Autumn/Winter Nail Polish Colours

Although I'm definitely a bright nails kind of person who loves her pastel shades to death, darker and more wintery nails are something that I really love too. I don't reject my bright colours in Autumn/Winter (hopefully I won't look too crazy with bright yellow nails in the middle of January...) but the dark shades do get much more action at this time of year.

One of my favourite colours is MAC Cream Nail Polish in 'Gadabout Girl' (£11). Now MAC nail polishes don't get a lot of love from most people simply because they're pretty standard quality for a reasonably steep price. They do, however, have some really pretty colours, another example being Mean & Green - definitely something you should check out. This colour is a dark purple/red colour which looks absolutely gorgeous on. It is one that looks best with 3 coats rather than 2 though, so if that's a drawback for you then I'm sure you could find some really good dupes quite easily.

A slightly brighter colour is Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in 'Watermelon' (£3.99). This is a dark blue/green colour which kind of reminds me of stormy seas (not watermelons in the slightest though, unfortunately) and the gelly hi-shine formula is really great. I think the fact that it's a bit darker than a lot of blue shades makes it a lot more wearable in colder months and as Boots is currently on 3 for 2 now would be a great time to pick it up!

I'm kind of ashamed to say that I'd never tried the nail polish brand Essie until this week. I had heard a lot about it and how great it is but I was kind of put of by the price tag as £7.99 a nail polish seemed a bit excessive to me but I have finally seen the light and can say that they are the best nail polishes I have ever tried. Easy to apply and quick drying, Essie Nail Lacquers in 'Stylenomics' and 'The Perfect Cover Up' (£7.99) are gorgeous colours. Stylenomics is a very dark green that looks black unless you shine a light on it. I think this would be a great AW colour - it feels kind of Christmassy to me and is definitely going to get a lot of use this Winter. The Perfect Cover Up is a dark, blue-toned grey which reminds me a bit of slate. I think both of these colours are gorgeous, particularly for this time of year and I would highly recommend them both.

Do you have any good Autumn/Winter nail polish recommendations? Let me know!

Thanks for reading,

Eleanor xx

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AUGUST FAVOURITES

August has just come to an end so I thought it might be time to make a post of the products I have been loving throughout the month. Favourites videos are common on YouTube but I see them quite often on blogs and thought I'd try my hand at it.
Because I'm trying to keep it fairly short and sweet so I don't bore anyone, I've only picked 5 of products to talk about.

Left to right: Body Shop Coconut Hand Cream, VO5 High Volume Hairspray, Bethany Mota Perfume, Models Own Fruit Pastel Nail Polishes, 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in the colour Flirtini

Coconut Hand Cream; The Body Shop; £3.50; 30ml

As it was buy 1 get one half price on these hand creams I decided to get a couple (the other scent being strawberry) and I have really been enjoying them. Although I hate the taste of coconut it is definitely one of my favourite scents and this cream smells really strong as well as being moisturising on the hands. I use it everyday and will definitely repurchase when it runs out. Very good price, too!

VO5 High Volume Weather Resistant Hairspray; Boots; £3.29; 400ml

Hairspray - as well as hair in general - has always been a struggle for me. Most of the hairsprays I try make my hair extremely crunchy, sticky and/or completely flat and lifeless. With this one, however, I found it to be fairly soft as well as being fairly volumising. The volumising effects weren't quite as drastic as I'd like but it was more than I expected for the price. They also do one that does not offer high volume (which also comes in a more reasonably sized bottle - 400ml of hairspray takes up quite a lot of space. The hold is good so my hair stays in place well.

Bethany Mota Fragrance; Aeropostale; $25; 50ml

Popular YouTuber Bethany Mota recently released a fragrance to accompany her clothing line at Aeropostale. This Summer I was on holiday in the States and  picked it up while on a shopping spree. It has a sweet scent with a slight musky undertone and I love it to bits! The bottle is very cute - heart shaped, gold and glittery - and even has a little bow. It lasts a long time on the skin considering the price tag ($25 ~ £15, much cheaper than buying a high end perfume) and everyone who has smelled it really liked the scent too. I think it is available internationally from the Aeropostale website if any UK based people want to try it.

Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick (Flirtini); Boots; £4.79; ???

Every now and then I have a sort through my make up and find something that I haven't used or even seen in a while and instantly fall back in love with it. This lipstick in the shade 'flirtini' is a gorgeous shiny shimmery pink lipstick that gives a glossy effect on the lips. It could definitely be passed off as a fairly highly pigmented lipgloss or even a lipstick with lipgloss on top. It has quickly become my second favourite lipstick (after MAC's New York Apple) and stays on longer than many glossier lipsticks do. 17 is definitely one of my go to brands for cheaper lipsticks. I have another one of these lipsticks and I definitely enjoy that one too - it's a great formula. They are now in a different packaging (black with a small mirror inside) but the product and the colours are still the same. I would recommend this lipstick to anyone and is probably my favourite of the favourites in this post.

Models Own Fruit Pastel Nail Polishes (Banana Split, Apple Pie, Strawberry Tart); Superdrug; £5 each; 14ml each

I've always been sceptical of scented nail polishes and these are no different. I love the smells given off when scratching the top of the bottles (there's a scratch and sniff provided) but they are very faint on the nails and fade quickly. Despite this, I love the colours and there's no need for the scent anyway - very few people go around sniffing my hands! They aren't more expensive than the other polishes from Models Own and like I said, the colours are great. I love pastels and I think I will get wear out of these even in the winter (just because it's cold doesn't mean we have to be grey and miserable!). I have worn all three this month and currently have on the Banana Split colour, which so happens to be the one with the strongest scent. Apple Pie reminds me of an Essie colour I wanted but no longer really need - Mint Candy Apple - so I have been saved the £2.99 difference. I'm a big fan of the colours Models Own do and these are no different. I may even get other colours from the Fruit Pastel Collection.

These are all of my favourites for the month, I hope anyone who may be reading found it interesting and maybe even tries one or two of the products!