Nothing inspires me more to be creative with colour than an Autumn palette. Deep berries shades and rust tones are my thing and Autumn is the perfect time to let them shine. For me, this is with both eyeshadow (you can read about my favourite autumn eyeshadow palettes here) and nail polish.
Come this time of year I can't wait to paint my nails, often picking an autumnal base colour and pairing it with a glittery top coat as I like to believe with both Halloween and Christmas on the way I can get away with a little daytime sparkle.
There are endless autumn nail polish shades you could go for but I decided to pick out the most noteworthy shades from my collection. There's a delicious palette of autumnal shades here along with two stunning top coat nail polishes that couldn't be more perfect for this time of year if they tried. Oh, and all nail polishes here are budget-friendly!
Kiko Smart Nail Lacquer in Metallic Jungle Green (£2.50)
First up, I had to share this unique metallic khaki green nail polish that I recently picked up in Kiko. I was originally tempted by Essie Sweater Weather, a new autumn 2019 shade, and while I love the shade I think Kiko Metallic Jungle Green is pretty similar, just a little lighter in tone. While the nail polish is only £2.50 the metallic formula is streak-free not even leaving brush marks in the finish which is pretty amazing for the low price tag. It also feels and looks silky smooth and glossy on the nails. This is the kind of shade that offers something a little different without being too out there or bold, it truly is perfect for both autumn/winter.
Essie Nail Polish in Leggy Legend (£7.99)
From Fragrance Direct for £2.99 here
Each Autumn I reach for Leggy Legend by Essie as it's simply my favourite metallic copper nail polish and this year I'm pleased to see it available on the Boots online (it was a shade I'm sure had been discontinued!). I often find a lot of copper tone nail polish to be too dark so you can't see the copper tone or too light that it looks wishy-washy. But Leggy Legend is the perfect in-between shade that really is the shade of copper pennies and looks perfect worn alone or with a glitter top coat. I truly adore this nail polish!
Bourjois La Laque in Marron Show (£2.99)
If you are into your deep tones come cold weather then Bourjois Marrow Show is an amazing shade and a polish I opt for as a base when I want to make any glitter top coat sing. Marron Show is a highly pigmented and opaque deep brown crimson shade that I feel would flatter all skin tones, looking chic and a little vampy. While Bourjois La Lacque nail polishes have been discontinued (I haven't a clue why as the formulation was amazing) you can find Marron Show on both Amazon and eBay for under £3! Deeper nail polish shades can often be a little harder to work needing several coats and seeping over the cuticles but this really is one of the best darker nail polishes I've tried. A simply lovely nail polish especially when cold weather really sets in.
W7 Nail Polish in Bronze Debris (£1.99)
On a budget or not, W7 nail polishes are pretty amazing for the price. I personally love their glitter topcoats more than anything else as they feel so similar to OPI glitters but at a fraction of the cost! Bronze Debris is a glitter I always pull out come Autumn as the polish contains both copper and gold glitter flecks that look amazing over so many nail polish colours. I'm not down with nail polish glitter terminology but within this specific glitter, there is a mix of three different shapes in both copper and gold held in a clear topcoat. The glitter is also quite sparse meaning any base colour you use with still show through nicely. For the price you really can't go wrong with this pretty autumnal glitter!
China Glaze Nail Polish in Electrify (£4.95)
Lastly, a glitter nail polish that makes me think of crisp leaves and bonfire night fireworks! This is truly the most autumnal feeling nail polish I've ever come across and simply adore. As you can see this is a pretty full-on glitter that's intended to be worn alone due to its opaque coverage in two coats. While it is super pretty on the nails and is guaranteed to bring you compliments it does have a few drawbacks, being that the texture does feel quite scratchy (less so with a glitter top coat) and it's a huge pain to remove as it's such densely packed chunky glitter. But if you can deal with that then I urge you to pick up this autumnal delight!
Do you have go-to nail polish shades for each season? If so, I'd love to know what specific nail polishes you love come Autumn time.
Fee xo.
