that I decided to go ahead with this crazy scheme. Hopefully I won’t live to regret it.

My helmers are roughly sorted by brand or region and the first drawer I have today is one of my very favourite brands – China Glaze.

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1. China Glaze For Audrey
YEAR: 2007 (Something Blue)
AVAILABILITY: Core Line

Ever since I bought For Audrey, it’s been one of my favourites. I have very very pale cool toned skin and being able to find a pastel shade that didn’t give me lobster hands was like a godsend. Even though I used to avoid cremes because they are harder to get even and smooth than shimmers, I still persevered with For Audrey. It really is a beautiful polish and I’m glad it was added to the core line.

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2. China Glaze Thunderbird
YEAR: 2009 (Retro Diva)
AVAILABILITY: Discontinued, still easy to find

If you don’t have this in your collection, seriously – what are you doing? Go and buy it RIGHT NOW. Initially I wasn’t impressed with the Retro Diva collection when the promo shots came out but now I’d rank it amongst my favourite collections ever. Thunderbird (and a good majority of the other Retro Diva shades) are the glowiest, deepest shades I own. Truly beautiful.

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3. China Glaze DV8
YEAR: 2008 (OMG)
AVAILABILITY: Vintage/HTF

China Glaze had just launched the OMG collection when I discovered online etailers. I bought three quarters of this collection in my first online polish order and of all the shades I bought DV8 was always destined to be my favourite. Seeing the price that this polish sells for now, I’m glad I only paid $4.00 a bottle. I wish I’d had the foresight to buy backups though.

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4. China Glaze Drinkin’ My Blues Away
YEAR: 2006 (Tequila Toes)
AVAILABILITY: Vintage/HTF

Even before I discovered etailers I was buying polishes on eBay. I’m pretty sure that DMBA was one of the first China Glaze polishes I ever got my mitts on, if not the absolute first. All I know is that it’s been amongst my possessions almost as long as OPI Got The Blues For Red and I owned that when my polish stash was small enough to fit in a shoebox (or two!). It was a definite inspiration for BSOD (although mine is darker and the glitter particles are larger) but DMBA also has these amazing purple flecks through it as well.

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5. China Glaze Stroke of Midnight
YEAR: 2004 (Babes in Toeland – Glass Slipper)
AVAILABILITY: Vintage/HTF

Finally, the oldest of the five is Stroke of Midnight, which dates back to one of the Babes in Toeland collections (4?) from 2004. I had this on my 2010 wishlist and was lucky enough to have it gifted to me but sadly my bottle is starting to evaporate. I haven’t seen this pop up for sale for a very long time, but if you’re lemming it, China Glaze Blue Island Iced Tea from the Bahama Blues collection is close enough to quash that.

So I’ve made it through one drawer. If you’re interested in seeing my spreadsheet you can see my spreadsheet here. I’ll be updating it daily with each post. I’ll post my second China Glaze drawer tomorrow.