I mentioned in my spring nail edit that I’m pretty lazy when it comes to nail polish (I’m sitting in bare nails as I type this). And I am, lazy, but in the fall, I love adding an extra pop of color to my nails. It may be the only season when I truly make a point to focus on my nails. I think it’s because I love autumn fashion and beauty trends and colors so much, I want the overall look to descend from my face to my feet (so many ankle booties).
I’m not going to tell you to run out and buy colors to mimic pumpkin spice lattes or changing leaves or cinnamon sticks. We aren’t basic, here. Instead, when choosing the colors I thought I’d love all season, I chose those that are slightly less obvious.
During every season, my neutral of choice changes. In the spring, the nude polish was more watermelon hued but very, very subtle. For fall, it leans more on the purplish taupe side of the spectrum. I love Julep’s ‘Lorenzana.’ Two coats usually does the trick. I have a very fair skin tone, and the purple hue doesn’t stand out too much. I think it’ll start to pop more on medium and deep skin tones. Regardless, it’s a fun neutral that will match nearly everything.
I couldn’t go through fall without a deep raspberry shade for the nails. It may be my all time favorite autumn shade. ‘DeAnn’ from Julep is a great one. It’s not too purple. It’s not too pink. It’s not too red. And it’s not too bright. One coat usually gives me the opacity I’m after. The shade will complement any of your oranges, navies, or olives you may wear in your clothing throughout the season.
This is where things begin to get brighter. I’m really feeling a peacock, blue-green right now. It’s on the lines of a typical autumn palette, with a little extra something. I can picture it will my charcoal thigh high boots, black skinnies, and a neutral silk blouse…maybe with a bow. It’s good when you picture an entire outfit around your nail polish (or maybe it’s crazy, either way is fine with me)! The shade I have is ‘CIA=Color is Awesome’ from O.P.I. I like O.P.I polishes. I find they stay on well, and this shade only requires one, two coats max for me.
And cheers to the unexpected: ‘Pink a Card’ from Sally Hansen, a purple hued pink. Jacqie, for fall? Yes. You may think it looks like it’d fit right in with your pastel Easter dress, but I envision it paired with the comfiest cashmere sweater or the biggest, coziest cable knit I own.
Finally, I’ve been really attracted to a soft gray since September started. ‘I Cannoli Wear OPI’ has been doing the trick. Two coats of this, and you have a subtle wash of color that’s dark enough to not wash me out but light enough to grab attention. It’s a color I love because it will match everything and not look out of place.
Since my fall arsenal consists of darker shades that will be noticeable once they begin to chip away, I wanted to add my extras into this post–the primers, top coats, dry drops, the works.
I’ve been incorporating the System Xcel* from Forumla X into my routine as of late. I begin with the first step, Cleanse, which removes surface oils while conditioning the nails and leaving them completely dry to the touch using it’s flash-dry formula. Then I’ll go in with the Prime base coat: a multi-tasking base infused with keratin and bonding agents to help color take hold, be stronger, and last longer. After applying my polish, I go in with the Shine top coat that’s fortified with acrylic to seal in nail-color with gel-like protection.
In my honest opinion, you could do without the cleanse step. If you’re removing nail polish prior to repainting, your nail polish remover will do the same thing.
However, the real show-stopper for me is the Ta Da Quick Dry Drops from Julep. I love these things. After I apply my top coat, I use the dropper to apply 1-2 drops to each nail and it dries your polish so quickly (so you don’t mess them all up like I do every single time I don’t use these).
And finally, when it comes time to remove all of my nail polish, I’ve been amazed by the Delete All* from Formula X. It’s like one of those old school nail polish removers that you stick one finger into a sponge full of the product, except this allows you to do all five fingers at once. It’s amazing and works so quickly and efficiently.
*The products from Formula X were sent to me for free to use and review if I chose. All opinions are my own.
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