I like to hold the polish bottle up to the inside of a client’s wrist. Usually you can see if the color is going to complement the tone of her skin just by doing so. Another handy tip is to ask your client the colors she does not like as opposed to asking her what she does like. That is a good indication of what will not look good on her. People don’t like certain colors for a reason and, more often than not, it’s because they put that color on one time and it didn’t look so great. By asking your client the colors she does not like, it narrows it down way better than asking her what she likes. People are pretty point-blank about what they don’t like. They can go on forever about the colors they do like.
As far as seasons go, when it comes to polish colors your options are limitless. Even if a person isn’t specifically a “fall” person, odds are good you can find a shade of orange that might have a nice pink undertone to it to complement her “spring” skin tone. Keep a nice variety of polish colors and brands on hand and you are sure to find a color your client will fall in love with!
— Carla Foster is a veteran nail tech and owns Carla Foster Nails in Shaughnessy, Alberta, Canada