The last instalment of The Manicure Menu was the Summer Edition by the fabulous Puja from BerryBloomXO, so it's been a flipping long time since you've heard from me in the nail department. It's getting a bit more autumny now, so lately I've been calling on some more subdued hues and leaving behind the poolside summer brights. I've been trying to paint my nails more often, and I even tried falsies, who'd have thought?
August saw the relaunch of Tanya Burr's makeup line, which I introduced here. One of the new nail polish shades added to the collection was Duvet Day (£4.99), a beautiful blue-tinged pastel grey. This is a really flattering way to wear a grey shade on the nails and made a change from all the pale blues I have in my collection. Now that Tanya's polishes are in pretty new packaging, it makes them look so much more appealing, and there are a few more I'd like to try, including Penguin Chick and Riding Hood.
I picked up Essie In Stitches (£7.99) as soon as I saw that Pantone had appointed Marsala as the Colour of the Year back in the spring. I was initially disappointed with In Stitches, as on the nails it had a more terracotta hue that it appears in the bottle. However when I wore this recently I loved the autumnal shade, and it wore well for at least 4 days. I usually really struggle with chipping with the more pricey brands such as Essie, Nails Inc, Ciate, but I was really chuffed with this. I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of this shade this season.
The Essie 2015 Cashmere Matte Collection seems to be a real Marmite range. You do have to be super speedy with your application to avoid it becoming a lumpy disaster, but when you're strapped for time, these dry within about 10 seconds! These have a matte finish, but they have shimmer embedded in them to give a duo-chrome effect. Just Stitched (£8.95) is a gorgeous pastel pink with a subtle shimmer which really pops with a glossy top coat. I've also been trying out Comfy In Cashmere (£8.95) from the same range. This is a pretty taupe with lilac shimmer. This shade is much more wearable than the typical greige shade and the touch of lilac makes the hands look much healthier.
I got the Wah London Going Up/Going Down Press On Nails (£9) in a Birchbox earlier on in the year, and I neglected to try them because I didn't think they were my thing. I finally tried them on a lazy weekend, just for the thrills. I'd previously tried the Primark nails but found these adhesive ones a lot easier to apply. I usually keep my nails pretty short, and these were a lot longer than I'm used to but I liked the chevron copper design. These barely lasted 2 days as I think they were a bit too long compared to my natural nails, so they were more fragile.Wrapping my fingers around my camera really was the tipping point for these press-ons and they all started falling off after that. I may try press-on nails in the future as they are a zero-faff way to jazz up your talons, but I'd go for a more natural length and design.
I think I've really embraced the greys, taupes and terracottas for Autumn, and as we get deeper into the season I'm looking forward to whipping out the more plummy, berry toned polishes. I know In Stitches will be making a repeat appearance, as it is just fall encapsulated in a bottle.
I think I've really embraced the greys, taupes and terracottas for Autumn, and as we get deeper into the season I'm looking forward to whipping out the more plummy, berry toned polishes. I know In Stitches will be making a repeat appearance, as it is just fall encapsulated in a bottle.
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