Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Buff Pink & My Fair Lady

Today's Autumn Nail Trend is Buff Pink by Models Own and My Fair lady by Ciaté. Both of these are very sheer, nude colours, which again I think are perfect for Autumn. They're colours which you can wear without looking like you're wearing polish at all.
My fair lady is a creamy nude shade with a very subtle hint of pink that helps it to look natural and not washed out like some nude polishes have the tendency to do. I found the consistency to be really runny and the drying time isn't fast at all. I managed to smudge after almost 10 minutes drying time.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 5/10
• Coats: 3/4

Buff Pink is a very sheer nude baby pink. I bought this with the hopes it would apply the colour in the bottle, however this wasn't the case. It's extremely sheer, I needed at least 5/6 coats to come close to the colour in the bottle. As you can see from the swatch, I used 3 coats and it still looks like nothing is there. I was extremely disappointed with this colour, due to the sheerness of it. However, I do think this is more for french manicures than for a solid nail colour, so that may have been my mistake.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 2/10
• Coats: 5/6

I do have a shortage of Nude shades, so if you have any you'd highly recommend, leave me a comment below with the brand & Shade name!

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Westside Warrior & Starboard

My Autumn Nail Trends for today are by China Glaze. Here we have Westside Warrior from the new Metro collection and Starboard from the Anchors Away collection. Both of which I think are perfect for Autumn.
Westside Warrior is an olive green creme with yellow undertones. It's one of those colours that looks a really solid green colour on it's own, but when paired next to another olive green, the yellow becomes very apparent. The lacquer itself is extremely pigmented and therefore only needs 1 coat, 2 at most.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 10/10
• Coats: 1/2

Starboard is a soft grassy green colour that again leans more towards yellow undertones than it does to blue. Very creamy finish and has that soft, cloudy marshmallow-ish look like the rest of the colours in this collection have. In true china glaze style the polish is very pigmented and needs 3 coats max.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 9/10
• Coats: 2/3

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Peacock Green & Slate Green

Todays Nail Trend is brought to you by Models Own. Models Own is a UK brand mainly based online at www.modelsownit.com or various online stores, such as River Island, Motel Rocks etc. It can also be found in local boots stores all over the country. They retail for £5 each, but they have a 3 for £12 or 5 for £18 offers on their website.
The colours I have chosen are Peacock Green and Slate Green. Both of which I think are good for the Autumn months, as they're not pastels and they're not brights. Perfecto.
Peacock Green is a gorgeous bluey greeny shimmer polish with tiny flecks of green/gold running throughout. I absolutely love this colour, I fell in love with it the second I saw it. It does need 3 coats to get full opacity, but you won't be disappointed!

• Application: 7/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats: 3

Slate Green is a greyed out green polish with a blueish undertone. The swatch here makes it look like a turqouise blue, but I assure you it isn't. I found the formula to this polish a little bit runny, but not so bad that it's impossible to work with. It does apply quite sheer so you need a couple coats just to bring it out more.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 7/10
• Coats: 2/3

What are your thoughts on these colours? Do you own them, or are you simply lusting after them? Let me know in the comments below :)!

 

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Mod Mauve & Smoky Brown

Today's Autumn Nail Trends are brought to you by E.L.F's Mod Mauve and Smoky Brown. E.L.F or eyeslipsface are an online company in Europe and the US. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I THINK you can buy ELF in certain stores in the US? Their essentials line are priced at £1.50/$1 and their studio line from £3.50/$3. They offer high quality make-up at really affordable prices. And I love them!.
Mod Mauve is a gorgeous neutral plum shade with a brownish undertone. I've found that it does apply streaky with the first coat, but that evens out with a second. I did also notice that the colour isn't the same as it is in the bottle, which is a tad disappointing, but for £1.50 you can't really complain.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats: 2/3

Smoky Brown is a deep taupe brown shade with a slightly greyish undertone. When I first got this I thought it was going to be a dupe for Below Deck, from seeing the swatch on the website. It isn't in the slightest. This is another streaky polish, but again a second coat takes care of that.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats 2/3

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Below Deck & Devotion

Today we have two by China Glaze - Below Deck and Devotion.
Below Deck comes from the Anchors Away collection and is a lovely creme polish. One of those ever-popular purple/grey shades. Apparently, this was supposed to be a replica of Channelesque, and although only seeing photos, they do look pretty similar! It's high gloss and very pigmented! Can wear with just one coat.

• Application: 9/10
• Pigmentation: 10/10
• Coats: 1/2

Devotion comes from the Romantique collection and is a metallic polish. The colour itself is a frosty silver with a lavender undertone. I've noticed with this polish that you get the brush lines in the polish, I like this effect, however some people may not.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 7/10
• Coats: 2/3

What are your opinions of this? Let me know!

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Grey & Pelican Grey

Continuing with the Autumn 'Grey' trend we have BarryM's Grey and China Glaze's Pelican Grey. BarryM's Nail Paints are available in Boots & Superdrug stores across the UK and retail for £2.99, they're usually on offer though too! (2 for £5 or something) or you can buy them online at www.barrym.com. China Glaze is a US brand that is pretty hard to get a hold of in the shops in the UK, I know Sallys sell them at £6.49, but other than that I have no idea. I got most of mine from eBay for roughly £3 each. Bargain.
Grey is a dark grey creme polish, it sort of looks like wet cement. I've found in artificial light, it looks black. Like all dark colours it's extremely pigmented and it goes on so well (as most BarryM polishes do).

• Application 10/10
• Pigmentation 10/10
• Coats 1 thick coat

Pelican Grey comes from the Anchors Away collection. It's a gorgeous cool toned grey with blue undertones and infused with subtle silver glitter. As it has a hidden shimmer to it, it creates a nice soft cloudy look to the colour. The pigmentation isn't the best in this shade, it requires a couple of coats to take effect.

• Application 7/10
• Pigmentation 6/10
• Coats 3

What do you think of these colours? Do you own them or just want them?

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Gun Grey & Grey Day

First up in my Autumn Nail Trends are Models Own; Gun Grey & Grey Day. Models Own are a UK brand that are readily available to buy in Boots Stores across the UK and also online at www.modelsownit.com (they ship internationally too!). Their nail varnishes are priced at £5/$8/€6 each or £8/$12/€9 for their Pro range.
Gun Grey is a very dark slate grey colour (it almost even looks black) with a metallic silvery shimmer running through it. Like most dark colours, it's very pigmented and you can get away with only applying one generous coat.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 9/10
• Coats: 1/2

Grey Day is a sort of concrete grey colour, in certain light is almost looks like the clouds in the sky (hence the reason for the name, I guess?) The first time I used this colour I found it to be quite thick and it applied a bit like butter. However, after using it a few times, I've gotten to know the amount I need for full, perfect coverage.

• Application: 7/10
• Pigmentation: 8/10
• Coats: 1/2

Do you have these polishes? If so let me know in the comments below what your thoughts on them are!

Ciao for now x

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011

For me, Autumn is season of preparing. Whether it be preparing for the cold months ahead or getting the Christmas list written down, it all happens here. Being the type of person who lives for the hot weather of Summer and just wants to curl up in my duvet in the snow for Winter, so Autumn helps me to get ready for the dreaded coldness. As well as that it's also a time for a new trend! Shying away from the pastels of Spring and the brights of Summer and bringing the deeper shades and nudes.
Personally, for my nails I LOVE this season, I find the darker tones seem to suit my pale skin a lot more than pastels/bright colours do.
Which means I will be posting my favourite colours for Autumn every day for the next week, going from the Greys, to Browns, to Greens and to Nudes.

What are your favourite season nail trends and why? Let me know in the comments below!