Winter to Spring Nail Polish Transition Ideas

Going from dark wintery nail colours to pastels in the springtime can be a hard transition to make. I have put together a few polish ideas (some of my favourites) that will hopefully help you know what to wear during the transition from winter to spring. 

Essie Bangle Jangle 

A grey/lilac polish is super pretty and ideal for this time of year. You have the spring-ness of the lilac but it is paired down and made slightly more wintery and subtle by the grey tones. Beautiful. 

Barry M Cardamom 

This is what I would describe as an "old fashioned green". The perfect middle ground between dark midnight greens and spring-y, fresh, bright greens. 

Barry M Elderberry 

A beautiful blue-grey polish - do you see a pattern with the grey tones to everything? As you can probably tell, I like to go for pale or brighter colours that are still subtle, grey-tones and muted. 

What polishes will you be wearing for the transition from winter to spring? 

Winter Nail Polish Picks 2015

Winter is probably my least favourite season for nail polish. In the spring I wear a lot of greens, pinks and pastels. In the summer I am all about the brights and neons. Autumn is great for deep berry shades, jewel tones and December is, of course, glitter. By the time January rolls around I am usually feeling a little bit lost as to what colours to use, my nails are usually left in a bit of a state after all that glitter over Christmas too. What is a girl to do?  If you are like me and need a little bit of nail inspiration at this time of year, I hope this helps and you enjoy seeing some of my favourites.

Sidenote: winter lighting is not my friend.

WARNING: this post features a LOT of grey *monkey covering his eyes emoji*

First up is Avon Midnight Green. I am a bit fan of green nails in general and I really like this darker green shade. I like that it is not so dark that it looks black and you can still tell it is green.

Barry M Vintage Violet is a really pretty grey-purple shade. It is muted and classy and I think it is quite an usual shade to find from a cheaper brand.



Essie Blue Rhapsody is an icey blue toned silver metallic polish. Its really easy to apply because you just need  one coat and it dries super quickly so if you are impatient - this is the one to go for!




Barry M Chai is a really pretty grey shade that goes with any outfit. You all know how much i rate the Gelly formula so this is definitely a winner for me.

Barry M Mushroom is such a classic shade that i think i will always love and have in my collection. Its a really nice brown-nude but its not so pale that it gives your hands a 'dead' look. Most of the colours i have chosen for winter are quite neutral and simple after the craziness of holiday glitter. 

Essie Jazz is a lovely neutral shade (another neutral!). I would really recommend this shade not just for winter, but for any smart occasion such as an interview or important meeting because it just makes your hands look very tidy and polished. 

Essie Chinchilly is another classic that i wouldn't want to be without in my collection. Its a warm grey with a very slight mink/purple tone. Super pretty and one of my go-to polishes when i don't know what to wear. This is a polish i will never get bored of!

Last but not least, Essie Bobbing for Baubles is a dark navy blue with a grey tone to it. Its a bit more interesting than your average dark blue but its still classy and subtle.The perfect way to add a bit of colour but navy to me, is still a neutral. Great for all skin tones.

What is your favourite polish to wear for winter? Are there any you think I should try?

Avon Coral Beat

Avons Coral Beat is a very well loved and used polish of mine. Although the formula isn't great, I love to use it as a transition colour between summer and autumn. The polish is more orange than it shows up on camera and is very water-y and sheer in consistency so 3 coats (at least!) is needed. 

I understand that orange isn't everyone's cup of tea. I think it is quite a controversial colour, you either love it or hate it. What do you think? 

Butter London - Teddy Girl

I have a guinea pig called Teddy so I think that is part of the reason I picked up this polish. Names play a huge part in nail polish buying for me! 

Teddy Girl is a baby pink milky cream polish (more pink than Essie Fiji) and it kinda reminds me of a strawberry milkshake! 

Pastel formulas are really hard to get right and I think Butter London have done pretty well on this one. The application wasn't the best and did require a bit more concentration than some polishes. The Butter London brushes are quite small and thin unlike a wide Essie brush and as you can see in the second picture, even after 3 coats, the polish was still a bit patchy especailly around the top of the nail which is a bit disappointing considering BL is sold for around £10 a bottle. 

The wear time of Butter London polishes is amazing and you really can't fault it. They don't chip at all and would probably last a good week and a half on most people. 

So, what do you think? Is Butter London worth the hefty price tag? 

Essie Status Symbol

This polish was a birthday gift from my ah-may-zing friend Charlotte - she knows how much I love Essie! 

Status Symbol is basically just the perfect pink. It is definitely not a blue toned pink and is warm without being orange or coral-y and is bright without being a neon. 

The first coat went on quite sheer but after the second coat it was completely opaque and being an Essie polish, the wide brush made it a dream to apply. Status Symbol is also one of the glossiest Essie polishes I have. I have found that some of Essie's more pastel colours are less glossy than the darker or brighter shades. I've had it on my toes for two weeks without a top coat and it's still super shiny. I often find that some polishes are only glossy for 24 hours or they lose their shine after a shower or bath but this one doesn't and it has lasted really well. 

I think I've found a dupe...?!

I think I've found a dupe...?!

Everyone raves about Models Own Utopia but I hate the formula. It's thick, it doesn't apply well at all, it's gloopy and it just doesn't look very nice or smooth on the nails. 

But Barry M Almond (from their new Gelly Hi Shine Summer 2014 additions) is a lovely formula and is pretty much the same colour. 

P.S I think both these nail polishes are dupes of Nails Inc. Porchester Square too!  

My Nail Care Routine

As you guys know, I love painting my nails and I think it was over a year ago now that I settled into a proper nail care routine. 

For the past couple of years I have been using this Sally Hansen Super Shine top coat. I get mine from Xtras online and it is usually available for under £2. It leaves your nails super super shiny and glossy and I've been through several bottles. I just keep going back! 

At the moment, I am using the Avon Gold Strength base coat (£6 but I usually buy it when it's on sale) which seems to be going really well so far. In the bottle, it looks really shimmery but it doesn't translate like that on the nails. 

A base coat that I have also enjoyed using is the Avon Peeling and Brittleness solver (£6 but I usually get it on sale for £2:50)This helped a lot to make my nails super strong and if you paint your nails a lot like I do, I recommend using a treatment as a base coat. Another more expensive option is OPI nail envy.  

Another new step I have added into my nail care routine recently is this liquid freeze quick dry nail spray (£6) I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical when buying it as I didn't think it would work but it really does! It is a totally different formulation to what I thought it would be as it's slightly oily but it really does help my nail varnish dry quicker. 

My best friend has also tried this and she said that it did nothing to help her nail varnish dry quicker and that she hated the oily feeling it left to her fingers.... So maybe it's not for everyone. 

As for tools and cuticles, I use whatever I have around to push my cuticles back. In the photo here, there is an orange stick but I also like using the silicone cuticle sticks, I'm not fussy! 

I do cut my cuticles from time to time, (every 2-3 weeks) and I've never had any problems when doing so. I know that some people say you shouldn't cut them or push them back but I think it's totally up to you and it's just something I like to do to make my nails look nicer. 

To condition my cuticles I use olive oil (once a week) and I've found that this really helps to keep my nails looking healthy. I'm interested in buying the Essie apricot cuticle oil or the Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle butter. Have any of you tried them? What do you think of them? Leave me a comment and let me know. 

I cut my nails with the nail clippers (shown in the picture). I prefer to use these rather than nail scissors as they have a fairly straight edge so give me the basic shape that I like to my nails. 

NOTD - Essie - Bikini so teeny

NOTD - Essie - Bikini so teeny.

This purpley-cornflower blue colour is just amazing. It's bright and pretty and I just know that I am going to be wearing it A LOT this Spring/Summer!!

 

Sorry for rubbish pics.

 

 

The polish has a very very slight shimmer in it and doesnt really show up at all. Its really gorgeous though!