Long time readers of my blogging antics will know I love to paint my nails, for a long time I tried all sorts of art and colours, and you may have been wondering where those posts have gone. Well, unfortunately I fell foul of the damaged nails problem. I am not sure if it was my Roaccutane treatment that did it or removing polish with a cheap remover a lot but all of a sudden they lost all their strength and started peeling.
This means that nowadays I am much more sedate with my polish painting, I don't have nail polish on all the time, giving my nails a polish free break of a week or so between reapplications, and I usually go for something that can blend easily with outfits or make a bold statement, but which ultimately I can get wear out of for at least a week before having to break out the nail polish remover.
Before my nails weakened, my brand of choice was OPI, and I had only tried other brands a little bit, but in the interim I have become a huge fan of Essie's diffusion line polishes, and they are now my go to for all my polishes. On my nails they last for an unbelievably long time (we are talking getting on for two weeks with only a bit of tip wear) and they apply smoothly and easily.
I thought I would show you the four shades I have picked out for autumn/winter this year. I may add a shade or two to this line up, but these are the ones I think I will be applying on the regular.
First up, my autumn pair. For my fingernails, it has to be Eternal Optimist, I have been wearing this for a couple of months now after picking it up as a cross between a neutral and a pink. I hate the mannequin hands look, as I have awful circulation in my hands so need a bit of colour to pep up my skin tone. This blush pink is just the right shade to look neutral but not cold.
For my toes I have been going with a vampy red in the form of Fishnet Stockings, When I bought this I got home and had a D'oh moment because in the bottle it looks very very similar to my brighter red Apertif, but once painted this dries as a very deep berry red, perfect for autumn when you want your toes to match the fire they are warming up near.
For winter, and by winter I really mean getting closer to christmas, I will probably switch it up but stick with the same colour palettes. For fingernails, I will be reaching for Tea and Crumpets, which I mentioned in my September lust list. I have been eyeing this shade up for ages, and although it looks a bit nothingy in the bottle it is really very pretty. Closer to christmas when there will be festive decorations around I will want a little shimmer and this provides just that, subtle shimmer which still looks classy.
On the toes I will probably go deeper in tone, this time reaching for a true plum in Bahama Mama. Although originally sold as a summer shade I believe, this immediately sang to me as perfect for winter, it is worth noting too that Essie shades last so long on my toes (they never ever chip, I only reapply because of nail growth) that I may only need to reapply these a couple of times, and they always still look glossy and freshly painted. Nothing better than your toes looking smart for the winter season.
Have you chosen your autumn/winter nail shades? Or do you prefer to just switch it up?