Fall Beauty: CND’s “The Look: Fall 2011”

As much as I love BRIGHT ASS nail colors during the spring and summer, I am OBSESSED with the dark but not black colors of autumn beauty. Perhaps it’s all my years of watching shows like The City and The Rachel Zoe Project where girls sport the “I work in fashion and have serious nails” nail look but once September/ October rolls around I have to wear the black but so not black nail.

“This Fall, manicures are emerging in waves of rich jewel tones, earthy and worn shades, and comfortable colors - as cozy as a boyfriend’s t-shirt,” says CND Co-founder and Style Director, Jan Arnold.

During the Fall/Winter 2011 fashion shows, I went backstage and interviewed some of the best in beauty, including the creative geniuses behind Creative Nail Design (CND). For fall, runway manicures unite lavish eggplant purple and deep blues with decadent gilded gold. For your own opulent, jewel-toned nailcolor, CND’s limited edition The Look: Fall 2011 ($29) box set is perf! The set includes Midnight Sapphire (a deep cobalt blue crème), Dark Amethyst (velvet aubergine crème) and Sheer 24K Sparkle (gold lamé effect ). These jewel tones were seen at Sachin & Babi, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jen Kao and Monique Lhuillier.

All of these polishes apply beautifully and I’m pretty much smitten with the way CND formulates their nail lacquers. Not too thick but not watery thin, they apply pretty smoothly and evenly without any air bubbles. Also, one coat is more than enough with the darker colors. As I’m a creature of habit, I apply two for an uber dark look.

The Look: Fall 2011 box set is available while supplies last at select salons and professional beauty supply stores. Wanna learn more? Check out cnd.com.

Disclosure: Samples provided for editorial consideration. Please don’t forget that you can still help the people of Haiti, donate to the Red Cross today. Thank you.