Nude is the new black

Confession time. I'm a little over nail art. There, I said it. I'm just too impatient to spend hours painstakingly drawing unicorns on my nails these days. I do love the old accent nail though, which is as easy as unscrewing another bottle of nail polish. What I'm also a big fan of, is nude nail polish. I mean, just check out my girl Rihanna up there with her adorable beige talons. Gorgeous. Nude nails are definitely having their moment in the sun after years of being shunted to the side as the supporting act to a French manicure. Nude nails, unlike dark, vampy colours, look great on both long and short nails. When I say nude nails I think of colours that are either delicate and whispery or shades similar to your own skin tone which have the miraculous ability to lengthen the look of your hands and make them look super elegant. Think mannequin hands. Okay, maybe that's not the best image to sway your opinion but trust me, nude is the new black. Read on for swatches of my favourite nude shades.

From left: OPI Skull & Glossbones, OPI Samoan Sand, OPI Passion, Essie Ballet Slippers, Essie Marshmallow, Essie Sand Tropez, butter LONDON Yummy Mummy, butter LONDON All Hail The Queen.

OPI Skull & Glossbones, OPI Samoan Sand, OPI Passion and Essie Ballet Slippers, close up.

Essie Marshmallow, Essie Sand Tropez, butter LONDON Yummy Mummy and butter LONDON All Hail The Queen, close up.

(From left)

1. OPI Skull & Glossbones is from the 2011 Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides Collection and is an opaque, warm toned pale grey. It actually looks a little lighter than this in real life. It applies like a dream, which is surprising for an opaque pastel. It's a great, left of field pick for someone trying on the nude nail look after years of wacky colours.
2. OPI Passion is super sheer - I used 3 coats here and you can still kind of see my nail line. It's a perfectly pale, 'your nails but better', warm toned pink. It's so shiny that it can be worn without a top coat. It's also a great pick for a natural looking French mani.
3. OPI Samoan Sand is my idea of nail foundation. It comes very close to matching my skin perfectly. This is the colour I use if I'm looking to rock those super alluring mannequin hands I spoke about earlier. It's a lovely light, peach toned beige creme that's slightly sheer but is opaque in 3 thin coats. 

1. Essie Marshmallow is one of those cult beauty product you read about in magazines all the time. Well let me tell you, it's a cult product for a reason. It's a lovely warm, sheer white that is very easy to apply. Essie's formula for sheers is fantastic but just remember to let your nails dry between coats to prevent the colour dragging. It's also great as a base if you want to make neon colours pop!
2. Essie Ballet Slippers is another cult shade and is an extremely pale pink that builds to opaque in 3 coats. It has the same jellyish texture that Marshmallow has and both colours look great when paired with a freshly tanned summer skin.
3. Essie Sand Tropez, from the 2011 Spring Collection is a cooler toned version of OPI Samoan Sand. It's slightly ashier so it stands out on my skin more but if you've got cooler undertones in your skin then this may be the mannequin hand shade for you. 

1. butter LONDON Yummy Mummy is a cool toned, pale taupe with a subtle silver shimmer. butter LONDON polishes have a great formula and the brushes are really easy to use. They're quite short but with long bristles which makes it easy to splay over your nail.
2. butter LONDON All Hail The Queen is a slightly darker version of Yummy Mummy but with one other major difference. IT'S HOLOGRAPHIC! See, I told you nude polishes aren't boring! This beige colour is super flattering and absolutely sparkles in sunlight. The photo on the far right  is All Hail The Queen photographed with flash. 

One thing I should say about nude polishes is that I think they only really look good on hands. In my opinion, toes benefit from a bit of colour as nude polishes can make your feet look a little... dead. Gross. But maybe that's just me! 

So try swapping your hot pink for nude this time round. It's not just for ladies named Margot who only eat cucumber sandwiches. You'll look cool. Promise. 

Over and out!