Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Five Favourite Neutrals

The smell of fall is in the air and yet, I don't feel that it is that time of year yet. School has started, I've gotten loads of new clothes and I can't wear any of it... The weather simply doesn't permit. It's rumoured to be 75 for a while here. I can talk your ear off about how excited I am for autumn to be upon us, but (lucky for you) that time hasn't arrived. It's the time in between summer and fall where I am stuck in school for seven hours a day, with dress code limitations and very little appropriate summer wear (i.e. I don't wear skirts to my knee very often and high waisted, short shorts are a staple). Along with the summer feeling gone, so has the nail varnish. My favourite bright pastels are being replaced with darker, more autumn feeling colours. This transition time in between summer and fall is difficult but I find I always reach for these varnishes if no others come to mind. Here are my top five favourite neutrals this year.

1. Love & Beauty's (Forever 21) Taupe
(far left)
This light brown has the smallest hints of shimmer and is very wearable for many skin tones. It elongates the hands in the most elegant of ways. Used on the right nail shape, it can look so simple and elegant. At $2.80 per bottle, it's incredibly cheap although it doesn't apply that way. After two coats, this shade can be easily worn without bumps, knicks, or bubbles.
2. Sephora's Under My Trench Coat
A much darker brown in comparison to Taupe, it has layers of grey and an obviously simple sheen or shimmer to it. Sephora nail polishes are not my favourites in general but this colour is one of my must haves. The application on the nail is very thick and required only one coat minus a base. I have a feeling Sephora has changed their formula in recent years because this bottle is rather old. The colour in the bottle is very different and much lighter when applied.
3. Chanel's Paradoxal
One of the darker neutrals in this post, it stands out for the obvious purple shimmer included. With one coat, the varnish is pretty transparent and definitely requires a second layer to evenly distribute colour. In harsh lighting, the colour appears dark grey with a definite purple under tone to it. In natural lighting, the purple shines much better. Chanel has quite the price tag so I'd suggest trying this on in stores and seeing how you like it. 
4. OPI's You Don't Know Jacques!
A near dupe for Chanel's Paradoxal, I'd say. This colour is exactly what Paradoxal would be without the purple undertone and shimmer. It's quite flat but can create a sophisticated grown up type colour. This muddy grey most likely requires two coats as OPI varnish doesn't have the best distribution.
4. Essie's Eternal Optimist
(far right)
One of my all time favourite nudes, Eternal Optimist is a salmony pink true nude and works very well on Olive skin tones. Some may consider it a "grandma" type colour but it's always been a favourite of mine. It's a safe bet but can warm up skin in the darker, more grey months of winter.

What are your go-to neutral/nudes? Any caught your eye recently? Let me know in the comments below.


xx
p.s. i have a new camera coming soon, not to worry. The days of crappy iPhone photos will be over soon. I'm sorry we have both have had to suffer for this long.


18 comments:

  1. Gorgeous shades here. They'd be perfect for the autumn season!

    xx

    maribleu.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. I have a few Love and Beauty Nail polishes as well and think they're great!

    I nominated you for the Liebster Award. Check it out here :)

    http://confessionsofacanadianwallflower.blogspot.ca/2012/09/liebster-award.html

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  3. great post! i love all of those shades

    you have such a lovely blog too!

    from helen at www.thelovecatsinc.com // @thelovecatsinc

    ps. enter into my brand new giveaway to win a MAC lipstick and 5 models own nail polishes! :)

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  4. Nice colors.*_*
    Would you like to follow each other on BLOGLOVIN and GFC???
    My Blog

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  5. Loving neutrals as well right now, so simple and chic.

    xo
    Complacency Kills 

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  6. great colours!!!

    come check out my blog!

    www.forwardvintage.blogspot.com

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  7. OPI's You Don't Know Jacques is one of my favorites!
    Try Essie's Demure Vixen
    xoxo,
    Taibah

    www.prettylittlecheshire.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. my favourite nail colours are by essie xoxo
    would you like to follow each other?
    A
    xx
    http://epiquemoi.blogspot.com

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  9. lovely nail-polish!

    http://glamourgirl-bg.blogspot.com/

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