Fall Nail Polish Picks.

Since the official first day of fall was only a few days ago, it's a convenient time to talk about fall nail polish shades. One of my favorite things to change (and probably the only one I change at least somewhat consciously) with the seasons is my polish. Believe me, I'm not one for color rules and choosing something simply because it's "in season," but a lot of the tones and shades we associate with fall are just gorgeous and a fun way for me to mix things up. I don't normally go for jewel-tones and warm shades on my nails, but the crisp air and leaves falling remind me of what's in my nail polish box that I haven't reached for in a while. Oh, that's another thing; I challenged myself to go through polish I already own and come out with a loosely comprehensive fall shade repertoire that helps you decide what you might want to try while also sharing personal favorites. Turns out that I do actually like most of the nail polish colors that I own, not just the light pinks and glitters...

Let's get cracking.

Jewel Tones.
In my opinion, jewel tones fit best with the season of fall. They are a pretty constant element of the fall color palette, that is to say, no matter what might be in style for a particular year, jewel tones are always a completely acceptable choice if you'd like to coordinate with the season. Here are two of my favorites in this category:

Revlon's "Fashionista"

A gor-ge-ous teal shade with a smooth 'n' creamy finish. Two coats of this beaut will suffice for an easy and colorful fall manicure.

Want to try it out for yourself? This polish is readily available in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, drugstores, and online.

L'Oreal's "Violet Vixen"

The perfect deep pink for the fall season. It applies smoothly and with an opaque finish. This is on my soon-to-be-used polish list, so expect a Manicure Monday to feature this pretty little thing sometime soon :) 

This polish is probably also available anywhere drugstore brands are sold, including online. I bought mine on clearance at a Dollar General.

Jewel tones also include deep but bright greens, blues, and even some orangey-gold shades. Don't forget to try mixing and matching these fall colors with neutrals or each other for varied and complementary nail looks.

Bronze Shimmers. Gold Shimmers. Brown-ish Shimmers.

Glitter works in every season. That being said, fall is the perfect time to sport those deeper, neutral-toned glitters and shimmers. There is such a variety of these types of shades from brands at every price range. I also think that most bronze and gold polishes look great on every skin tone. Here are two of my favorites from my collection:

Orly's "Ingenue"

This is one of my absolute favorite polishes from one of my absolute favorite brands. "Ingenue" is described on Orly's website as a "purple/gold duo chrome shimmer." On your nails in natural light it has some very bronzey-goldsey-almost orangesey tones. I will definitely be wearing this polish as the season goes on, so stick around to see it in action. 

I grabbed this polish from a Sally Beauty Supply. You can also get it online from www.orlybeauty.com. Click here to go directly to this polish's page.

Jesse's Girl's "Riff Raff"

This is a great option if you are looking for a deeper color that also has some shimmer to it. I find this shade particularly interesting because it just really really brown. The shimmer running through it is pretty bronzey, and while it won't show up like glitter, it does create a very metallic finish.

You can get Jesse's Girl Products at Rite-Aid drugstores and at www.jessesgirlcosmetics.com. Here is a direct link to the nail polish page. Sorry about that silly shadow in the corner...

I'm pretty excited to try layering "Ingenue" over "Violet Vixen." I think the pinks and purples in the two shades will just POP. 

Deeper, Darker Neutrals.

We are hitting the point in this list where colors will start to over lap in some categories, so take the examples as you will. 

Fall is the time to bring out those deeper brown and nude shades. Arguably, neutrals work for every season, but I like to limit my pale pink consumption as the weather gets colder. Although I can never fully cut myself off...

Wet 'n' Wild's "Wet Cement"

This polish is from the Megalast line of polishes from Wet 'n' Wild. With a good base and top coat, these are some of my longest-wearing and best-applying polishes. "Wet Cement" is a great all-year-round color, and it's the type of taupey nude that started being a major thing about, oh, a year or so ago.

I have found that the widest variety of Megalast colors is available at Dollar General. But you can probably find this particular shade at many drugstores, Wal-Mart, and dollar stores. 

Revlon's "Foxy"

This is one of my favorite dark browns. It's got some purple tones to it and applies like a dream. Check out this Manicure Monday to see it on my nails :)

Even though the sunlight shows some reflective pieces in the polish, it doesn't really have much shimmer in its application. That's why I included in the neutrals section. You can find this lovely shade at drugstores, Wal-Mart, Target, and online.

Coastal Scents's "Meteorite"

This polish was part of Coastal Scents COAT Collection. Which has unfortunately, I believe, been eliminated from the Coastal Scents inventory. This is sad because the polishes were actually very good little guys. I wanted to include it anyway because it is a very dark brown and I think fall is the perfect time to get out those super dark browns.

Almost there, guys. You can always just look at the pictures...

Deep, Warm-toned Purples. Like Purples with Red in Them.

Any purple that has a lot of red in it (or read that has some purple) is a great choice for the fall season. Cranberry, oxblood, and burgundy shades were HUGE last year, but I'm saving my pick for that category until my winter shades post. Here are some purples to try out:

e.l.f.'s "Party Purple"

This shades comes out on the nail a bit more red than it looks in the bottle. The shimmer in it just seals the deal and two coats gives a flawless, warm purple finish. This is another one on my soon-to-be-used list. 

Click here to see where you can buy this polish.

Nicole by OPI's "Shoot for the Maroon"

Final color! This lovely is a deep cranberry-purple base with lots of gold and bronze shimmer running through it. It's beautiful, and applies very easily. Unfortunately, the image just doesn't quite do it justice. 

I purchased this polish a pretty good while ago. So I think your best bet if you want to try it for yourself is to get it online. You can find it here.

You are all champions. Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned to see some of these polishes featured in upcoming Manicure Mondays!

Outfit of the Day: Meet Moeun!

I think it's important for me to share outfits inspired by all different personal styles, not just my own. We're all different and we all feel comfortable in different things, so why not explore our differences together? One way I'd like to do so: introduce you to my friends and what they like to wear. 

Meet Moeun. She is Korean but grew up in Africa and now goes to college in America. She loves to travel, wear the color black, go antiquing, and talk about Beyonce. She shared this outfit with me and now I'm sharing it with you. I love that this look is made up of pieces from all different places, both conventional retail and secondhand situations. I also love that it involves creative layering, which is perfect for the transition into fall.

Also, she's a lot better at taking this kind of picture than I am.

Here is what she's wearing (in her own words):

Sweater - H&M

White Button Down - Old Navy (borrowed from a friend)

Dress (yes, it's a dress not a skirt.... Sometimes you just gotta get creative!) - street market in      London

Boots - Forever21

Jewelry - H&M; flea market in Senegal

This outfit inspired me to do some layering of my own. Hopefully I'll get those pictures to you sometime soon.

Thanks for visiting, and make sure you say thank you to Moeun for sharing :). Have a happy Wednesday.

Manicure Monday! Featuring Revlon's "Foxy"

I'm not happy about it, but it is time to accept the fact that fall is here to stay. I will certainly miss sunbathing, swimming, and tank tops, but now it is time for chunky sweaters, boots, and hot drinks from the coffee shop. Truthfully, I do look forward to fall styles, trends, and colors, I just don't like being cold as much as I adore being warm. But those chunky sweaters do help soften the blow ;).

I've got something of a fall nail polish lookbook coming your way later this week, but I want to share my first manicure of the season with you now. You'll see me go on and on about why I don't generally ascribe to the rules of "seasonal colors" later, so suffice it to say that while I will wear any color I want on my nails regardless of the season, I do like to be inspired by the changes of climate and nature as I dress myself, do my makeup, and paint my nails.

Let's just get to the polish.

Please excuse the minor rubbings at the tips of some of my nails. I had just spent the afternoon at the barn moving fences.

Meet "Foxy" by Revlon. I picked up this shade at a Meijer grocery store. I wish they existed around me because it was basically a store with the relative fanciness of Target and the prices of Wal-Mart. (At least the one I visited.) That's a lot of winning. I grabbed a Revlon polish because I was curious about the inventory and the price of makeup items, and I have to say I was very pleased with both. You are blessed if you live near a Meijer.

I used the usual Orly Bonder Basecoat and Polisheild Top Coat with this manicure. 

"Foxy" is a lovely, deep, purply, brownish sea of rich chocolately goodness in nail polish form...I think.
It makes me think of those barrel-shaped rootbeer flavored candies but with a bit of purple thrown in there. The normal two coats gives a basically flawless finish with completely opaque color, and the polish applies very easily, as most of Revlon's do. In the bottle you can see silver bits of shimmer worked through the color, and that's what helps it give such a high shine. I'm hoping the above picture helps you see how it is very brown and also very purple at the same time.

I highly recommend this polish for all skin tones, no matter the season, but especially in the fall. Thanks for viewing another Manicure Monday! I've got a lot planned for this week, so don't go too far.