Working The Berry Trend

It's now the depths of October, coats and scarves are in full swing and the mornings are getting decidedly darker; it's officially autumn and that can mean only one thing - berry shades. The one fashion/makeup trend from A/W 2012 that has carried seamlessly through to this year, flattering on all skin tones and ultra easy to wear - today I'm going to be talking the products I've been using lately to achieve perfect plummy lips and blood-red nails.

Having always been a little afraid of rocking a bold lip, this autumn something changed and I've been loving wearing vibrant lipstick (outside of the office, I'm not that brave). I've been on a few nights out recently (strangely enough - I usually spend my Friday nights either working or at home, blogging, watching Mad Men and painting my nails) and my lipcolour of choice each time has been my No7 Poppy King lipstick in 'Power'. I adore this as a flattering, pinky-berry twist on classic red lipstick (which I personally feel doesn't suit me overly). Applied with a light hand you get a pretty wash of dark raspberry pink, but built up for nighttime a really bright, bold finish can be achieved, which is what I've been doing (using the tried-and-tested apply-blot-reapply method). Comfortable, creamy and non-drying on the lips, the formula glides on and stays put surprisingly well through eating and drinking, eventually leaving you with an equally flattering berry-red stain. Occasionally I'll pat this on for a sheer daytime lip, but for general everyday use I tend to go for (you guessed it) my Revlon lip butter in Berry Smoothie for a muted, natural berry lip with a subtle glossy finish. When wearing darker lip colour I like to keep skin quite matte and pale; I naturally lose my tan during the colder weather but to help things along I've been dusting on the Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder (in 006 Warm Beige) to even out skintone for a flawless Snow White-esque complexion. Okay, so I'm far from a porcelain doll but this at least makes me feel a little like a fairytale princess (moving swiftly on...). The only thing I need now is a matching berry-toned blush, as currently I've been going without when working the pale skin/dark lip look.

On the nail front I've got quite a few to talk about (as always) but before I do I want to quickly mention what I've been using to keep them in place. As I've said before my nails chips like nobody's business and I'm of the opinion that if I'm going to spend several hours of my time (that's right) perfecting my manicure, I want it to stay put and looking fresh for as long as possible. I rarely ever just do a quick paint job (unless I'm in a rush and it's only for the day/weekend); generally I paint my nails twice a week (at the weekend and again mid-week) so that my hard work lasts a good 3-4 days. Lately I've been going for nude/taupe nails during the week (more work appropriate), then opting for brighter red/berry shades for the weekend. A key step in my nail routine is of course cuticle care - recently I've gone back to using Lush's Lemony Flutter cuticle butter; the rich, nourishing formula is perfect for the cold, drying weather that's crept in lately. My base coat of choice at the moment is the CND Stickey base coat - an anchoring treatment intended to adhere polish to the nail - and to lock everything in I've been opting for the Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat. Another tip for making polish last longer (and one I've only recently caught onto) is to 'cap' the nail with polish by painting over the top edge - I've noticed a real difference in wear and tear since doing this, so if you suffer from chipping I'd definitely recommend it.

Enough about nailcare - with so many shades to talk about a list seems only appropriate...

Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus £11 - free with an issue of Glamour long ago, my first foray into berry nails was a damn good one - ultra nice application; opaque, solid colour with a glossy finish. This is a classic plummy red colour; I have several items of clothing in this shade too and for me it just sums up autumn. This one has seen better days and could do with a good dunking in a bowl of warm water to loosen it up - failing that, a repurchase is definitely on the cards.

Mavala Las Vegas £4 - another one that came my way purely by chance, last year my aunt gave I and my sisters each one of these mini Mavala polishes (I chose Flashing Violet which is equally beautiful, but my sister kindly let me have Las Vegas as well when I slicked it on an index finger and gasped in admiration at the unexpected plummy-red stain). At double opacity this a gorgeous, dark vampy shade, the exact colour of black cherries and red wine, ultra chic and sophisticated-looking on longer nails.

Barry M Blood Orange - need I go into detail about this again? A deep blood red the colour of holly berries and the lining of Dracula's coffin, this applies gorgeously opaque and super shiny for nails I could stare at all day. I've already settled on this as my Halloween nail shade teamed with a matte top coat and Mac's Chilli lipstick!

No7 Foxglove £6 - picked up with a £5 off voucher, it wasn't until I got home that I realised the similarity to Piccadilly Circus. On the nails though this is much brighter, almost a magenta with a subdued purple tint which I love for a brighter autumn nail. No7 polishes are renowned for their less-than-quality formulas (ie. they chip bad) but with the CND and Seche Vite this lasts as well as any. A good one for working the berry trend with a fun edge.

No7 Damson Dream £6 - the name says it all; a shimmery sugar plum shade perfect for the festive season (I actually own a velvet dress which matches this perfectly that I drag out every party season without fail). I won't be using this until much nearer the festive period but thought I would include it regardless - I got this in last year's No7 Christmas nail giftset and noticed that this year, while the other shades have changed, this has been included again.

Mavala La Paz £4 - Lastly, a hot raspberry pink. In autumn? That's right. When the weather's this dismal (I say after having been caught in the rain three days in a row) sometimes something super bright and cheerful is just what the doctor ordered, and also offsets a primarily monochrome outfit perfectly (something I'm serially guilty of).

What are your favourite products for giving a nod to the berry trend?

Chandra

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