Fall Wardrobe Staple: Berry Toned Nail Polishes

It's officially autumn - the chilly weather has set in full force this week and its time to pull out those winter warmers and snuggle in front of a roaring fire, instead of bask in the last of the sun. Autumn is my favourite time of year for fashion - layering, scarves, boots, coats and those fab berry shades which I love to rock all year around.

Nails are a great way to express your fall fashion loves - they subtlety add life to an outfit, can draw a whole outfit of different colours together in one go and can add a pop of colour to the darker winter days. So here are my top four favourite berry toned nail polishes for Autumn 2012!

From left:

Essie Nail Polish in Angora Cardi 

A deep, dusty plum tone - a subtle colour with great coverage but at the high end of the nail polish market. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Essie Nail Polish in Size Matters  

A bold deep red shade - leaves a shiny manicured effect finish but again at the high end of the nail polish market. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Barry M Nail Paint in Raspberry 

Different in every light but a plum, red and deep pink mixture. Only £2.99 with great staying power and finish. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Black Cherries

A very deep purple, almost black shade with hints of red in different lights. Very unique colour with glitter highlights. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

What are your favourite berry toned nail polishes for fall - let me know in the comments as I'd love to try them out!

Today's Nails: Barry M's Nail Paint in Raspberry

Today I'm wearing Barry M's Nail Paint in Raspberry. I picked this up at Boots this weekend (you can expect a Haul from my nail varnish shopping spree very soon!) and tried it out immediately (literally in the car in the car park!). This was my first experience with a Barry M product and I can see why people rave so much about this brand - I will definately be using their products again!

The colour is hard to describe but its somewhere between a plum, red and deep pink but it looks gorgeous with my skintone - this is probably one of my favourite nail polishes that I've ever worn. The finish is smooth and attention grabbing and the polish itself was easy to apply - I love the bottle design and the brush is so nice to use. At only £2.99 for such a huge bottle, I think its a bargain - especially as I only needed one coat so you're going to get plenty of looks out of this one bottle.

When applying the polish, it says very clearly on the bottle to use a basecoat but as I didn't have one to hand, I used a topcoat I'd just brought as a base coat! I've only used one coat of Barry M's nail polish with this look as it was opaque in just one coat and I used a topcoat so I didn't feel like I needed an extra coat for chipping or anything. This is one of my first tries using a topcoat without it being a glitter nail varnish which needs it or the glitter will fall off and I'm really impressed. I will be reviewing the topcoat I used (One from No7) very soon so check back.

Overall, I would give this nail polish 10/10 - literally my favourite nail polish I've ever worn! Its only been on for twenty four hours but I want to keep it on looking fresh for as long as possible - I love it!

Neons: En-Trend but Unwearable?

Wildfox Vampire Smile Baggy Beach Sweatshirt - I am obsessed with Wildfox Couture, so for me that was an obvious choice. Wildfox + Neon = LOVE!


I know that Neons are going to be big this season but for me I think they can be difficult to wear without either looking too overdone or the neon disappearing into the outfit. I mean, no one wants to walk down the street looking like they've just left a rave!

I recently discovered that I own nothing that is neon... so, I've put together some items that I think are great for the neon trend and will look awesome in outfits too! What neon pieces do you love? Let me know in the comments!

Blue Life Long Sleeved Best Bum with Pocket - I think this would look fab with tonnes of layered necklaces,  rings and bracelets for that complete bo-ho chic look!

TopShop Moto Neon Pink Hotpants - paired with an oversized tee and ankle booties, I think these shorts are perfect for summer!

Vanessa Mooney Hallie Neon Wraps - Add this to a stack of fun wrap bracelets for a simple introduction to the neon trend!

BarryM Neon Nail Polish - Finally, a great way to kick some neon into your outfit without making it the focus is by adding a neon nail polish! LOVE IT!

Today's Nails: Pink Sparkle

Today I decided to layer my nail varnish to create a slightly different look - well slightly different for me anyway! I started with a base coat of Collection 2000's Lasting Colour in Marshmallow, then once it was tacky I added a layer of Barry M Limited Edition Effects in Silver Glitter, finally I topped it off with a layer of Barry M Topcoat and Nail Hardener in Clear. 

I wanted something that was girly and professional looking with a fun twist but unfortunately the picture above doesn't really do this look justice! The finished look is great as I only did one coat of pink at the bottom, so the look is more subtle with the glittery highlight. I also don't usually add a topcoat but with the layer of glitter, I thought it was sensible to seal it in with a topcoat so that it wouldn't chip glitter specks everywhere!

I've had quite a few compliments on the colour (I suppose the glitter draws attention to the look!) and people seemed surprised that it was a layered look so I'm quite happy with my first experimentation!

What do you think? Do you ever layer nail varnishes for different looks? Let me know in the comments below!