Manicure Monday: How to Transition Your Summer Polish to Fall

Hey there everyone! Welcome to another work week. I know, bummer. But we gotta pay the bills, right?

This week I wanted to share with you what I do to transition my summer nail polishes into fall. This little method helps me slowly transition into fall colors without having to go cold turkey on my summer brights. You guys know I've been having a minor melt down over this transition situation. And by minor, I mean that I won't shut up about it.

Well, here's the deal. I finally realized no one said I had to give up my brights altogether.

Once that lightbulb went off, I thought of a few fun ideas to help me mix my summer polishes with my deeper fall hues. It comes from the same basic concept most people use when mixing summer pieces with fall pieces (like mixing a summer dress with a leather jacket and boots).

Basically, all you need to do is choose at least two colors in this case a summer and fall polish that complement each other (like a bright purple with a dusty greyish purple or a deep plum) and pair them together.

If you're not a fan of nail art, do an accent nail. Paint all but one or two of your nails in the fall color and use your summer color on your accent nails. Bam! Simple. You're done.

If you happen to like a little bit of nail art, the options are infinite. Combine complimentary summer and fall colors to create any kind of design you like.  Here are just two examples of how I've done it recently. By the way, my favorite is the ombre nail because the summer nail polish is literally transitioning into my fall hue.

For the manicures you'll see below my fall hue was Zoya Jana and my summer color Orly Frolic.

A polka dot mani is a fun way to incorporate several colors into your manicure. For this manicure, I used four colors: Zoya Jana (base), Orly Frolic (purple polka dots), Sinful Colors Cool Grey, OCC Tarred (black). All you need are your favorite polishes and dotting tools. You can find nail art dotting tools on the cheap on Amazon. They'll only set you back about $1.50.

You can also choose complimentary colors and create an ombre nail look like it did. Ombre nails look difficult, but they're super easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Apply base coat
2. Apply two coats of the bottom color (in this case Frolic)
3. Wait for nails to dry
4. Take a non-latex makeup wedge and paint the top edge with your second color (in this case Zoya  Jana). 
5. Stipple second color from tip of nail backward about halfway down your nail. Start at the edge of your nail to deposit the most color there. Lighten your touch as you move down your nail to create a gradient effect. (Note: If you feel like you need to blend the edges where the two colors meet better, apply color #1 to a makeup wedge and stipple on at the edge to help blend).
6. Use a flat top eyeliner brush dipped in acetone to clean up the edge around your nails (you're going to get polish all over them with the sponge). 
7. Apply top coat.
8. You're done.

Well, that's it. That's how I'll be keeping some of my fun bright nail polishes on rotation during the fall and winter. Do you have a favorite way to transition your polishes from season to season? Or do you just rip off the Band-Aid quickly and just start rocking new colors all at once?