Watching this made me realize how much I didn’t love a good chunk of their polishes this year, BUT I loved all of the themes and marketing. Especially cookies n cremes, rock candy, and the thermal one
@@vanessam9251 and I'm out here spreading the word about Night Owl Lacquer's Neon Jello collection. It's so freaking perfect and was probably my favorite collection to come out this year
Yeah the frosted metals thing - it seems like they're trying to test a new metallic option that won't have tarnishing issues like some of the OG frosted metals do, but... it's not the same finish, so I think they should just pioneer a new name for it. I love the frosted metals look enough to "use them before I lose them" and just accept that some of them might tarnish over the years (though it doesn't even seem like that happens with all of them). And Silent Library looks cool too, but maybe they should call it like, a... dappled metal or something. It's fine on its own, just don't give it the same name.
Yeah, its just not the same... I love the frosted metals but the only ones I have not seen any change are Mint Money, Frozen Benanas and Favourite Sister. (I own every FM except Gift reciept)
YESS I’ve been waiting for this video!! I love watching your tier list videos haha Also honestly, Holo Taco holds a special place in my heart, but lately they haven’t been exciting me much:’)
@21:05 I know I don't speak for all November bbs but Topaz Tears was my fave from the collection, and I'm actually wearing it right now! I love the olivey bronze shimmer, and the iridescent flakes that shift to teal add even more dimension. (I also love Secret Society, Solo Mission, and Amber Apathy so I might be holding down the fort for the ugly polishes)
I don’t own it but topaz tears was definitely the only color I considered getting from the birthstone collection. Everything else seemed like stuff I’ve seen before.
@@MirandaChampoux It’s also my favorite of the entire birthstone collection. So if you think you’d like a dark moody polishe with gold flakey bits (with a bit of green too), then definitely get it before it sells out! It’s the only one I bought a back up for, as I know it’s a bottom seller and won’t ever be getting another restock. 😂
I liked Topaz Tears as well! I don't own any of the birthstone shades because I was upset as a January girly so I didn't want to buy any of them 😂 I did make a cart tho with Topaz Tears and a few other shades but decided against it. I see pics of it tho and I always find myself loving it ❤
Yeah I had said on Reddit when the DC [002] came out that it was basically an underglow expansion pack 😂 and for someone who wasn’t thrilled about the underglow collection, I was pretty miffed. I suppose it makes it easier to cope with the fact that they’re lost in the mail rn LMAO
Omg yay! I wish I had saved your comment to give a proper shout out because that made me crack up 🤣 but oh nooo!! I’ve seen a lot of people sharing that their orders are lost or delayed right now, this holiday season seemed especially hectic for HT/USPS! 😫
i think the microshimmer in rock candy is meant to be more of a subtle glow, so in my opinion she should have gone with all corresponding shimmers like jam session. bc even though i liked them, doing contrasting shimmers is confusing when they can’t really be as intense as most people would like without disrupting the holo. jam session and spyglass really showcase the additional glow factor without as much expectation for like a distinct line of shimmer
Loved dark academia the most from the year, ended up being the one I bought the most single bottles from. Like you can tell the brand had fun with a moody theme. Thanks for all your reviews Steph!! You both saved & damaged my bank account 😂
it was such a great release!! i almost wish they gave us even more sparkly specialty finishes instead of the 4 cremes, but i appreciate the balance too. and haha you’re so welcome!! 😁
Loved this style of video. HT is not in my regular rotation of purchases but I always watch the launches. The most I buy from HT 2-4 polishes at a time, never a full collection. My personal favorite was Dark Academia, that was the only time I came close to purchasing the full collection. My second close call was the Cookies and Crème bundle, but I fought the urge and bought none.
I loved the Holo Royalty set....so much I got 2 from the vault that I had missed. I have no notes on that one. Otherwise...I am not a collection person...I prefer to pick and choose...whole collections are always going to have 1-2 that I'll never use. Love the video!
yay i’m glad you loved those & grabbed the 2 from the vault!! but yes definitely more of a fan picking and choosing, its rare that i love a full collection too 😅 glad you enjoyed!! 🤗
Overall the birthstone collection was my favourite, although I only bought 3 shades. But I loved the jewel tones and varied formulas. Peridot is my birthstone and I'm generally not very excited about it... but the Peridot polish is stunning. I also really liked Teal No Lies, and would like to see the micro-metallic flakes show up again in the future.
This really makes me think of how many things I forget about in a year, haha. I can't believe all of these came out in 2024! I agree with you on the Declassified bundles, I would have loved to have seen some older polishes in more interesting finishes be pulled from her swatch stash. Interested to see what comes out in 2025.
"Are we really not gonna talk about?" THANK YOU for being the person to address it. 👏👏 Silent Library is a lovely polish, but calling it a frosted metal wasn't it for me either. The Birthstone Collection was the winner for me this year too; some really gorgeous shades in there. I bought two full collections with some extras (one set as a gift), and ngl I was a bit annoyed seeing how soon Miss Fire was released after Gosh Garnet. 😑
Love this! I used to buy every collection, but this year the only FULL collections I bought were the rock candy and birthstone. I agreed with a lot of your comments and I am glad I found your channel this year! PS I LOVE how you do the comparisons with polishes from different companies! As a polish lover, seeing them compared to different companies has really helped me make smart purchasing decisions.
Wow.. i love that you make these videos! Looking back at all the HT releases this year really shows how they've grown imo. I didn't buy most of these.. just a few here & there. It's too bad about the thermal collection, bc had it not been 100 degrees here at the time i probly would've jumped on the whole set. But i ended up skipping out. I'm excited to see what they keep coming out with. I think they're def on an upward trend.
Love these choices! Mine are: S - Rock Candy (just such a fun vibe/launch/theme/palette); Birthstones A - I Need Space; Dark Academia; Cookies & Cremes (though DANG you're right about a sprinkle topper!!) B - Underglow; Declassified (the names bump Declassified from C to B, as does Miss Fire) C - Mixed Emotions; Shimmering Secrets D - just too many releases in general, though there's none of these I'd take away. They did a great job, but too many can dim the prestige around each. I hope we see more of the livestreams have time for stuff like polish mixing, combo requests, etc with the releases being just slowed down again that they're all really exciting and anticipated. Overall a great year for them though!
oh yes i def can agree that having so many releases just dims the excitement or each launch! i wonder if they’ll continue to scale back next year. and omg yeah i’d love to see more of those kind of livestreams too!
I am new to nail polish and HT this year but I'm a big fan of what they put out and it seems to me there's a vocal minority of people who seem to object to every release but I bet there are a ton more who enjoy them just fine. I agreed with most of your rankings, though I would probably have swapped the Space and Royalty ones because I don't like red tones so much,nand I would've bumped up the Underglow collection. Bring on all the crushed Holo and shimmers!
This was a great video to watch while sipping my coffee waiting for my partner to wake up on Christmas morning :) I liked their theming a lot more this year, and I like that my two favorite Holo Taco collections this year (the Mars and Dark Academia ones) were ones you liked too! Even then I didn't feel swayed a bit to buy the ENTIRETY of either, just pick and choose my faves. What a great wrap-up, I love hearing your thoughts!!
I think I purchased one or two polishes from every launch this year, but this is the first year in a long time I did NOT pick up the entire launch of anything. The collection I purchased the most from was the Birthstone collection. I think I picked up half. Those were so so gorg! I need space was my next fav collection, followed by Shimmering Secrets, and the declassifies. 🥰
I quite agree with your rankings! I’ve had to really back off buying polishes this year, so I felt like I couldn’t give coherent thoughts on my own But based on what I’ve seen and heard, I think you did a great job 😊 Thanks for sharing, as always, and Happy Holidays!! 🎄💜
You may remember me telling you that I’ve never purchased from HT. I don’t have anything against them really except for the price to bottle size ratio. I just never felt the urge to buy from them. I’m just here to support your channel!❤
Loved hearing your thoughts about all of these as a retrospective! Mine are: S - I Need Space (My one and only full collection purchase from HT this year. Loved every shade and formula. I have trouble picking which is my favorite!) A - Underglow; Birthstones; Dark Academia. They did such a great job with the concept and direction for these. Really hit the mark with the vibes and made some fun polishes. B - Shimmering Secrets; Declassified 002. These had some neat formula offerings! Not wowed by all of them, but there were a couple of standouts. C - Mixed Emotions; Cookies and Cremes. Most of the shades in these collections just weren't my style. Generally don't wear many cremes or thermals. D - Rock Candy. I'm a fan of crushed holo, but these just felt underwhelming, especially compared to other offerings in the market. I didn't feel interested in any of the colors.
I found your channel midway through the year around the time of Rock Candy collection and have loved hearing your thoughts ever since ☺️ This year I bought less polish compared to the year before because I’m getting to that point where I have too much and feel I need to really dive back into my collection 😅 That said, this was my ranking for the year based on theming and if I did buy the polishes/would buy the polishes, even if I didn’t, or if I bought them and didn’t like them lol: S - Shimmering Secrets (super loved Teal No Lies, wish I bought Spyglass), Dark Academia (didn’t buy the whole set but generally I love darker polishes and the darker vibes/theme), Birthstones (so many options to choose from, many of which I really like, I bought 5 including Topaz Tears even though I don’t love it but it’s my birth month 😭), Declassified 002 (I preferred these colors of shimmer to the ones in Underglow and I love black and red specialty polishes) A - Underglow (love the concept, not as big of a fan of the colors) B - I Need Space (love the idea and the creativity, just not my vibe) C - Cookies n Cremes (I’m just not super into cremes) D - Rock Candy (didn’t love the colors, too bright for my taste and I agreed with your take on them not being shimmery enough), Mixed Emotions (bought two, tried them, didn’t love them)
Yeah I can definitely see that being an easy skip for most people! 😅 I wish thermals could last forever, I really loved the color combo for Rage Bait & Funny Feeling!
Totally feel you on Solo Mission - I bought that during Black Friday and was most excited for that one out of the 15 polishes I purchased…but I was so disappointed! Not flattering whatsoever (on me anyway). Thanks for this! Very interesting hearing everyone’s thoughts on polish! ❤
What's your favorite polish this year? Mine is Vitamin Glow. It's my favorite color combo in my favorite finish and it's so glowy! The perfect periwinkle. Regarding people being more negative I think since Holo Taco has gotten more popular there are just more people to upset to be honest. The unhappy voices are the loudest usually.
Vitamin Glow is soo gorgeous!! That’s such a tough one to answer since it can just depend on my mood lol but I think I’m Rover It is up there for me! And yeah that’s true too, the bigger something gets the more criticism you’ll hear around it 😅
I remember the questions about Silent Library being addressed on a livestream around the time of its release, after people started receiving it and painting with it. Cristine explained that the foil flakes that the lab used might be slightly smaller or slightly more uniform than the older "frosted metal" formulas that people are familiar with, but the main reason why Silent Library appears different to our eyes is because the base color is so much darker than any other metallic foil finish that HT has ever made. The foil flakes are literally obscured more by the darker pigment of the deep blue base. I think that makes sense. Although, disclaimer, I don't personally possess Silent Library (or any polishes from the Academia collection, because I don't go for super dark colors on my nails), and the only HT metallic foil that I have is Gift Receipt, which is the brightest, foily-est one 😅 I hope that helps explain it a bit. I agree with you overall, I think HT had a great year, considering that they keep expanding the finishes that they make, appealing to more and more different interests, different color palettes, even getting into brick and mortar Ulta stores. It's interesting to see that there were nine collections, because I went back and counted, and I only picked up nine total shades released this year (and four of those were birthstones lol). While there were five collections that I skipped entirely (although I might eventually get a couple from the Declassified set sometime next year), it was simply because they weren't my personal vibe or preference. I can still totally see how pretty they are, and how they appeal to a wide array of polish fans. That's just smart business practice, to provide options for everyone. As far as individual polishes that I tried, my top pick is definitely the beautiful glowy Spyglass, which I heard you mention, and maybe Phantom Call as runner-up. I love the strong shift of that one, and I found that it pairs so well with last winter's Curfew Crasher, which I also recently picked up. (This season I've really been getting into moody mauve-y colors for the first time. So pretty.) But I also feel like big raspberries go to Solo Mission-why oh why does it remind me of 4AM city sidewalk vomit splotches 😂 I'm also holding out for jewel-toned crushed holos!! I put that request on all the surveys 💅 Thanks for sharing all your observations here
I Need Space is my favorite collection of HT. It is the only collection I bought in full. It really fit what I like. I’m Rover It is as close to my favorite color I have found in a polish. Solo Mission is my least favorite; but I don’t hate it. I like putting rose gold flake topper on it when I wear it. Silver flake can work as well.
First, I love your swatches and comparisons and all your videos just like this! I, however, have opposite taste in polish than you, and that's OK (I hope! ). I don't but fill collections, but I would have put the sugar candy at the top, and I don't buy her full collections, but I bought the yellow bc it was so unique! 😂❤. I also loved the grad and under grad collection, but didn't buy any bc they were similar to ones I own. I would put the underglow as yawn/boring 😂 bc I have the matching orly collection. Tysm for sharing and merry Christmas!
Thank you so much! And omg yes of course that’s okay haha, having different tastes is what makes things more fun & interesting!! lm glad you loved the yellow from rock candy enough to buy it hehe, I actually did end up liking it more once it was late summer/early fall! 🌻 and ahh yes I remember people saying the Underglow looked really similar to Orly’s spring release, I didn’t get that one unfortunately but remember loving it too 🙈 but I’m so glad you enjoyed watching, merry Christmas to you too! 🤗🎄
Lol, Solo Mission is probably my top Holo Taco shade! I have a very muted coloring myself and can't wear extremely bright or saturated shades, even if I think they're pretty. I find solo mission very understated, complex, and flattering for my coloring.
I'll spin it - ranking my favorite polish from each collection! (not that I have them all) S - Waste of Space A - Sour Note; Brownie Points; Miss Fire; B - Ruby Madly Deeply; Swan Song; C - Funny Feeling; Blush Money; Devil's Advocate (I've struggled w/ the formula on D.A.)
i love this!! if i had more time i def would love to just rank every polish too lol i pretty much agree with your rankings though! maybe except funny feeling, which is quite a surprise from me lol
Hahaha I love the *smile and nod* tier name. My random tier list: I Need Space is S tier for me solely for Orbite Me and Alien Infatuation-they elevate everything else. Cookies n’ Cream-meh D tier. Shimmering Secrets C Tier for me too! Rock Candy D Tier Mixed Emotions C tier Dark Academia Ivory Tower mehs it down to B Tier Birthstones- S Tier Underglow-S Tier, Declassifieds 002 A Tier This was fun! You looked so pretty!
It’s so interesting to see what everyone likes and different perspectives- I love holo taco but I think that they are limited a lot by pigment availability. I think Cristine would like to give everyone the craziest polishes but she just can’t because of how much volume they are doing… I actually really love teal no lies, milky white shimmer we’re in some of my top polishes and I didn’t expect that at all. My most used I late checkout from the vacation collection and now peridont bother me. I need more very vibrant colours with reflective pigment included! I don’t love reflective toppers on their own as they just look like dirt most of the time
I’m surprised I haven’t seen much talk about Simply chaotic not being accurate to pictures and/or having batch issues. There has been very few creators/snatchers who got a polish that was very light green in the hot state. Most I have seen had a very dark warm state; and that’s also the one I got. Also, my disappointment with the birthstones (#firstworldproblem #collectorproblem) is that imo playing with sapphire is a dupe for Mooncat’s rue morgue… and topaz is one of my fav from birthstones ha ha I personally loved the royalty collection and the variety of formulas in just 4 polishes I really like your take on I need space, it was a very fresh and well thought of collection. Thanks for your video as always
I loved the need space collection, it was just weird theming for a spring collection. I almost wonder if calling it more of an anti valentine collection would have worked better. I found myself using it constantly this fall, I’m rover it is gorgeous
I think they did a great job combining that theme actually! Translating the idea of "going into space" being because you're either fed up with Valentine's or you just need some alone time. That helps an anti-Vtines theme also work if you are happily in a couple too, because everyone needs space sometimes! (Sometimes these merged themes just feel random, but this one I think they pulled off the combo well :) )
Omg yes I’ve seen people describe it as anti Valentines and I can totally see it too! I didn’t remember if it was intentional or not but it definitely works. And yess I also had I’m Rover It on my fall rack, it was perfect!! 🍁✨
i would honestly be surprised if they retired it next month! it definitely would be a shame since i do think the color is especially flattering on deeper skin tones, but i think in general i’d just like to see that formula in different colors 😅
cristine has talked about the labeling of silent library as a frosted metal, to her, she sees it on a more technical level than just only packed with foil flakes, something about its reflectivity, i'm sure you can find a clip somewhere! i personally don't agree with it, could make a new name for it like frosted flecks anyways i'm still waiting on my birthstones to come in ever since the restock ;-; but ever since trying birthday brat, i already want a backup LOL it is so amazing
I didn't buy any full collections this year, though I have many from previous years. I enjoyed seeing your ranking and hearing your thoughts anyway. My biggest win is that they finally released unscented hand creme! Even though Cristine intended the original hand creme to be gently scented, it was too strong for me
I agree with the comments that say that this year was a little boring in general, and I feel it has a lot to do with Cristine leaving part of the creative part to the HT team, and i personally feel like we can tell which collections had Cristine as the designer and which ones were the team
I love this ranking! I agree with everything except I’d swap the placements for the Underglow and Royaltea collections. I loved 3/4 shades in the Royaltea collection, a chunky purple square glitter and teal smooth metallic were under-utilised formulas and were really fun to see. I don’t love the Underglow collection because the colour combos are pretty common and I don’t love the crelly shimmer formula since the shimmer doesn’t glow nearly as strongly as a jelly shimmer.
I only got three of the thermals, and they all died in less than two months. They were stored with the other ones, but they did not last. Their customer service was amazing and refunded the order, but it was a big let down :(... I also agree with them not revisiting old finishes, but I did enjoy several of the collections and was happy to see a pink for October (as an October baby lol).
The only full collection that I bought this year were the thermals; I really loved them; so far they are still functional also. (I also had never bought any color-changing nail polishes previously). I agree about the sprinkles; that would have been really cool to go with the ice cream collection!
i’m glad you’ve been loving them! they should last at least a year before any fading so i hope we’re able to enjoy them for even longer 🤞🏼 and right!! we can only hope a sprinkle topper will be in next year’s Declassified set 😅
13:55 If they were ever going to make an exception to their marketing strategy of not allowing PR before the release, this would’ve been the time. They should’ve known that a lot of their customers wouldn’t be familiar with thermal polishes. I saw people had bought back-ups of the whole collection etc.
My favorite polish from underglow was Swan Song, idc what anyone says I was obsessed! My s tier was Dark Academia because I love dark colors. If I had to choose a c tier it would be I need Space. There are no lower tiers for me lol
Have you tried Solo Mission with a Matte Topcoat? It really changes the look, and I found myself warming to the polish after wearing it with stamped seashells!
Loved your rankings! I agree with most of them. I didn't care for the birthstone collection. I didn't feel the need to buy birth stones that weren't relevant to me? Idk if that makes any sense. Maybe because I'm bitter due to being a November Topaz baby and being hella jealous of all the other beautiful birthstones 😂 like why is mine pee coloured??? My bestie is almost my bday twin and she also hates our birthstone😂😂 I personally think the dark academia collection was my favourite this year. I bought the most polishes from that collection and created a beautiful mani with some dark academia-esk nail stamps this year! It was so fun!!! Planning on doing a HT order very soon. Hoping to get vitamin glow and camera shy + some others! Anyway thanks for reading my ramble!!! Adore you girly❤❤
Dark academia and ice cream were probably my top tiers for the year. I also really loved the glow collection too. My dud was basically all the thermals. I don't buy thermals anymore due to shelf life (I made the exception cuz I own everything HT makes lol) but none of the colors were flattering on me not even the pink! Ick! 😂
I love I need space!! I wasn't planning to get any nail polish but this release... it sent me deeper into this nail polish pit... since I didn't care about nail polish until not pressed... I wasn't trying to build a collection at all Aah edit.. I have to say I never look at full collections 😅 as long as it's good enough for me to want to buy it's too good already
i totally get that! as a consumer i definitely am super picky and rarelyyy buy full collections lol theres always 1-2 shades that just aren’t my favorite. or i only like 1-2 shades from a release haha!
@ waste of Space, I’m rover it and Alien infatuation. I also got miss fire. I like them all. They came today with my mooncat order so I’m calling them my Christmas presents to myself 😂
I thought the Space collection was creatively the best overall collection this year. However, I didn’t buy anything from it-and likely never will-because I would never wear such warm tones. I love them on other people, though! 🤷♀️
I do like the marketing, but.. not the polishes only cus for the price point, I gravitate towards the shades similar to their releases for the indie brands.
🫢 I agree with you on some things but disagree on others! I adore alien infatuation 😅 also Cristine did “address” silent library being a “frosted metal” she defined it as anything with that “specific pigment”… so even tho it’s Not the same “it’s still a frosted metal in my book” -Cristine 🙃 I think I’d rank them: S- Birthstone (love. Maybe One note but looking over it because WOW🎉) A- I Need Space, Royalty quad, Declassified (love but yes a couple notes lol) B- Rock Candy, Dark Academia (expected to love more. Good but Needed a couple tweeks) C- Anniversary Thermals (I can’t stand a full skittle of this set and they’re gonna dieee) D/F- Cookies and Cremes, Underglow (just not it for me) I think I agree with another commenter that realized just how many of these we actually didn’t love this year 😅😅😅
I thought they were just okay. Mostly, they were cute but didn't really pull me in. I look at HT as a 3/5 indie brand. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's nothing special, especially since my collection is getting quite large and diverse between all the indie brands and HHC plus PPU. They just don't grab me anymore. I wonder how creative HT would be month after month if they participated in HHC or PPU.
Your eyes look extra pretty in this video. Did u do something different? I agreed with how you ranked the collections. Solo Mission was definitely a dud. Look forward to next year! 😊
aw thank you! i used black eyeliner today instead of brown so maybe thats it? 🤣 but so glad you agree haha! definitely looking forward to next years releases, i just hope there’s less of them 😅
I live in Phoenix... there was no way I was buying thermals in the middle of summer here unless I loved the hot stat color... which I didn't on any of them.
aw yeah thats risky! though i did see a lot of people who posted from phoenix say their packages had arrived safely. so it *might* be worth it if you end up loving a thermal down the line!
S- Birthstones A- Holo Royalty, Dark Academia, Declassified, Mixed Emotions, Shimmering Secrets B - I Need Space, Rock Candy, 5th Anniversary C- Underglow, Cookies & Creme (minus Black Flake Taco) D- Black Flake Taco (It's not boring but I personally don't like it)
Ooff!! This one is tough… Until this day I’ve never bought anything from HT cause it’s only a few shades that caught my eye but eventually I lose interest… not sure why. But I don’t discard the idea of trying them out later on 🤷🏻♀️
I totally understand that! 😅 I think a lot of people consider holo taco boring or basic when they’re already exposed to the world of indies that offer more complex shades. Even with HT cremes, I know they’re great quality and all but it’s also easy to overlook them too!
For my personal taste, 2023 was an absolute bangin year for Holo Taco, so 2024 in comparison felt disappointing. I am very much not a dark polish girlie almost at all, so I was entirely uninterested in the Dark Academia collection, as well as the I Need Space collection with the exception of Solo Mission, which ended up being super disappointing in person and still hasn't made it past the swatch stick for me. It looked so pink and delicate online but on my nails it's brown. My number one favourite release from HT still to this day is the retro jellies, and it frustrates me that they don't seem to be exploring much of the jelly realm. They're so incredibly versatile, and Cristine has said many times that one of her goals with HT was for customers to be able to mix and match and make their own custom combos, and what better way to do that than with jellies?! They have a Jelly section on their website but if you go to it, it's basically just polishes with jelly bases that are packed with glitters and shimmers with the intention of being applied opaque, which imo is NOT a jelly. I used to be an HT stan but I've been getting bored and exploring other brands recently. Mooncat has my heart at the moment lol.
I had a really bad year with Holo Taco lol S Tier: Birthstones A Tier: I Need Space B Tier: Dark Academia (Speciality Polishes), Underglow C Tier: Shimmering Secrets, Mixed Emotions, Declassified 002 D Tier: Dark Academia (Cremes), Cookies & Cremes HATE IT: ROCK CANDY
I did not like Mixed Emotions to the point that i didn't think I would buy anymore from HT. It was my first thermal polish buy and I had no idea about the short shelf life. When I saw them in person, the colors were so off, and i wasn't a big fan. Thermals just arent for me. Loved the underglow and rock candy.
Shimmering secrets is a tough one to judge for me because it has two of my all-time FAVORITES (spyglass and teal no lies) and then two just. Meh. A fairly boring pink imo. And I love glitters, but really not square glitter. If it was just those two faves though? I think no collection would ever beat them. Stunning, no notes.
For the first declassified, 50 s.o.g. was taken from a mixing livestream from years prior. I'd have loved 002 to have another taken from that old/unique of a source, instead of just recent releases. Would add to the mystique, instead of just feeling like the eye doctor going "do you like number one... or number two...". Not that the 002s aren't great, just I liked the verve of the 001 having such an eclectic mix of sources
Omg yes! I almost forgot about that, totally agree with you! And hahah the eye doctor analogy is soo accurate 😝 I know I liked 001 more bc they just felt so seasonal/holiday, but you’re right the sources were just better too!
My list is so different! I despised Cookies & Crème, I live in the UK and i only used this collection to boost up my order to $99 for the free shipping and i have only tried on black flake, peri-social and the milky white shimmer, the rest live in the regret pile purchases! The underglow I dont hate the vibes but I was one of those who had a massive issue with the formulas and ended up getting refunds on some of them as they performed so badly. The holo royalty was boring, I feel like we have so much with those colours and they are not unique enough for a limited edition. Honestly the next Holo Royalty is looking to be the same. The declassified I agree was DLC but I actually preferred the vibes in those and they perform better, although I was underwhelmed with them. S- Birthstones, Rock Candy A- Declassified B- Dark Academia, Mixed Emotions, I Need Space C- Underglow D- Cookies & Crème (minus black flake and peri-social I love those), Holo Royalty
My problem with bout 60-70% of the releases this year is that they just felt.... meh. They felt like any colors I could find at Target from Essie or Orly or Sally Hansen. There were a few stand outs for me but with polishes being $13+ and I have to pay for shipping, I REALLY want to be WOW'ed 🤩 and I just wasn't. Not that anything was ugly--they're all gorgeous! But Holo Taco just feels like another drugstore brand to me now, not anything so special, and *especially* not at their price points. I can go find a pink shimmer at CVS for $8.
I totally get you! I’ve seen a lot of people express this sentiment too. I remember seeing a comment once that said they realized they’re disappointed in HT releases bc they’re expecting them to be more like other indies or boutique brands, but Holo Taco has transcended being a boutique. They’re so much larger than those other brands that Orly or Sally Hansen would be more of a direct competitor, which makes soo much sense since they do release a lot of cremes and more ‘basic’ shimmers or specialty finishes that aren’t as complex as smaller brands since they’re limited to what pigments they can use. So it really lines up with what you said! I know drugstore prices have increased too tho, so technically HT is the better option when it comes to finishes, but yeah totally agree that their finishes really don’t have the WOW factor that indies do. They’re like the basic/entry level of specialty finishes imo
I did not buy any Halo Taco this year. I mostly have toppers from HT and wish they had put out more of those. Nothing stood out for me in these collections. Looking forward to your Mooncat ranking.
@@PolishedYogiactually this video made me realize the few toppers we got this year! Sad! Toppers used to be HT’s uniqueness. Curious about that flower topper coming next year. And now that you mentioned it I will remember the rainbow sprinkle topper until it comes out 😢
Yesss me also that would have LOVED to see more toppers from HT this year !! Earlier this year I discovered, and purchased immediately, a multichrome flakie bundle from I Scream Nails...And I enjoy making loose glitter mixes so that scratches the topper itch 😂
@@PolishedYogi noo me too!! i love the reflective glitter, i honestly thought she was going to retire more polishes, to open the catalog for this year. i also thought the collection was old, but it isn't oops.
I was kinda bummed by this year’s releases. It just didn’t seem to be up to the indie polish standards. I hope they have more speciality polishes in 2025
i totally get that, but i think its unrealistic to compare them to small scale indies 😅 i saw someone mention that they should be grouped with Orly vs indies or even the bigger boutique brands and it makes a lot of sense to me! but i do also hope we get more specialty finishes next year too, and that they don’t retire more of those instead 🥲
I have to say that I love your videos but I strongly disagree with you putting Birthstones on top because of the customer experience with how little of the limited edition polish was actually available on release. Rewarding this company for the FOMO they cultivate by putting this collection on top isn't cool. I chose not to get this collection when they restocked because of how they stocked it initially. You are my favorite nail vlogger ever but I feel like you missed a big fail with the Birthstones collection in your ranking, maybe because you got them as PR and didn't have to experience what the average consumer did on these.
Watching this made me realize how much I didn’t love a good chunk of their polishes this year, BUT I loved all of the themes and marketing. Especially cookies n cremes, rock candy, and the thermal one
yes totally get that!! such a sucker for their themes & marketing this year, the theme alone for cookies n cremes would be an S for me 🤣
Never let the memory of the HT Retro Jellies Die 🗣🗣 Justice for jellies!!!
Neeeed more of those!!!
I thought they were bad.... They even faded on my nails while wearing them. 😅
I loved the lineup but yeah, wasn't a big fan of the formulas. @@maritta2504
I passed on those jellies I just want plain jellies at a reasonable price. No glitter, no flakies, I just want the jelly!
@@vanessam9251 and I'm out here spreading the word about Night Owl Lacquer's Neon Jello collection. It's so freaking perfect and was probably my favorite collection to come out this year
Yeah the frosted metals thing - it seems like they're trying to test a new metallic option that won't have tarnishing issues like some of the OG frosted metals do, but... it's not the same finish, so I think they should just pioneer a new name for it. I love the frosted metals look enough to "use them before I lose them" and just accept that some of them might tarnish over the years (though it doesn't even seem like that happens with all of them). And Silent Library looks cool too, but maybe they should call it like, a... dappled metal or something. It's fine on its own, just don't give it the same name.
Yeah, its just not the same... I love the frosted metals but the only ones I have not seen any change are Mint Money, Frozen Benanas and Favourite Sister. (I own every FM except Gift reciept)
YESS I’ve been waiting for this video!! I love watching your tier list videos haha
Also honestly, Holo Taco holds a special place in my heart, but lately they haven’t been exciting me much:’)
same
@21:05 I know I don't speak for all November bbs but Topaz Tears was my fave from the collection, and I'm actually wearing it right now! I love the olivey bronze shimmer, and the iridescent flakes that shift to teal add even more dimension. (I also love Secret Society, Solo Mission, and Amber Apathy so I might be holding down the fort for the ugly polishes)
I don’t own it but topaz tears was definitely the only color I considered getting from the birthstone collection. Everything else seemed like stuff I’ve seen before.
@@MirandaChampoux It’s also my favorite of the entire birthstone collection. So if you think you’d like a dark moody polishe with gold flakey bits (with a bit of green too), then definitely get it before it sells out! It’s the only one I bought a back up for, as I know it’s a bottom seller and won’t ever be getting another restock. 😂
I liked Topaz Tears as well! I don't own any of the birthstone shades because I was upset as a January girly so I didn't want to buy any of them 😂 I did make a cart tho with Topaz Tears and a few other shades but decided against it. I see pics of it tho and I always find myself loving it ❤
I mean, as a November baby, i love Topaz Tears!!! Is s changy, so moody, so pretty in general!!!
Yeah I had said on Reddit when the DC [002] came out that it was basically an underglow expansion pack 😂 and for someone who wasn’t thrilled about the underglow collection, I was pretty miffed. I suppose it makes it easier to cope with the fact that they’re lost in the mail rn LMAO
Omg yay! I wish I had saved your comment to give a proper shout out because that made me crack up 🤣 but oh nooo!! I’ve seen a lot of people sharing that their orders are lost or delayed right now, this holiday season seemed especially hectic for HT/USPS! 😫
i think the microshimmer in rock candy is meant to be more of a subtle glow, so in my opinion she should have gone with all corresponding shimmers like jam session. bc even though i liked them, doing contrasting shimmers is confusing when they can’t really be as intense as most people would like without disrupting the holo. jam session and spyglass really showcase the additional glow factor without as much expectation for like a distinct line of shimmer
Loved dark academia the most from the year, ended up being the one I bought the most single bottles from. Like you can tell the brand had fun with a moody theme.
Thanks for all your reviews Steph!! You both saved & damaged my bank account 😂
it was such a great release!! i almost wish they gave us even more sparkly specialty finishes instead of the 4 cremes, but i appreciate the balance too. and haha you’re so welcome!! 😁
Me too!!!! It was so moody and mysterious and as a reader I gobbled that collection up like a goblin
Loved this style of video. HT is not in my regular rotation of purchases but I always watch the launches. The most I buy from HT 2-4 polishes at a time, never a full collection. My personal favorite was Dark Academia, that was the only time I came close to purchasing the full collection. My second close call was the Cookies and Crème bundle, but I fought the urge and bought none.
I loved the Holo Royalty set....so much I got 2 from the vault that I had missed. I have no notes on that one. Otherwise...I am not a collection person...I prefer to pick and choose...whole collections are always going to have 1-2 that I'll never use. Love the video!
yay i’m glad you loved those & grabbed the 2 from the vault!! but yes definitely more of a fan picking and choosing, its rare that i love a full collection too 😅 glad you enjoyed!! 🤗
Agree, I love seeing the theme of a whole collection but I'd feel bad picking up a set that had a polish or two that I wouldn't get good use from
I am so happy you did this again. It’s very cool to see how you break it all out.
so glad you love this series!! 😁 excited to share the rest in the coming weeks 💞
Overall the birthstone collection was my favourite, although I only bought 3 shades. But I loved the jewel tones and varied formulas. Peridot is my birthstone and I'm generally not very excited about it... but the Peridot polish is stunning.
I also really liked Teal No Lies, and would like to see the micro-metallic flakes show up again in the future.
Love this kind of content. So much fun to revisit the releases of the year 🙏
so happy to hear that, thank you!! 😄
This really makes me think of how many things I forget about in a year, haha. I can't believe all of these came out in 2024! I agree with you on the Declassified bundles, I would have loved to have seen some older polishes in more interesting finishes be pulled from her swatch stash. Interested to see what comes out in 2025.
"Are we really not gonna talk about?" THANK YOU for being the person to address it. 👏👏 Silent Library is a lovely polish, but calling it a frosted metal wasn't it for me either. The Birthstone Collection was the winner for me this year too; some really gorgeous shades in there. I bought two full collections with some extras (one set as a gift), and ngl I was a bit annoyed seeing how soon Miss Fire was released after Gosh Garnet. 😑
Love this! I used to buy every collection, but this year the only FULL collections I bought were the rock candy and birthstone. I agreed with a lot of your comments and I am glad I found your channel this year! PS I LOVE how you do the comparisons with polishes from different companies! As a polish lover, seeing them compared to different companies has really helped me make smart purchasing decisions.
cant wait!! awesome idea
Hehe thanks!! Can’t wait to hear what you think & how you’d rank them!
YOU are doing the lords work with this miniseries, brava yogi you are queen 🎉
Wow.. i love that you make these videos! Looking back at all the HT releases this year really shows how they've grown imo. I didn't buy most of these.. just a few here & there. It's too bad about the thermal collection, bc had it not been 100 degrees here at the time i probly would've jumped on the whole set. But i ended up skipping out. I'm excited to see what they keep coming out with. I think they're def on an upward trend.
Love these choices! Mine are:
S - Rock Candy (just such a fun vibe/launch/theme/palette); Birthstones
A - I Need Space; Dark Academia; Cookies & Cremes (though DANG you're right about a sprinkle topper!!)
B - Underglow; Declassified (the names bump Declassified from C to B, as does Miss Fire)
C - Mixed Emotions; Shimmering Secrets
D - just too many releases in general, though there's none of these I'd take away. They did a great job, but too many can dim the prestige around each.
I hope we see more of the livestreams have time for stuff like polish mixing, combo requests, etc with the releases being just slowed down again that they're all really exciting and anticipated. Overall a great year for them though!
oh yes i def can agree that having so many releases just dims the excitement or each launch! i wonder if they’ll continue to scale back next year. and omg yeah i’d love to see more of those kind of livestreams too!
Agree! “I Need Space” box looks like marble meat and Solo Mission it’s ground beef meat counterpart 🤢
Oh yea I agree. That box went behind the others. No thanks to the meat box. 😂😂
i’m not vegetarian but there’s TOO much meat 🗣️ lol
I am new to nail polish and HT this year but I'm a big fan of what they put out and it seems to me there's a vocal minority of people who seem to object to every release but I bet there are a ton more who enjoy them just fine. I agreed with most of your rankings, though I would probably have swapped the Space and Royalty ones because I don't like red tones so much,nand I would've bumped up the Underglow collection. Bring on all the crushed Holo and shimmers!
This was a great video to watch while sipping my coffee waiting for my partner to wake up on Christmas morning :) I liked their theming a lot more this year, and I like that my two favorite Holo Taco collections this year (the Mars and Dark Academia ones) were ones you liked too! Even then I didn't feel swayed a bit to buy the ENTIRETY of either, just pick and choose my faves. What a great wrap-up, I love hearing your thoughts!!
I think I purchased one or two polishes from every launch this year, but this is the first year in a long time I did NOT pick up the entire launch of anything. The collection I purchased the most from was the Birthstone collection. I think I picked up half. Those were so so gorg! I need space was my next fav collection, followed by Shimmering Secrets, and the declassifies. 🥰
I quite agree with your rankings! I’ve had to really back off buying polishes this year, so I felt like I couldn’t give coherent thoughts on my own But based on what I’ve seen and heard, I think you did a great job 😊
Thanks for sharing, as always, and Happy Holidays!! 🎄💜
Great Holo Taco year in review! I loved inside job. It was a glitter! You nailed the vibe about solo mission-strange color.
Oh thank you! 🤗
You may remember me telling you that I’ve never purchased from HT. I don’t have anything against them really except for the price to bottle size ratio. I just never felt the urge to buy from them.
I’m just here to support your channel!❤
Loved hearing your thoughts about all of these as a retrospective! Mine are:
S - I Need Space (My one and only full collection purchase from HT this year. Loved every shade and formula. I have trouble picking which is my favorite!)
A - Underglow; Birthstones; Dark Academia. They did such a great job with the concept and direction for these. Really hit the mark with the vibes and made some fun polishes.
B - Shimmering Secrets; Declassified 002. These had some neat formula offerings! Not wowed by all of them, but there were a couple of standouts.
C - Mixed Emotions; Cookies and Cremes. Most of the shades in these collections just weren't my style. Generally don't wear many cremes or thermals.
D - Rock Candy. I'm a fan of crushed holo, but these just felt underwhelming, especially compared to other offerings in the market. I didn't feel interested in any of the colors.
I loved the meat collection as well…even Solo Mission. Dark Academia was a favourite for me as well. Thank you ❤Happy Holidays
I found your channel midway through the year around the time of Rock Candy collection and have loved hearing your thoughts ever since ☺️
This year I bought less polish compared to the year before because I’m getting to that point where I have too much and feel I need to really dive back into my collection 😅
That said, this was my ranking for the year based on theming and if I did buy the polishes/would buy the polishes, even if I didn’t, or if I bought them and didn’t like them lol:
S - Shimmering Secrets (super loved Teal No Lies, wish I bought Spyglass), Dark Academia (didn’t buy the whole set but generally I love darker polishes and the darker vibes/theme), Birthstones (so many options to choose from, many of which I really like, I bought 5 including Topaz Tears even though I don’t love it but it’s my birth month 😭), Declassified 002 (I preferred these colors of shimmer to the ones in Underglow and I love black and red specialty polishes)
A - Underglow (love the concept, not as big of a fan of the colors)
B - I Need Space (love the idea and the creativity, just not my vibe)
C - Cookies n Cremes (I’m just not super into cremes)
D - Rock Candy (didn’t love the colors, too bright for my taste and I agreed with your take on them not being shimmery enough), Mixed Emotions (bought two, tried them, didn’t love them)
Solo Mission is my top fav in 2024. 😮
omg wow! well i’m glad that you love that one hehe
The only collection I had no interest in was Thermals. Short shelf life mixed with not *loving* the colors in either state
Yeah I can definitely see that being an easy skip for most people! 😅 I wish thermals could last forever, I really loved the color combo for Rage Bait & Funny Feeling!
Totally feel you on Solo Mission - I bought that during Black Friday and was most excited for that one out of the 15 polishes I purchased…but I was so disappointed! Not flattering whatsoever (on me anyway).
Thanks for this! Very interesting hearing everyone’s thoughts on polish! ❤
It’s too gray 😭😭
What's your favorite polish this year? Mine is Vitamin Glow. It's my favorite color combo in my favorite finish and it's so glowy! The perfect periwinkle. Regarding people being more negative I think since Holo Taco has gotten more popular there are just more people to upset to be honest. The unhappy voices are the loudest usually.
Vitamin Glow is soo gorgeous!! That’s such a tough one to answer since it can just depend on my mood lol but I think I’m Rover It is up there for me!
And yeah that’s true too, the bigger something gets the more criticism you’ll hear around it 😅
I remember the questions about Silent Library being addressed on a livestream around the time of its release, after people started receiving it and painting with it. Cristine explained that the foil flakes that the lab used might be slightly smaller or slightly more uniform than the older "frosted metal" formulas that people are familiar with, but the main reason why Silent Library appears different to our eyes is because the base color is so much darker than any other metallic foil finish that HT has ever made. The foil flakes are literally obscured more by the darker pigment of the deep blue base. I think that makes sense. Although, disclaimer, I don't personally possess Silent Library (or any polishes from the Academia collection, because I don't go for super dark colors on my nails), and the only HT metallic foil that I have is Gift Receipt, which is the brightest, foily-est one 😅 I hope that helps explain it a bit.
I agree with you overall, I think HT had a great year, considering that they keep expanding the finishes that they make, appealing to more and more different interests, different color palettes, even getting into brick and mortar Ulta stores. It's interesting to see that there were nine collections, because I went back and counted, and I only picked up nine total shades released this year (and four of those were birthstones lol). While there were five collections that I skipped entirely (although I might eventually get a couple from the Declassified set sometime next year), it was simply because they weren't my personal vibe or preference. I can still totally see how pretty they are, and how they appeal to a wide array of polish fans. That's just smart business practice, to provide options for everyone.
As far as individual polishes that I tried, my top pick is definitely the beautiful glowy Spyglass, which I heard you mention, and maybe Phantom Call as runner-up. I love the strong shift of that one, and I found that it pairs so well with last winter's Curfew Crasher, which I also recently picked up. (This season I've really been getting into moody mauve-y colors for the first time. So pretty.) But I also feel like big raspberries go to Solo Mission-why oh why does it remind me of 4AM city sidewalk vomit splotches 😂
I'm also holding out for jewel-toned crushed holos!! I put that request on all the surveys 💅 Thanks for sharing all your observations here
I Need Space is my favorite collection of HT. It is the only collection I bought in full. It really fit what I like. I’m Rover It is as close to my favorite color I have found in a polish. Solo Mission is my least favorite; but I don’t hate it. I like putting rose gold flake topper on it when I wear it. Silver flake can work as well.
First, I love your swatches and comparisons and all your videos just like this! I, however, have opposite taste in polish than you, and that's OK (I hope! ). I don't but fill collections, but I would have put the sugar candy at the top, and I don't buy her full collections, but I bought the yellow bc it was so unique! 😂❤. I also loved the grad and under grad collection, but didn't buy any bc they were similar to ones I own. I would put the underglow as yawn/boring 😂 bc I have the matching orly collection. Tysm for sharing and merry Christmas!
Thank you so much! And omg yes of course that’s okay haha, having different tastes is what makes things more fun & interesting!! lm glad you loved the yellow from rock candy enough to buy it hehe, I actually did end up liking it more once it was late summer/early fall! 🌻 and ahh yes I remember people saying the Underglow looked really similar to Orly’s spring release, I didn’t get that one unfortunately but remember loving it too 🙈 but I’m so glad you enjoyed watching, merry Christmas to you too! 🤗🎄
Lol, Solo Mission is probably my top Holo Taco shade! I have a very muted coloring myself and can't wear extremely bright or saturated shades, even if I think they're pretty. I find solo mission very understated, complex, and flattering for my coloring.
I'll spin it - ranking my favorite polish from each collection! (not that I have them all)
S - Waste of Space
A - Sour Note; Brownie Points; Miss Fire;
B - Ruby Madly Deeply; Swan Song;
C - Funny Feeling; Blush Money; Devil's Advocate (I've struggled w/ the formula on D.A.)
i love this!! if i had more time i def would love to just rank every polish too lol i pretty much agree with your rankings though! maybe except funny feeling, which is quite a surprise from me lol
Hahaha I love the *smile and nod* tier name.
My random tier list:
I Need Space is S tier for me solely for Orbite Me and Alien Infatuation-they elevate everything else.
Cookies n’ Cream-meh D tier.
Shimmering Secrets C Tier for me too!
Rock Candy D Tier
Mixed Emotions C tier
Dark Academia Ivory Tower mehs it down to B Tier
Birthstones- S Tier
Underglow-S Tier,
Declassifieds 002 A Tier
This was fun! You looked so pretty!
I need space in the collection that got me REALLY into specialty nail polishes, it will always be my favorite
Oh yay!! Love that for you 🥰
It’s so interesting to see what everyone likes and different perspectives- I love holo taco but I think that they are limited a lot by pigment availability. I think Cristine would like to give everyone the craziest polishes but she just can’t because of how much volume they are doing… I actually really love teal no lies, milky white shimmer we’re in some of my top polishes and I didn’t expect that at all. My most used I late checkout from the vacation collection and now peridont bother me. I need more very vibrant colours with reflective pigment included! I don’t love reflective toppers on their own as they just look like dirt most of the time
I’m surprised I haven’t seen much talk about Simply chaotic not being accurate to pictures and/or having batch issues. There has been very few creators/snatchers who got a polish that was very light green in the hot state. Most I have seen had a very dark warm state; and that’s also the one I got. Also, my disappointment with the birthstones (#firstworldproblem #collectorproblem) is that imo playing with sapphire is a dupe for Mooncat’s rue morgue… and topaz is one of my fav from birthstones ha ha
I personally loved the royalty collection and the variety of formulas in just 4 polishes
I really like your take on I need space, it was a very fresh and well thought of collection.
Thanks for your video as always
I loved the need space collection, it was just weird theming for a spring collection. I almost wonder if calling it more of an anti valentine collection would have worked better. I found myself using it constantly this fall, I’m rover it is gorgeous
I think they did a great job combining that theme actually! Translating the idea of "going into space" being because you're either fed up with Valentine's or you just need some alone time. That helps an anti-Vtines theme also work if you are happily in a couple too, because everyone needs space sometimes! (Sometimes these merged themes just feel random, but this one I think they pulled off the combo well :) )
Omg yes I’ve seen people describe it as anti Valentines and I can totally see it too! I didn’t remember if it was intentional or not but it definitely works. And yess I also had I’m Rover It on my fall rack, it was perfect!! 🍁✨
I'm so surprised to find out how many people don't like Solo Mission. I really love it and I'm sad because I think they'll retire it this year.
i would honestly be surprised if they retired it next month! it definitely would be a shame since i do think the color is especially flattering on deeper skin tones, but i think in general i’d just like to see that formula in different colors 😅
I love the infinity necklace ☺️
thank you! ☺️♾️
cristine has talked about the labeling of silent library as a frosted metal, to her, she sees it on a more technical level than just only packed with foil flakes, something about its reflectivity, i'm sure you can find a clip somewhere! i personally don't agree with it, could make a new name for it like frosted flecks
anyways i'm still waiting on my birthstones to come in ever since the restock ;-; but ever since trying birthday brat, i already want a backup LOL it is so amazing
I didn't buy any full collections this year, though I have many from previous years. I enjoyed seeing your ranking and hearing your thoughts anyway. My biggest win is that they finally released unscented hand creme! Even though Cristine intended the original hand creme to be gently scented, it was too strong for me
I'm Rover It from I Need Space is incredibly underrated! Unbelievable for fall.
truly THE fall shade!!
I agree with the comments that say that this year was a little boring in general, and I feel it has a lot to do with Cristine leaving part of the creative part to the HT team, and i personally feel like we can tell which collections had Cristine as the designer and which ones were the team
Shocked already. Solo mission was the only one I bought from that collection and I love it haha.
it seems to be such a divisive shade lol! 😆 i’m glad that you love it though, i hope we see more of that finish next year!
I love this ranking! I agree with everything except I’d swap the placements for the Underglow and Royaltea collections. I loved 3/4 shades in the Royaltea collection, a chunky purple square glitter and teal smooth metallic were under-utilised formulas and were really fun to see. I don’t love the Underglow collection because the colour combos are pretty common and I don’t love the crelly shimmer formula since the shimmer doesn’t glow nearly as strongly as a jelly shimmer.
My two worlds have now collided - Dance Moms and nail polish!
Lmaoo to be fair I’m only familiar with Dance Mom memes, I never actually watched it 😭
looking back on these releases, holo taco had a lot of collections!
Right!! It still felt like every month there was something new 😅
I only got three of the thermals, and they all died in less than two months. They were stored with the other ones, but they did not last. Their customer service was amazing and refunded the order, but it was a big let down :(... I also agree with them not revisiting old finishes, but I did enjoy several of the collections and was happy to see a pink for October (as an October baby lol).
The only full collection that I bought this year were the thermals; I really loved them; so far they are still functional also. (I also had never bought any color-changing nail polishes previously). I agree about the sprinkles; that would have been really cool to go with the ice cream collection!
i’m glad you’ve been loving them! they should last at least a year before any fading so i hope we’re able to enjoy them for even longer 🤞🏼 and right!! we can only hope a sprinkle topper will be in next year’s Declassified set 😅
These rankings are so fun. Underglow is s tier for me!
Thank you!! I can totally see that being S tier, I’m glad you love it that much! 🤩✨
13:55 If they were ever going to make an exception to their marketing strategy of not allowing PR before the release, this would’ve been the time. They should’ve known that a lot of their customers wouldn’t be familiar with thermal polishes. I saw people had bought back-ups of the whole collection etc.
My favorite polish from underglow was Swan Song, idc what anyone says I was obsessed! My s tier was Dark Academia because I love dark colors. If I had to choose a c tier it would be I need Space. There are no lower tiers for me lol
Have you tried Solo Mission with a Matte Topcoat? It really changes the look, and I found myself warming to the polish after wearing it with stamped seashells!
i haven’t! i think that shade just isn’t for me 🙈
Loved your rankings! I agree with most of them. I didn't care for the birthstone collection. I didn't feel the need to buy birth stones that weren't relevant to me? Idk if that makes any sense. Maybe because I'm bitter due to being a November Topaz baby and being hella jealous of all the other beautiful birthstones 😂 like why is mine pee coloured??? My bestie is almost my bday twin and she also hates our birthstone😂😂
I personally think the dark academia collection was my favourite this year. I bought the most polishes from that collection and created a beautiful mani with some dark academia-esk nail stamps this year! It was so fun!!! Planning on doing a HT order very soon. Hoping to get vitamin glow and camera shy + some others! Anyway thanks for reading my ramble!!! Adore you girly❤❤
Dark academia and ice cream were probably my top tiers for the year. I also really loved the glow collection too. My dud was basically all the thermals. I don't buy thermals anymore due to shelf life (I made the exception cuz I own everything HT makes lol) but none of the colors were flattering on me not even the pink! Ick! 😂
My favorite of the year was the first, i just love the i need space skittle
Yess such a great lineup!
I love I need space!! I wasn't planning to get any nail polish but this release... it sent me deeper into this nail polish pit... since I didn't care about nail polish until not pressed... I wasn't trying to build a collection at all
Aah edit.. I have to say I never look at full collections 😅 as long as it's good enough for me to want to buy it's too good already
i totally get that! as a consumer i definitely am super picky and rarelyyy buy full collections lol theres always 1-2 shades that just aren’t my favorite. or i only like 1-2 shades from a release haha!
Are you going to rank other brands collections? If so, which brands?
Yes! I’ll be ranking Mooncat, ILNP, Cirque and Cracked 😊
I don’t like Solo Mission. Great video as always!
I mixed Devil's Advocate and Gift Receipt. **chef's kiss*
Omgg wait that sounds gorgeous!!
I just got 3 of the polishes from I need space collection and love them.
oh fun, which ones??
@ waste of Space, I’m rover it and Alien infatuation. I also got miss fire. I like them all. They came today with my mooncat order so I’m calling them my Christmas presents to myself 😂
yay what perfect timing!! hope you love them all 😍😍
I thought the Space collection was creatively the best overall collection this year. However, I didn’t buy anything from it-and likely never will-because I would never wear such warm tones. I love them on other people, though! 🤷♀️
I do like the marketing, but.. not the polishes only cus for the price point, I gravitate towards the shades similar to their releases for the indie brands.
🫢 I agree with you on some things but disagree on others! I adore alien infatuation 😅 also Cristine did “address” silent library being a “frosted metal” she defined it as anything with that “specific pigment”… so even tho it’s Not the same “it’s still a frosted metal in my book” -Cristine 🙃
I think I’d rank them:
S- Birthstone (love. Maybe One note but looking over it because WOW🎉)
A- I Need Space, Royalty quad, Declassified (love but yes a couple notes lol)
B- Rock Candy, Dark Academia (expected to love more. Good but Needed a couple tweeks)
C- Anniversary Thermals (I can’t stand a full skittle of this set and they’re gonna dieee)
D/F- Cookies and Cremes, Underglow (just not it for me)
I think I agree with another commenter that realized just how many of these we actually didn’t love this year 😅😅😅
I thought they were just okay. Mostly, they were cute but didn't really pull me in. I look at HT as a 3/5 indie brand. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's nothing special, especially since my collection is getting quite large and diverse between all the indie brands and HHC plus PPU. They just don't grab me anymore. I wonder how creative HT would be month after month if they participated in HHC or PPU.
Your eyes look extra pretty in this video. Did u do something different?
I agreed with how you ranked the collections. Solo Mission was definitely a dud. Look forward to next year! 😊
aw thank you! i used black eyeliner today instead of brown so maybe thats it? 🤣 but so glad you agree haha! definitely looking forward to next years releases, i just hope there’s less of them 😅
It’s so interesting to me that this community is not a fan of crushed holo. It’s my favorite.
i know right! but it makes sense since its HOLO Taco and the crushed holos are sooo subtle compared to their linears 😅
I live in Phoenix... there was no way I was buying thermals in the middle of summer here unless I loved the hot stat color... which I didn't on any of them.
aw yeah thats risky! though i did see a lot of people who posted from phoenix say their packages had arrived safely. so it *might* be worth it if you end up loving a thermal down the line!
i didn't buy any of the cookies and creme or thermals collections. i did buy at least one polish of each of the other collections.
S- Birthstones
A- Holo Royalty, Dark Academia, Declassified, Mixed Emotions, Shimmering Secrets
B - I Need Space, Rock Candy, 5th Anniversary
C- Underglow, Cookies & Creme (minus Black Flake Taco)
D- Black Flake Taco (It's not boring but I personally don't like it)
Ooff!! This one is tough… Until this day I’ve never bought anything from HT cause it’s only a few shades that caught my eye but eventually I lose interest… not sure why. But I don’t discard the idea of trying them out later on 🤷🏻♀️
I totally understand that! 😅 I think a lot of people consider holo taco boring or basic when they’re already exposed to the world of indies that offer more complex shades. Even with HT cremes, I know they’re great quality and all but it’s also easy to overlook them too!
For my personal taste, 2023 was an absolute bangin year for Holo Taco, so 2024 in comparison felt disappointing. I am very much not a dark polish girlie almost at all, so I was entirely uninterested in the Dark Academia collection, as well as the I Need Space collection with the exception of Solo Mission, which ended up being super disappointing in person and still hasn't made it past the swatch stick for me. It looked so pink and delicate online but on my nails it's brown.
My number one favourite release from HT still to this day is the retro jellies, and it frustrates me that they don't seem to be exploring much of the jelly realm. They're so incredibly versatile, and Cristine has said many times that one of her goals with HT was for customers to be able to mix and match and make their own custom combos, and what better way to do that than with jellies?! They have a Jelly section on their website but if you go to it, it's basically just polishes with jelly bases that are packed with glitters and shimmers with the intention of being applied opaque, which imo is NOT a jelly. I used to be an HT stan but I've been getting bored and exploring other brands recently. Mooncat has my heart at the moment lol.
I had a really bad year with Holo Taco lol
S Tier: Birthstones
A Tier: I Need Space
B Tier: Dark Academia (Speciality Polishes), Underglow
C Tier: Shimmering Secrets, Mixed Emotions, Declassified 002
D Tier: Dark Academia (Cremes), Cookies & Cremes
HATE IT: ROCK CANDY
I mean it’s pretty well rounded at least! I’m glad we both had Birthstones & I Need Space at the top hehe 😎
I did not like Mixed Emotions to the point that i didn't think I would buy anymore from HT. It was my first thermal polish buy and I had no idea about the short shelf life. When I saw them in person, the colors were so off, and i wasn't a big fan. Thermals just arent for me.
Loved the underglow and rock candy.
Shimmering secrets is a tough one to judge for me because it has two of my all-time FAVORITES (spyglass and teal no lies) and then two just. Meh. A fairly boring pink imo. And I love glitters, but really not square glitter.
If it was just those two faves though? I think no collection would ever beat them. Stunning, no notes.
yeah i can see that! i almost forget how amazing teal no lies is. i think i like it for the color more than the finish 🙈
This was a rough year for HT
For the first declassified, 50 s.o.g. was taken from a mixing livestream from years prior. I'd have loved 002 to have another taken from that old/unique of a source, instead of just recent releases. Would add to the mystique, instead of just feeling like the eye doctor going "do you like number one... or number two...". Not that the 002s aren't great, just I liked the verve of the 001 having such an eclectic mix of sources
Omg yes! I almost forgot about that, totally agree with you! And hahah the eye doctor analogy is soo accurate 😝 I know I liked 001 more bc they just felt so seasonal/holiday, but you’re right the sources were just better too!
Now I cant unsee marbled steak. Wth 🤣
lmaooo i’m sorry to ruin it for you 😩🥩
@PolishedYogi eeeww 🤣
My list is so different!
I despised Cookies & Crème, I live in the UK and i only used this collection to boost up my order to $99 for the free shipping and i have only tried on black flake, peri-social and the milky white shimmer, the rest live in the regret pile purchases! The underglow I dont hate the vibes but I was one of those who had a massive issue with the formulas and ended up getting refunds on some of them as they performed so badly.
The holo royalty was boring, I feel like we have so much with those colours and they are not unique enough for a limited edition. Honestly the next Holo Royalty is looking to be the same. The declassified I agree was DLC but I actually preferred the vibes in those and they perform better, although I was underwhelmed with them.
S- Birthstones, Rock Candy
A- Declassified
B- Dark Academia, Mixed Emotions, I Need Space
C- Underglow
D- Cookies & Crème (minus black flake and peri-social I love those), Holo Royalty
I don't think it's an unpopular opinion to like most of these. The hate in comments and on social media mostly comes from a loud minority imo..
My problem with bout 60-70% of the releases this year is that they just felt.... meh. They felt like any colors I could find at Target from Essie or Orly or Sally Hansen. There were a few stand outs for me but with polishes being $13+ and I have to pay for shipping, I REALLY want to be WOW'ed 🤩 and I just wasn't.
Not that anything was ugly--they're all gorgeous! But Holo Taco just feels like another drugstore brand to me now, not anything so special, and *especially* not at their price points. I can go find a pink shimmer at CVS for $8.
I totally get you! I’ve seen a lot of people express this sentiment too. I remember seeing a comment once that said they realized they’re disappointed in HT releases bc they’re expecting them to be more like other indies or boutique brands, but Holo Taco has transcended being a boutique. They’re so much larger than those other brands that Orly or Sally Hansen would be more of a direct competitor, which makes soo much sense since they do release a lot of cremes and more ‘basic’ shimmers or specialty finishes that aren’t as complex as smaller brands since they’re limited to what pigments they can use. So it really lines up with what you said!
I know drugstore prices have increased too tho, so technically HT is the better option when it comes to finishes, but yeah totally agree that their finishes really don’t have the WOW factor that indies do. They’re like the basic/entry level of specialty finishes imo
I did not buy any Halo Taco this year. I mostly have toppers from HT and wish they had put out more of those. Nothing stood out for me in these collections. Looking forward to your Mooncat ranking.
I too wish to see more toppers from Holo Taco in the next year. That is part of the core identity of the brand and hope that doesn’t go away
Omg yess would love to see more toppers from them! I feel like they would really kill it with jellies too, to layer the toppers between!
@@PolishedYogiactually this video made me realize the few toppers we got this year! Sad! Toppers used to be HT’s uniqueness. Curious about that flower topper coming next year. And now that you mentioned it I will remember the rainbow sprinkle topper until it comes out 😢
Yesss me also that would have LOVED to see more toppers from HT this year !! Earlier this year I discovered, and purchased immediately, a multichrome flakie bundle from I Scream Nails...And I enjoy making loose glitter mixes so that scratches the topper itch 😂
@ so good! I’m trying not to try too many brands cuz I’m scared I’ll be addicted and collecting too many 😅
i think private villa and late checkout are actually going on their vacation for retirement
no wayy! Private Villa was one of my favs from the vacation collection, and Late Checkout is so perfect for halloween 😭
@@PolishedYogi noo me too!! i love the reflective glitter, i honestly thought she was going to retire more polishes, to open the catalog for this year. i also thought the collection was old, but it isn't oops.
I was kinda bummed by this year’s releases. It just didn’t seem to be up to the indie polish standards. I hope they have more speciality polishes in 2025
i totally get that, but i think its unrealistic to compare them to small scale indies 😅 i saw someone mention that they should be grouped with Orly vs indies or even the bigger boutique brands and it makes a lot of sense to me! but i do also hope we get more specialty finishes next year too, and that they don’t retire more of those instead 🥲
I have to say that I love your videos but I strongly disagree with you putting Birthstones on top because of the customer experience with how little of the limited edition polish was actually available on release. Rewarding this company for the FOMO they cultivate by putting this collection on top isn't cool. I chose not to get this collection when they restocked because of how they stocked it initially. You are my favorite nail vlogger ever but I feel like you missed a big fail with the Birthstones collection in your ranking, maybe because you got them as PR and didn't have to experience what the average consumer did on these.