My Top Five Nail Polish Picks for the Fall/Winter Seasons

So.. in keeping with some of my earlier "fall favorites" posts, I thought I'd add one for nail polish because, well, I'm pretty much obsessed with nail polish. It was hard to choose only five but I'm in a time crunch these days so lets just get on with it, shall we?

Photo from http://imperfectlypainted.blogspot.com

OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ: A nail polish color named after barbeque sauce? Gross. And yet, this shade is anything but. Basically, it looks just like it sounds which translates to a very brown-toned dark red, you know... like barbeque sauce. The formula on this one is one of the best I've used as are most of the OPI cream formulas and it applies like an absolute dream. Two coats does the trick but three is perfection. If you love shades like Essie Wicked, Revlon Vixen, or Chanel Rouge Noir but are looking for something a little bit different, this is a great choice.

Photo from http://therealpolishprincess.blogspot.com

OPI Got the Blues for Red: This is my favorite dark red. By far. I am not a huge fan of reds unless they are deeper in tone and this one is perfect in that it isn't so dark that the red becomes more of a burgundy but not so red that it fails to excite me. Basically, it has enough red to be classified as red but deep enough to be interesting. Once again, OPI hits it out of the park with its cream finish and this is another that applies flawlessly. Perfect for those who want to dip their toe in the vampy-polish pool but aren't ready to put their whole foot in. 

Butter London Marrow: This is my current favorite shade in the purple family. Marrow is a cooler-toned purple that has very subtle silver shimmer which is hardly detectable by the human eye once  applied to the nails. Luckily, it still looks beautiful even if promises of shimmer were immediately broken once the wand met the nail. This color is fairly hard to describe because it isn't similar to others in this shade range that I've used. Which is a good thing because it doesn't thrill me to spend $14 on a polish that I have seen a billion times.

Photo taken from http://getnailedbypolish.blogspot.com

OPI Tickle Me France-y: I tried to avoid including this shade in the list because I think it was in my last year's list but I simply cannot fight it and I would be doing a disservice to the nail polish community if I kept this one under wraps. The reason why this continues to be a favorite of mine is because it is the perfect taupey-coffee shade but more like what coffee looks like after you dump a crap ton of cream in it. The formula is one of those jelly types that apply a bit watery but it goes on so smoothly and so effortlessly that its difficult to mess up. Something about this formula gives you a much glossier finish that is commonly found in the pre-top coat phase of the polish process.  What is interesting is that the formula does not lend itself to the typical chipping process when its been on for a few days, rather, it starts to fade a bit mostly at the tips. Now that I've dissected every aspect of this polish, suffice it to say that this shade and formula is awesome. It is the perfect fall neutral that goes with anything and really flatters the skin tone.

Photo credit www.scrangie.com

Essie No More Film: I just realized that I have no polishes with shimmer on my list. What? How can I make a fall/winter list of fave polishes without shimmer? This was not my intention but the heart wants what the heart wants and the heart wants cream finishes. No More Film is a fabulously deep violet blue that is dark enough to be edgy but not so dark that you can't tell what color it is. I'm picky with blue shades as I prefer them to lean more toward purple, so much so that they actually become purple instead of blue. But this one is a good balance for me. A great choice for those that like dark polish but still want the color to come through so that it doesn't look black. And a rather excellent formula I might add. And as I often mention, opaque in two coats but three is perfection.  

P.S. Three isn't always perfection, sometimes its overkill if the formula is a gloopy-gloppy hideous mess. But those polishes have no business being on my top favorites list.

Looking forward to doing more posts soon! Thanks for reading!

Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet: The Perfect Red Lip Color (For Everyone!)

I am typically not a red lip girl. And anytime I do a post on a red lip color, I begin by stating the fact that I am not a red lip girl. This way, you'll know that if I'm taking time out of my day to write a post that is specifically dedicated to a red lip product, it must be really great. And I'm late to the table on this one ladies. My favorite new lippie is the Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet. I have like 10 shades of pink and nude but no red. I had heard one too many youtube girls talking about this color before I finally caved. First, let me preface (again) this by saying that I love the Lip Butters and think that Revlon has been knocking it out of the park in 2012 in terms of lip products. So I already knew I would love the consistency and texture and all of that. But I didn't think I would love the color this much. Red Velvet is a gorgeous, raspberry-toned, red. It's not a vampy red, just a richly saturated deep berry-red. This color makes your teeth look SO white because of the blue-toned base and has any amazing glossy shine. And finally, the creamy consistency that we all (or we should all) know and love. Some of the Lip Butters have a grittier texture because of some shimmer (like Peach Parfait) but this one is creamy dreamy which I prefer. I can't get over how richly pigmented and opaque this shade is for being so moisturizing and balmy. I can wear it with or without a lip liner but if you want a more precise application, I suggest a lip liner. I have used it with a nude liner because I don't want to change the color in any way but using a red-toned liner. It works famously over a flesh-toned nude shade (like Boots No. 7 #20 Nude). Seriously, I have been wearing it daily for a week now which is about 7 days longer than I would typically wear a red lip color. It truly is the perfect red for any skin tone. That's what is great about these berry-toned reds, they just work on anyone. If you want to make your teeth look whiter and your lips look red and juicy for the holidays, check out Red Velvet. See below for photos, and notice how glossy this shade looks on its own. I do not have gloss over top in any photo.

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me (above)

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me (above)