According To Gem

It’s hard to believe just a few weeks ago I was pottering around in a t-shirt and shades, now Summer seems just a distant memory and with the clocks going back tonight it’s safe to say Autumn is definitely here. It’s not all bad though, as with Autumn comes log fires, cosy jumpers, comfort food and rich jewel coloured nails.

Here’s my pick of my favourite nail colours for Autumn.

L-R Gold Mine Glitter, Metallic Saturn, Rouge Noir, Metallic Mercury, Dusky Mauve, Fashion

Deborah Lippmann in Fashion (£14). I love this shade so much, in fact I wandered every department store in San Francisco with a broken elbow to track it down. Thankfully the lovely folks at Beautybay.com now stock her range so you don’t have to trek to America (unless you want to that is!). On the downside the brush is small and fairly stiff which tends to mean it goes on streaky. Nothing an extra few coats can’t fix though and it’s definitely worth it for the perfect nude nail ;)

Barry M in Dusky Mauve (£2.99). Many a comparison has been made between Dusky Mauve and Chanel’s Paradoxal and I have to agree this is a definite dupe of Chanel’s pricier nail polish. This has a lovely brown/taupe base with a purple shimmer that shows brown to purple depending on how the light hits. I usually pair this with Essie’s Shine of the Times (which is sadly discontinued) but it also looks great on it’s own. Again I’m not a huge fan of the brush, but the polish is opaque after two coats so it’s no biggie!

W7 in Metallic Mercury (£1.95). I just love the Planets range from W7 and snapped them all up as soon as I spotted them, and who could blame me when they were just £1.95 each over at nailpolishdirect? Metallic Mercury is a beautiful duo chrome that has a pink, purple or gold shimmer to it depending on where the light hits.It really is a stunner, and gets so much attention whenever I wear it. It’s just a shame that it takes so many coats before it’s opaque (I was nearing 6 coats on the swatch!), though thankfully the large brush makes it a little easier. As with all W7 nail polishes it does have a bit of a pong to it, but it’s definitely worth it for such a pretty colour.

Chanel in Rouge Noir (£18). There’s no avoiding the fact that this polish is far from budget friendly, but it really wouldn’t be a list of the best autumnal nail polishes without it. This vampy blackened-red (allegedly replicating the colour of dried blood) hardly needs an introduction and is the ideal polish to take you through the colder months. You could easily do one coat and run, but I usually do two to get the full blackened-red effect. It tends to be a little runny (and mine’s years old) but that’s the only bad thing I can say about it.

W7 in Metallic Saturn (£1.95). Another fab nail polish from the Planets range, this gold/khaki/green polish is like nothing else and always reminds me of the colour of those gold leaf sheets you can get. Again, it pongs a little, but other than that it’s great.

Barry M in Gold Mine Glitter (£2.99). Part of the Jewel collection, I only bought this the other day and am yet to wear it but it looked like the ideal nail polish to get you through the party season. Essentially this is chunky gold flecks suspended in a black gel (although there’s no mention of this being a gel colour). I think this would look great layered over another colour or just worn on it’s own (it took about 5 coats to make it opaque).

What’s your favourite Autumn nail colour?