Autumn/Winter Nail Polish

Nail varnishes are a personal beauty favourite of mine. Working in retail under bright lights and having to handle jewellery, leave hands under scrutiny by customers. And it is sort of an 'unwritten rule' that hands have to be constantly moisturised and that nails must be pristine in order to not scare off the customers. 
Varnishes are also the perfect subtle way to express how you feel (i.e mood colours) or as a way to follow beauty and fashion trends.

Here are a few polishes I thought would look perfect for this season and also the colours that I have been wearing on my digits since it got a lot a little dreary outside.

Icy Whites

Although it might be a bit of a no-go to wear white skinny jeans in the winter, no-one said we couldn't paint our nails with it! White looks so crisp on the nail and it has been popular ever since the summer. But even if you wore it on holiday to accentuate that glowing tan, why not continue to wear it in the colder months as a great contrast to the greys, blacks and navys we're all wearing now. 

Pictured above is Barry M Matte White which doesn't actually have a matte finish contrary to the name and I prefer it without. Two coats is all you need for full coverage and voilá, you're all set!

Pastel Pinks

These colours are purely in here just because they are so darn pretty and really compliment a grey accent nail or even black for that matter. The Kate Moss collection for Rimmel offers a beautiful baby pink shade called New Romantic (pictured above) and being part of their Salon Pro range you'd expect an opaque colour but unfortunately it's quite a sheer one, so 3 coats is suggested for the pink you see in the bottle. Up close it has some shimmer but practically undetectable on the nail. 

The next is a glitter varnish by Barry M that can be used as a top coat, maybe on top of New Romantic to accentuate its own pale pink gloss or it can be worn alone as a barely there pink iridescent glitter.  

Note: The two varnishes together are quite girly, but layer up if you'd like to be pretty in pink    

Seasonal Reds

A classic one for the autumn, this has done the rounds in the blogosphere and of course why not mention it again. This is (not like you have to be told again) Vixen by Revlon. A beautiful rich maroon/burgundy colour that has the right amount of red without being too dark. In some lights it can almost look black, more like a dark cherry colour, but if you're a bit too shy to embrace the 'gothic' trend fully for winter, start with this! 

One of my favourites (and one of my mum's who first bought this shade around 10 years ago in Watsons in Thailand) and 2 coats is all you need to get full coverage. Add another layer if 'black cherry' is what you are after.  

I love this colour sooooo much!!

   

Winter Greys

Another that's been in my nail varnish box for a while, is Rimmel's Grey Matter which is just a perfect mid tone pastel grey, practically full coverage in one swipe, it's a winner and the brush is so fat - one of the reasons I adore their 60Seconds range. It's just beautiful and lasts for ages.

The next grey is super glittery! Part of Rimmel's new-ish collection called Precious Stones, Diamond Dust is the polish that I plan on wearing this party season. It has the BEST coverage and it makes me want to stare at my nails all the time. Only con is that because it's quite a thick one, it can peel off and when it peels, the whole thing comes off. Which might be slightly better than the odd messy chip, but you decide. Regardless, I will reapply, I love it that much and to me, it's totally on par with Revlon's Vixen. 

Autumnal Purples

Lastly, beautiful inky purples. Following on with the 'gothic' trend, this is another gorgeous almost black colour that you girls can go to without committing to a completely black varnish. 

First up is Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail paint in Plum. It's a glossy dark purple, that only needs a couple of coats for the desired effect. The gel effect means that your talons will go without chips for just that little bit longer and it is also that bit thicker for a full coating of colour.

Next, is Rimmel's Pompous which is a shimmery dark purple varnish. It's a bit of a tough one to remove, but whilst it's on its fabulous! The silvery shimmer gives it an extra dimension and another member of the 60Second gang that means you can do it on the train, or in the taxi, and you're done in a lovely purple flash.

Lastly, is a chunky purple glitter dispensed in a clear varnish by Topshop called Pluto making it completely top coat material. I've actually teamed this on top of Rimmel's Diamond Dust - it's faaab! 

I paint my nails every week and I wouldn't change my little routine at all. Just as a mention, Barry M in Navy is a close dupe to the recently hyped about Essie's After School Boy Blazer which is another stunner, unfortunately I don't have either with me at the moment so click on the links for a browse.

Thanks for reading,

Steph