Nail polish/varnish recommendations? (Not gel polish)

[FurryDogMother]

I've finally managed (at age 56!) to grow enough nail for them to look good when polished, but I'm having trouble finding polishes I like - most of those with a goldish sheen to them seem to be far too thin, even with 2 or 3 coats on top of a base coat - probably cos all I have are cheap polishes - so I was wondering if Those Who Know could recommend a good quality brand? Simple as that, really :)

Rimmel - fabulous brushes, huge range of colours, available everywhere (and usually on offer somewhere), and not expensive to start with. Good coverage in 2 coats most of the time.

Barry M - very cheap and some fabulous colours. I love the Gelly polishes for the high shine, but I find they chip quicker than Rimmel.

No7 - good quality and really good brushes. My favourite gold polish is from here, I think it was in a Christmas set a couple of years ago.

Essie - lots of lovely softer colours, but not many metallics. Good quality, decent brushes.

OPI - loads of metallics and a seemingly unending range of dark reds. Not as widely available as others.

I love Nails Inc for the colour range, but I don't like the brushes, because they are the skinny little ones in most of the bottles. Haven't tried the newer gel-style ones though, they may be better.

Sally Hanson complete care base coat and the SH insta dry top coat are good.

Barry M gelly colours are lovely.

I've been really impressed with these M&S ones. They really are one coat, and the brush is lovely; I have big hands and nails and can't be doing with skinny brushes. They have a good range of colours, and once on they stay put for a few days.

M&S Nail Polish

Thanks for the replies - am a bit of a novice at this nail polish malarkey, but after painting them a total of 3 times today (didn't like colour, was too see through etc.) I thought I'd ask the experts :)

I like essie a lot... last well

Their website outlines all the colours and if they are sheer/not. Also, using a base and top coat makes a big difference.

Lots of diff ways to get a clean finish. Mine is: moisturise fingers well, wipe nails only w polish remover, base coat paint top coat. As finger skin oily you will find any smudges should rub off skin quite easily