Feel-good nails—for pennies
The vibrant tones of autumn’s fruit and foliage are instant mood boosters. And you can carry the happy hues with you all day by adorning nails with seasonal-inspired designs sure to make you smile and shine
LENGTHEN NAILS with golden-apple tips
This sparkling twist on a classic French manicure is not only elegant, but the shimmery golden tips on the bright caramel apple–toned metallic polish create the illusion of lovely long nails.
TO DO: Paint two coats of a shimmery caramel polish (like Pacifica 7 Free Nail Polish in Eternal Flame, PacificaBeauty.com) on all nails; let dry. Place a strip of painter’s tape across the nail, leaving the tip exposed. This will help you achieve a straight line without the need for a steady hand. Next, sweep a glittery gold polish (like China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Counting Carats, SallyBeauty.com) along the tip. Remove tape and repeat using a fresh piece for each nail. Seal with a top coat.
SLIM HANDS withtkluminous leaf accents
A colorful linear leaf design ptkops beautifully against a golden background, and when placed on the ring and forefinger nails, it breaks up the wide row of continuous color so hands appear long and lean. TO DO: Apply two coats of a metallic gold polish (like essie in Good as Gold, Target.com) and let dry completely. Then, on accent nails, dip a nail striping tool (like Striper Nail Art Brush, UberChicBeauty.com) into a brown nail polish (like OPI in Shh.. .It’s Top Secret, OPI.com) and use it to paint branches that extend from the sides of each nail. Let dry. Once dry, use one etknd of a toothpick to gently tap small dots of a clear top coat (like Orly Polyshield, Ulta.com) along branches (it acts as an adhesive for "leaves"). Then, use the other end to place small flecks of red, gold, orange and green diamond-shaped pieces of foil (like Transfer Foil, DollarNailArt.com) along the length of the branches. Let dry 5 minutes; seal with a top coat.