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?

Autumn Nail Polish Picks 2014

Today I'm going to share with you my top autumn nail polish picks. In the autumn I like to wear quite dark colours on my nails with a few grey-iege nudes and greens thrown in. 

Essie Penny Talk

I love rose gold in the autumn, it's warm and metallic and totally appropriate for this time of year.

MUA Khaki Green

MUA have since changed their packaging but I love this polish. It's a classic khaki green which is great for if you want something autumnal but not too dark. 

Essie Merino Cool 

This polish is fairly new to me and I have to say I think i may love it even more than my beloved Barry M Mushroom. It's a grey-iege nude but it's warm with slight purple undertones. I also think it looks really chic and grown-up. 

Avon Tweed

This polish is a very very very dark red that looks almost black/brown in some lights. It's more interesting than just plain black and I think is slightly mysterious too. Perfect for if you're feeling in a vampy mood. 

Essie Bahama Mama

Another favourite, this is a classic berry red-wine shade and it's such a gorgeous colour! I have already worn it multiple times this season and can see myself wearing it again which is very rare for me! 

Rimmel 60 Seconds in Pompous

I hate the name of this polish but I love the colour. I love dark purple nail polish and Barry M do another great one called Vivid Purple. It's not too dark so you can still tell it is a colour and I think shades like this never go out of style or clash with anything. 

Butter London Wallis

I can understand that a lot of people hate this polish because it's not the prettiest but I quite like those ugly-pretty shades. This is such a unique colour and I don't think I've ever seen anything similar from any other brands. 

Avon Cherry Jubilee 

This polish is quite similar to Bahama Mama but much more of a true red shade. This colour never goes out of fashion for autumn and I love wearing it on my toes as well as my fingers. I also like to wear a similar shade on my lips. I love matching lips and nails! 

China Glaze Agro

An olive-y green looks great at this time of year. It's not dark but not bright either and I love the shimmer in this polish. 

What are your favourite nail polishes for autumn? Are there any you think I should try? 

July Round Up and Favourites

After seeing my lovely friend Alice's (from Floral Smile) June round up post, i decided to steal her idea and join in the fun too! At the end of each month, I'm going to try and do a monthly round up to tell you about some if the beauty things, nail varnishes and books I've been loving, blogs I've been enjoying, and some of the things I've been doing and the achievements I've made. 

Books

My favourite book that I've read during July has been Me Before You by JoJo Moyles. It is such a good book and a bit different to the chicklit I usually read. It's super sad though, I cried! 

Beauty

I got the NUXE Reve De Miel lip balm for my birthday at the end of June and I have been loving it during July. It is one of those products that you fallin love with the first time you use it! It's honestly the best lip balm I have ever used. I didn't even know a lip balm could be this good! 

I've also been loving the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation again and luckily I've been tanned enough to wear it. I have the shade 100 and the shade 103 which I mix in when I'm a bit more tanned. I've heard that they've added an even lighter shade to the shade range too so I might have to pick that up as well. 

Nail polish

Nail polish faves this month have been Essie Style Hunter... 

 

Essie Tart Deco

And Models Own Pukka Purple

Food Faves (although this month, it's technically a drink) 

This may be a bit of a weird favourite to have but this month (and for a couple of months previously) I have been loving lemon water. I have a pint every morning and I'm seriously obsessed. It helps with digestion, bloating and loads of things, AND it tastes super good! It's basically just the Bomb.com. 

I'm also loving the Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappachino, I'm soooo glad it's back again this year. SO bad but SO good! 

Blogs and Youtubers 

I have been obsessed with HelloOctober, her blog and youtube. Suzie is such a babe and she's gorgeous! I love that she has been vlogging a lot more and I'm super excited to see more of her new flat and how she decorates it. 

Talking of more vlogging, I've loved EssieButton and Zoella's daily vlogs this month. Both girls vlogged through June but I didn't catch up with a lot of them until July. Estée is hilarious and I just love that girl. I'm totally in love with Reggie too. Who knew I was a greyhound person? Certainly not me... I'm converted! 

Achievements 

I have been out quite a lot in July, I went shopping 5 times (I've not been shopping that many times in one month in about 4 years!), went out for lunch for my mums birthday, went to the beach, the dentist and for a few drives around and about. 

Yay! 

Things I'm looking forward to next month...

In August, I'm super excited because I'm going on holiday and getting my haircut which is very exciting! I'm going to Devon for a week and I haven't had my hair cut for nearly 3 years.

How was your July? What things have you been loving lately? 

Essie Tart Deco

This polish is another one that was a gift from my friend Charlotte for my birthday and you all know by now how much I luurve Essie polishes and this peachy shade is perfect for summer. I have been lusting after Tart Deco for literally YEARS but have always put off buying it because I wasn't sure it would suit me - let me know, do you think it does?

The first coat I applied was pretty thin but the polish was completely opaque by the second coat and the brush made it super easy to apply. The wear time was about 4 days which is pretty good and I think it would be great on toes as well as fingers, especailly against a tan. 

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. 

Essie Turquoise and Caicos

Daylight 

  Artificial light

Essie is one of my favourite nail varnish brands and although I'm slightly late to the party with this shade, I absolutely love it. I usually go for brighter turquoise-y shades and this one is a bit more muted. I love the brush on the Essie diffusion line polishes so the application was amazing if a little sheer at first. This is the perfect shade if you want something a little bright and summery but still want to look grown-up and sophiscated or don't think you can pull off a neon. 

Essie A Splash Of Grenadine

I had been umm-ing and ahh-ing whether to get this polish for about two years and let me tell you, I'm so glad I did! It looks quite dark in the picture but the colour is such a unique lilacy/pink/lavender shade. It's quite blue-toned and I wasn't sure if it was going to suit me but it's GORGEOUS! 

I used two coats in the picture above and you know how I feel about Essie brushes and their formulas. Perfection. 

Penny Talk

I literally can't remember the last time I painted my nails with something other than an Essie polish... Okay, slight exaggeration but I do seem to be using Essie a lot lately! 

Penny Talk is originally from the Mirror Metalics Collection 2012 but is still available on their website so I think it is now permant in the diffusion line. 

It is described as an "authentic copper metallic" on the Essie website, it is a gorgeous coppery rose gold colour and is perfect for all year round (it looks particularly pretty in the sunshine and would be great for a party or event). 

In the photo above, I used 2 coats (even though you could probably get away with just 1!). It dries super quickly, the Metalics are the fastest drying Essie formula I have come across. 

So, what do you think? It's definitely a one-off colour and I don't think I've seen any other brands do anything similar. 

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!