Spring Nail Polishes to Brighten Your Mood

As I mentioned in my previous blog post all about the things I do to take care of myself when I’m stressed, I mentioned that I love the ritual of painting my nails as a form of self-care. I thought, with the changing of the seasons, that I would go over my favorite nail polishes for the springtime that always manage to make me a bit happier.

Fingers

Olive & June EC ~ A lot of time I actually like to go pretty bare with my nail color during the spring. My go-to sheer pink is Olive & June EC. It’s super sheer so if you want a slightly more opaque finish you will have to apply three coats. I love how healthy this makes my nails look and it actually has some nail strengthening built into the polish itself so it keeps your nails healthy and strong.

J. Hannah Saltillo ~ J. Hannah is probably my favorite nail polish brand in terms of color palette. She just makes so many unique, understated colors that are so so flattering. I love Saltillo for the shade because it reminds me of orange sherbet and Aperol spritzes.

Smith & Cult Kundalini Hustle ~ I absolutely love a bright cherry red all year round but especially in the springtime. I don’t think there’s any more sophisticated, yet bright looking nail color than a bright cherry red. My go-to cherry shade is Smith & Cult Kundalini Hustle, which strikes the perfect balance between not leaning too orange or blue-toned. I also love the formulation of Smith & Cult polishes on the whole because they last for ages.

Toes

Olive & June CDJ ~ I don’t know what it is about light, opaque, nude pinks, but I don’t always love how they look on my hands, but love them on my toes. CDJ by Olive & June is more of a cool toned light pink, and it almost veers towards lilac-y. Olive & June polishes, on the whole, are some of the most long lasting nail polishes I have ever used and if I paint this shade on my toes, it lasts for at least two weeks with no chipping!

Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist ~ Nothing like a Robin’s egg blue to scream spring! Bitter Buddhist by Smith & Cult is such a nice, somewhat muted Robin’s egg blue. While I do like it on the fingers, I think it looks even better on the toes, especially when you have a bit of a tan.

Essie Bahama Mama ~ Just because springtime is here does not mean I’ll be giving up my dark nail polishes any time soon. Whenever I wear darker nail polishes in the warmer months, I tend to go for something that has a bit more color saturation. My go-to dark color for the toes is Essie Bahama Mama, which is a really pretty deep plum shade.

What I Want To Be Wearing This Spring

I've been talking about how much the weather has sent me into a wardrobe rut, as I think it does for most people. Now that I can happily say we are fully in spring here in California, I have been re-assessing my wardrobe and taking in lots of inspiration in the hopes that I can perfect my spring/summer wardrobe. Especially since I'm more of a fan of cold-weather clothes, I find it hard to be really inspired by spring/summer collections, but with the winter this year lasting so long, I'm fully committed to having a really good warm-weather wardrobe. 

As part and parcel of not being a huge warm-weather person, I do feel a renewed sense of adding pieces that will get me out of my comfort zone (ahem vintage jeans and a t-shirt) and hopefully get me to experiment more with different shapes and fabrics. One of the most glaring examples of this that I can think of is injecting more non-denim trousers into my wardrobe. I wear denim almost every single day without fail, but that's a habit I want to get out of for spring. I'm definitely not saying I won't be wearing denim full stop, but I do think incorporating different styles of pants will make a huge impact on the kinds of silhouettes I wear.

Whenever it gets to be the spring-time I tend to gravitate towards a much more feminine aesthetic, whereas my fall/winter wardrobe is far more menswear inspired. When I was having a closet clear-out recently, I noticed that there's a big hole in my wardrobe for more feminine tops and shoes. I gravitate a lot towards sweaters and cotton t-shirts for my top half and, for shoes, I love loafers and boots. However, for the spring time that combination can look a little too heavy. I really want to invest more in a few feminine blouses, especially wrap tops, since I think they are one of the most flattering shapes, and still look incredible with a pair of vintage jeans. For shoes, I've been hugely drawn to slingbacks, because even though they're still flats they look far more feminine than a loafer or a basic slide. 

Last, but certainly not least I want to touch on my intense, newfound love of linen. I've been seeing lots of images of linen clothes floating around Instagram and Pinterest and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about it that just looks so effortless and cool. I bought this linen shirt from Everlane a couple of weeks ago and it has quickly become one of my favorite shirts. Not only is linen extremely pretty, but it's also easy to take care of, which makes it that much more enticing to wear for the warmer months. I will definitely be keeping an eye on some good linen pieces for the upcoming seasons. Who knows, a pair of linen pants might even be in the cards!

Orange Eyeshadows for Spring

The transition from winter to spring is often a welcome one for me. The longer days and the less rainy weather is always a nice change. I also find myself eager to get out of my autumn/winter rut by wearing warmer weather clothes and lighter makeup. However, because it isn't quite summer I don't feel like going totally minimal and summery with my makeup. Over the past year I've adopted a very minimal approach to eyeshadow in general. On most days I either wear no eyeshadow at all or a wash of one color all over the lids.

For the spring time I've been loving the whole orange eyeshadow trend. Normally I'm not one for trends but I love the way orangey-tone eyeshadows look against my blue eyes. These kinds of eyeshadows also maintain a kind of grungey look (which I love) without looking out of place for the warmer months. I have a fair few orange eyeshadows in my collection, the most wearable of them being Soba by MAC. Soba is the least orange and lightest of the shades and its a good starting point if you're a bit weary of full on orange eyeshadows. I also love the consistency of Soba, in that it isn't completely matte but it also doesn't have very noticeable shimmer, it sits in that nice sweet spot between the two finishes. If you're on the hunt for a more full-on orange I'd say go for Saddle by MAC. It definitely is not bright orange but it is a very orange-toned brown that looks incredible as an all over wash on the lids and smudged underneath. I find myself wearing this color almost every single day and I don't see that stopping any time soon. Last but not least is the palette I would recommend for orange-toned eyeshadows. There are definitely brighter and more daring eyeshadow palettes on the market, but I think the Becca Ombre Rouge is the best option if you want more orange toned shades but still want something that is both wearable and versatile. The second darkest caramel shade is very similar to Saddle and it looks amazing either used in the crease with some of the lighter shades in the palette or used all over the lids with the dark burgundy in the crease. While this palette screamed Fall/Winter to me at first, I think I will be getting a ton of use out of it in the springtime for darker, going-out looks.