Autumn/Winter Nail Polishes: Copper & Bronze

This is part two of my autumn/winter nail polish recommendations, if you missed my first post on the best berry toned polishes check out the full post HERE!

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. Bronzes and browns are a particular favourite because you can get so many different shades that can create entirely different looks - a particular trend is the metallic nail so I've included some metallics, some glittered and some more subtle toned too. Here are my top four favourite bronze toned nail polishes for Autumn 2012 (Note: To gauge the look, pictures of all of the varnishes on my nails can be found in the polish reviews)!

From left:

Essie Nail Polish in Penny Talk 

A reflective pinky copper polish  - a metallic colour with an interesting final look but at the high end of the nail polish market. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Accessorize Metallized Nail Polish in Copper

A bronze tone that definately lives up to its 'metalised' claim - the edges of the polish, although clean, seemed to dirty like the metal was rusting, creating a fascinating look. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Nail Polish in Fudge Brownie

A light, subtle, pinky brown tone - at only £3.99 and available across the high street, its well worth the price with great staying power. Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Red Bronze

A sparkly bronze with a deep red highlight. Needs a lot of coats to give a great look but its well worth the time! Check out my full review of the polish HERE.

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

Today's Nails: Essie Nail Polish in Penny Talk

I'm so sorry its a bit blurry but I thought my photos were done and took the polish off before realising its blurry! Next time I wear the polish, I'll change the picture! SORRY!

Today I'm wearing Essie Nail Polish in Penny Talk. This is the third and final nail polish which I received for my 21st Birthday from my sister Emma and is just as fab as the other two (which can be read about HERE and HERE).

The shade is a pinky copper metallic type polish - its got a lot of sparkle in it and is very reflective on the nails. In some lights its a pink and more subtle and others its a very strong copper colour - that's something I love about a varnish that different lighting can give your nails a whole different look.

The polish itself gives an interesting look but the wear is very disappointing. I would recommend two coats and a top coat at least, because even then it seemed to chip like mad within only a few days which was not like any of my previous experiences with Essie products. I had to keep touching it up everyday after that which is super frustrating and such a time waster when you're busy!

Overall, I'd give this polish a 6/10.

Today's Nails: Essie Nail Polish in Angora Cardi

Today I'm wearing Essie's Nail Polish in Angora Cardi. This is the second of the nail varnishes my sister got me for my 21st Birthday and I was so excited to wear it.

The polish colour is described as "a creamy, deep, dusty rose" by Essie themselves, but I'm not sure I would describe it as that at all - I would suggest it to be a deep purpley/plum tone. The deep colour seems to suit my skin tone but I was disappointed that it chipped within about 3 to 4 days - I had only done one coat though, so I guess that's reasonable! 

As always, the Essie polishes are fabulous to apply (and difficult to take off because the colour just wants to stay on your nails and is so dark!) and leave a shiny opaque finish after only a coat - very impressive for such a dark colour.  I'm definately going to try adding a glitter layer on top of this colour before adding a topcoat  the next time I wear it because I think it'll really give an edge to this colour and a bit of glam too!

Overall, a really great shade of polish to have in your collection and one which I think is classic and will be worn again and again. Essie's polishes consistently impress me, I just wish I could buy more - 10/10.

Today's Nails: Essie Nail Polish in Mademoiselle

Today I'm wearing Essie Nail Polish in Mademoiselle. My fabulously stylish sister Emma gave me three of the Essie Nail Polishes for my 21st birthday as she knew how much I love them but that the price tag means I can't generally afford to treat myself to a bottle! This is the first of the three colours she brought me!

The colour is described as a classic grown up pink and I couldn't agree more. The colour was only as harsh/white in the first day or so of wear (when this picture was taken), after that it faded to a manageable pretty nude - the kind you would find in a french manicure set. Its very pretty, subtle and feminine and when applied with two coats and even finish, looks shiny and professional looking. Next time I wear it, I'm going to do a french manicure look to see how it works with that!

The nail polish itself stayed on for 10 days straight without a single chip - I don't know if that's because its a nudey pink and I didn't notice or if it is particularly wear-resistant but I was really impressed.

I'm always impressed with Essie nail varnishes - they're my favourite high end polish brand and I couldn't recommend them more as they're worth every penny of their 7.99 price tag - 10/10

Today's Nails: Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Red Bronze

Today I'm wearing the Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Red Bronze. 

I love it when the names of the polishes match the colour themselves and in this case the colour perfectly matches the name - I would definately describe it as a reddy-bronze. Its got all the glitter and sparkle of a bronze with a red tinge in different lights. The colour has a nice depth to it with metallic elements but it takes a lot of coats to get this kind of depth. Some times when applying you seem to get a liquidy glitter and not much colour and other times you'll get loads of colour - its a bit hit and miss and I haven't really experienced that with one of the Max Factor Nail Polishes before.

I've been wearing this polish solidly for 6 days now and I'm pretty impressed with how it lasted (3/4 days no chips) although I did use two layers of topcoat so really it should be in tact. For the price you pay, I completely think this polish is a worthwhile purchase - 8/10.

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!

Today's Nails: Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire

I have heard and read SO much about this nail varnish that I thought it was about time I tried some out for myself. I just happened to be in Boots and looking at the nail varnishes and there was one bottle of this shade left - it was a sign and so I made sure to buy it pretty quickly! Apologies for my picture - this nail varnish is so hard to photograph - although it doesn't look great on here, in person its a great look!

I already knew that to wear the colour by itself would be difficult as its so hard to get it to be fully opaque (some bloggers have reported 4 coats and still not opaque), so I made sure to use a basecoat. Therefore... today I'm wearing Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire with Essie's Bobbing For Baubles beneath.  I used one layer of Essie and one layer of Max Factor on top and it gave a really nice look. I'm sure I'll play around with adding other colours to be the base coat but I'm really happy with how this turned out - the blue sets off the holographic colour and the glitter gives it an extra dimension too.

As always with these polishes, the brush gives you a lot of polish with one quick dip in the bottle so be careful you don't load to much on and not be able to get rid of it. The holographic element gives you hints of gold, blue, purple, pink and more, its very exotic and looks great in different lights. Overall I'd give it a 7/10 - a great colour I just wish it was opaque in fewer coats - without a base coat this colour would be perfect but unfortunately, for me it seems like a necessity.

Today's Nails: Accessorize Metalized Nail Varnish in Copper

Today I'm wearing Accessorize's Metalized Nail Varnish in Copper. I picked this up in the 3 for 2 sale at Superdrug earlier this week (as you can see in my recent haul HERE).

The polish itself claims to be a one coat varnish so, following the instructions, I stuck to one coat. It was definitely opaque in one coat as the liquid itself is very thick but it chipped within hours so to ensure no chips, I would certainly recommend two coats or a topcoat.

The colour itself is...interesting to say the least. I like the actual colorway as its a copper colour with hints of brown, pink and gold depending upon the light. Obviously the polish gives a "metalized" look but to me, the colour looks a bit dirty - especially around the edges - it looks as though you've got black stuff all over your fingers even when your hands are clean. This part definitely reflects the "metalized" claim as the "dirty" look seems to give the nails that edge just like metal does.

One thing I noticed about this polish was the smell - I've never experienced a smell so strong from nail varnish. It seemed to hang around the room for hours afterwards and I had to make sure I closed the bottle tight after each few nails to give myself the chance to breathe properly - it was quite unbelievable.

I can't actually find this nail varnish anywhere online (which is a bit weird!) but you can check out Accessorize's full nail polish collection HERE. I would give this product a 6/10.

Mini Spring Haul

I've never done a haul post before but I brought a few bits and bobs in the pouring rain in town this morning so thought I'd share them. I visited Boots, Superdrug, H&M, New Look, Topshop and more but not too many clothes caught my eye (at least none that were within my price range). I did pick up 6 pieces though and was excited to see that there is now an Essie stand in my local Boots - YAY -  I love Essie Nail Polishes! 

Anyway... here's what I brought! Let me know what products you've picked up recently in the comments below!

H&M Smokey Eye Eyeshadow Brush (Top Brush in Above Pic)

The brush itself is very soft and the handle is quite nice too with the thinner end for the crease brush and the thicker end for the blending brush. At only £1.99 I thought it was a steal!

H&M Eyeshadow Brush (Bottom Brush in Above Pic)

Its quite a big brush for your eyeshadow - but again, its very soft and I hope will give a nice smooth finish when applying eyeshadow! Again, it was £1.99 so pretty cheap if you ask me.

H&M Sunglasses

I can't find these sunglasses online but I love the shape of this style of sunnies and haven't got this tortoise style colour so thought I'd give them a go. These were £5.99 which was reasonable too - I try to make my sunglasses last for a season and then I'll just buy another pair next year!

Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire (Left)

I've heard and read a lot about this nail varnish and when I saw they had one bottle left at Superdrug, I knew it was a sign! Swatched it briefly on a nail when I got home and the consistency is very thin - took four coats to get to opaque but I will do a full review soon!

Accessorize Metalized Nail Polish in Copper (Middle)

I can't find this colour online anywhere but I like the metallic look and have had good past experiences with Accessorize cosmetic products, so thought I'd give their nail polishes a try!

Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Silver (Right)

It was three for two on cosmetics in Superdrug and I'd already found two nail varnishes I really liked and this bottle looked really nice! Did a quick swatch on a nail when I got home and this is a very glitter heavy nail polish with not that much colour so I think this'll end up being a glittery topcoat to a base colour.

Today's Nails: Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Sunny Pink

Today I'm wearing Max Factor's Max Effect Nail Polish in Sunny Pink.

This is my second experience with these Max Factor Nail Polishes but this one really attracted me because its a holographic colour. I've been searching for a fun holographic nail polish that goes well with my skintone for a little while and when I saw this one I thought I'd give it a try. I don't tend to wear pink but this has really impressed me and perhaps converted me to a pink polish lover?

As with previous experience, the product itself is fantastic. The holographic shade changes between pink, purple and gold depending upon the light and is shiny and metallic all the time! I would recommend a good few layers though to get a real depth of colour on your nails! Overall, I loved it - 9/10.

Collection Spring Nail Varnish

I'm a big fan of British cosmetic brand Collection and this week they have announced five new colours in their Hot Looks Nail Varnish range.

The five hot new colours are: Look at Me (green), Neon Art (pink), Bright Lights (rich coral), Electric Dreams (turquoise) and Go Retro! (deep purple).

I can't wait to try some of these colours out especially 'Bright Lights' as coral colours always seem to be in and Neon Art as neon colours are perfect for the spring! I also think layering 'Go Retro' with a glitter nail polish would be fun too as its great to experiment with mixing colours and these polishes seem perfect for that!

I've previously tried out the Hot Looks Nail Varnishes and you can read the reviews for the shades Lemon Soda and Fruit Loop in my 'Today's Nails' feature! In my previous experience, I've found this line to be of a great polish quality with a fun finished look plus its reasonably priced at £1.79- what could be better!

Today's Nails: Max Factor "Max Effect" Mini Nail Polish in Elegant Mauve

Today I'm wearing Max Factor's "Max Effect" Mini Nail Polish in Elegant Mauve. The colour itself is very interesting as its almost holographic and seems like it has lots of depth and layers to it. There's elements of pink, gold, bronze, glitter and lots more depending upon what light you're in and I think it works with my skin colour really nicely.

The application was great and I had an opaque, smooth and effective look within two coats. Although its a mini polish, the brush is great although I would recommend that you don't wipe the excess polish off within the bottle before you apply it as the brush holds the polish itself perfectly.

This is my first use of a Max Factor product and have been really impressed with it, so will definately try another colour again soon - 10/10.

Today's Nails: All About Nails in Plum Raisin

Today's I'm wearing All About Nails in Plum Raisin which is available to purchase for only £0.99 at Tesco! After trying another colour out from this brand, I thought I'd go for it again as its an easy and cheap way to try out new colours without buying expensive polishes.

As with my previous experience, for such a cheap product, I don't think its that bad. The polish itself is watery but I found with one coat I had a pretty reasonable look and with two coats a very good one. The colour itself is very shiny but it is difficult to create a smooth, even finish. I think that this colour is really complimentary to my skin colour as its kind of dark but with a funky edge to it.

For some reason, I find the smell of the cheaper nail varnishes a lot more potent - they are very chemically to smell and can sometimes make me cough but they give a reasonable look for a reasonable price so are worth a try if your purse strings are tight!

Today's Nails: Collection Hot Looks in Lemon Soda

Today I'm wearing Collection's Hot Looks Nail Varnish in Lemon Soda.

Neons are in at the moment and so I thought I'd try this colour as I think a great, understated way of introducing this trend into your own day-to-day looks is via your nails - especially when the trend is a certain group of colours. Personally, I find neons very difficult to wear but nail varnish is such a small element of a whole look that it can transform it or ruin it! In this case, I think the colour is particularly statement and could only go with certain looks, colours and outfits. I think this is a great polish for the neon trend without being too bright or garish and is just a fun colour for spring and Easter!

I'm probably not going to leave this on for long (its chipped already) but its a fun colour with great consistency and finish as Collection's nail polishes always are - 7/10.

Today's Nails: Collection Hot Looks in Fruit Loop

Today I'm wearing Collection's Hot Looks Nail Varnish in Fruit Loop.

This particular range of polishes states in quite an understated way that it is "Fast Dry" and for one of the first times with a nail polish, I can agree with that statement. The nail varnish was dry to the touch within 30 seconds which meant I could have multiple layers of colour dry within just a couple of minutes. I love that Collection haven't massively promoted the product on this value - it just makes me like it even more because they've made a claim that to me was completely truthful unlike so many other brands.

I always love the consistency of Collection Nail Polishes, as they are not too thick or thin and the brush coats them on perfectly as it is a great width! I'm not massively keen on the shade of this polish with my particular skintone but its fun and I'll leave it on until it chips! I think this is a great polish for the neon trend without being too bright or garish and is just a fun colour for spring.

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!

Today's Nails: Essie 'Bangle Jangle'

Today's nail polish is Essie's Bangle Jangle. This is the final colour for me to test from the Essie 2011 Winter Collection which I got for Christmas.

The colour is a purple hue with pink undertones and the glossiness of the polish is quite incredible - it seems to catch the light constantly and is a very attention grabbing color (unlike the tone in the bottle). Two coats gave a solid opaque finish that was very smooth. This is the first day of having the colour on, so I would imagine (hope) that it will become more dull after a few days of wear.

I'm not sure if I would wear this casually day after day as its such a bold colour but would definately wear it for a night out - 7/10.