A/W Nails

I adore buying nail polish! I treat my nails as an accessory, an outfit is just not complete without painted nails and I tend to base my choice of polish on the colours that I am wearing that day. During summer, there was more of an opportunity to wear the entire rainbow spectrum on your finger tips, since it is such a colourful season. From neon brights to pastel shades, I was wearing them all..well tried to. Sadly we are now in the season of Autumn and that means colder weather and warmer colours such as camel browns, burgundy reds, mustard yellows and dusty greys. Consequently this limits what colours you can wear on your nails so for this A/W I plan to stick with reds, nudes and metallics and here are a few that I have tried and tested. 

This is a Nails Inc. polish in the shade 'Basil Street', a nude/beige colour, which I got with the latest issue of Glamour magazine. I have wanted to try a shade like this for a while now, so I was glad to get it free. It's not exactly the 'greige' colour that I've been searching for, it is much browner and may not work with every skin tone. Unfortunately, I found that I had to apply the polish 3 times to get the colour to come through as the product is very thin. I love the colour despite the time spent applying it, and it seems to go with most colours I have been wearing this season. 

I'm a huge fan of Revlon nail polish, not that I tend to buy much of it..at £6.49 each I really can't afford to buy them regularly. Feeling impulsive, I decided to treat myself and since it was 3 for 2 at Boots that was even more of an encouragement. These are the shades I chose, from left to right: 570 'Vixen', 091 'Smoky Canvas' and 680 'Revlon Red'.

'Vixen' was the shade I liked the least out of these three Revlon varnishes as it just didn't match with my skin tone. This is an extremely dark colour which made my hands look awfully pale or as my mum would describe as "corpse like". This is how my nails looked with just one coat (excuse the poor photo) and this is the colour I was expecting from the polish. However, one coat wasn't enough as the product is just too thin for one and so a second coat was applied which made my nails very dark...not good. I was instantly thrown off by the colour as it didn't suit me at all, I could only recommend to those with a very good tan or black skin.

This is 091 'Smoky Canvas' basically a light grey. It's not a colour I think I will wear a lot but it is ideal if you're looking for something simple and low key. Again, much like Nails Inc.s 'Basil Street' this colour would only suit certain skin tones and takes 2 applications to give best results. This polish could compliment most colours in this A/W fashion colour trends so I would't put it down as a complete no no but not necessarily a must have either. This is actually a new shade that has been introduced to Revlon's nail varnish range so right in time for this season.  

You can't go wrong with red nails, they look good with any outfit and just like red lipstick, give an edge. I love the 'Revlon Red' polish as its bold, striking and sexy! I found it a breeze to apply and only needed one coat which will surely allow me to stretch it out for a good few months, since this is the colour I wear on my nails most of the time and I tend to get through plenty of red varnishes. 

I usually purchase polishes from the 17 range at Boots as there is always a fabulous selection of colours, they don't chip and they're cheap. They are usually rather small so you don't get a lot of product..which I guess could explain the low prices. Never the less, I once again found myself eyeing up the 17 display and chose a polish ideal for this A/W to share on Beauty Blah Blah Blah. This is shade 'Mink' from the selection of Supreme Shine varnishes by 17 that guarantees to last for up to 10 days and retails at £3.99.  

Finally! I have found a 'greige' shade that I'm utterly in love with. This is a lovely colour if you want nude/simple nails, 'Mink' is definitely my favourite nail colour for this A/W. The polish comes with a wide brush so application isn't a hassle and the product is much thicker than the Nails Inc. and Revlon varnishes, however I continued to apply 2 coats. Even my mother adores the colour and would consider buying this polish for herself and all she ever wears is pink on her nails! I would urge anyone to buy this 17 Supreme Shine shade, I promise you'll be most impressed. Although it claims the polish will last on your nails for up to 10 days, I did sadly notice a small chip on one of my nails by the forth day but not enough to complain about. 

A TIP FROM TAMARA

We all hate when our nail varnishes become thick, sticky and impossible to use, so why not store your perfectly pretty polishes in the fridge to keep them chilled. This allows the product to last longer as it prevents drying out.

Tamara x