Nail the Trend

It's no secret that nail art has become one of the main areas  in the beauty and fashion industry. Nail art was once something that was hardly ever done but now it's just as important as the fashion on the catwalks. They have become the finishing touches to the designers looks. Women of all ages love to have amazing nail art nowadays. Like almost all trends in the industry's the nail art trend started on the fashion catwalks. All of the big brand labels such as Essie, OPI and Deborah Lippmann are seen on the nails of the models and are represented on the runways. The nail technicians work with the designers to creative amazing and interesting nail looks to compliment the designers collections. At New York fashion week this year all of the nail art was created by hand. Here are some amazing nail art trends you'll love to try out.

Floral.
These hand painted flowers that were seen on the runways of Rachel Antonoff were inspired by the prints in her collection. This look is perfect for spring and summer because of the bright base colour and the feminine overall look this nail design has. If your wanting to recreate this look at home then start with two coats of CND's Flashpoint; then, working with a detailing brush, paint a fern design on the lower half of your nails with Anchor Blue and Brilliant White. You can make this nail design more personal by painting your favourite flower on your nail and using your favourite colour as your background. Amazing.

Metallic.
This trend was seen all over the runways this season in nails and in fashion. This trend is so easy to create at home. This look is ultra modern and feminine. This is great for a night out or even a holiday. At Behnaz Sarafpour, CND's Roxanne Valinoti used gold and silver polish (called Gold Chrome and Silver Chrome. Use two coats of a metallic polish and then top this off with a shiny top coat for ultra shine and glam.

Reverse French.
It's known that nude nails are to be a big trend for spring and summer 2013 but backstage at Rebecca Minkoff the nail technicians put a spin on this classic trend. This end makes the nail look natural just like the French manicure does but with a fun twist. They painted a double stripe along the top of a taupe manicure. The colours used were Essie Jazz for the base and then Midnight Cami and Wrapped in Rubies on the tips. This trend can be done at home but it isn't very easy to do despite its simple look. If your wanting to do this at home then try painting a thick stripe first, cure and then paint a thin stripe over the top. This makes it easier to create the thin stripes with out having a very steady hand.

Polka-Dots.
Many designers this season used polka-dot prints in their collection and Kate Spade used polka-dot print nails in her runway show too. Nail brand Deborah Lippmann was used created the adorable mani using Fade to Black as the base and I'm Not Innocent (a pale peach) for the spots. This trend gives a cute 1960's vibe to your look. Very vintage summer.  Simple to recreate at home, just paint your nails with a base coat and then use a contrasting colour and a brush for the dots. Perfect.

Half Moon.
 Last season half moon shapes were painted on the base of the nail around the cuticles, this season on the Phillip Lim runway Essie nail artist Elle put her own twist on the trend by painting the half moon shape of the side of the nail. She started but painting the nails black and then added a thin coat of grey (called Chinchilly) and then painted a white crescent moon along the length of the grey. Very edgy and simple but dramatic. This tend is perfect because it doesn't have to be perfect. The stripes don't have to be identical with each other. Great for beginners.

So whatever your style there's a nail art trend out their for you. Remember to sparkle to the tip!

No Ordinary Nail

Some women prefer to have simple, classic fully painted nails whereas some women want a little more flare with their nails. Nail art is huge. Nails aren't about just having a simple colour anymore it's about the designs that are on them. From Floral, geometric, swirls, polka dots and many many more. The possibilities are endless. Their are lots of tools and small accessories that a nail technician will use to create custom nail designs. It is done with special paints, acrylic colours that have a high gloss level to achieve the best results. Also, it is done using special brushes which are made of pure sable hair. Many different nail art designs suit different styles and personalities. For example, someone who likes the 1950's and the classic pin up style would probably like the red and white polka dot nails (shown below). Just as clothes and accessories, it’s detailing that defines good nail art. Nail art is not simple drawing or painting its an expression of a personality. Nail technicians will practise this craft on plates tic nail colour wheels. This will show their customers what types of nail art can be offered and it allows the nail technician to test out new nail art products such as pens and strips.

Nail art can be 2D or 3D and can suit any occasion depending in the nail design. Many women choose to have floral and diamanté nail art if they are a bride and when attending a wedding because of its delicate and ultra feminine look. Many people like to have only the tips of their nails decorated. One of the most popular nail art designs at the moment is the paint splash tip (shown below) lots of people have recreated this, some having a contrasting splash colour on every tip and some using glitter to create a sparkly splash.

At the Olympia Beauty Show in London nail art is taken to its extreme. Fantasy nails. These are nails that have been painted and the technicians had hand made various small fantasy creatures and figures out of acrylic. Including small mermaids and spacemen! All amazing.

I can't wait to see what amazing nail art you will design. Remember to sparkle to the tip!

Happy Feet

Pedicures are simply a manicure for your feet. Caring for the feet and the nails a pedicure includes soaking the feet, polish and a massage. There are many various types of pedicures that you can have. Some more luxurious than others. Some using stones, wax and even chocolate! Here I will be going through some of the most popular types of pedicure which all start with the basic pedicure but each have their own little touches and extras to help you relax.

The first types of pedicure is the Basic Pedicure. This service consists foot soaking, foot scrubbing with a pumice stone or foot file, nail clipping, nail shaping, foot and calf massage, moisturiser and nail polishing. This is simple but will make your feet looking and feeling amazing.

The next is the Spa Pedicure. This pedicure is a little more luxurious than the basic pedicure thanks to the extra spa touches. It Includes the regular pedicure and generally adds one of the following: Paraffin dip, masks, mud or seaweed treatment to add to the distress and the relaxation.

Then there is the Stone Pedicure. Including the basic pedicure, this is basically a foot massage that involves the use of various different essential oils that are rubbed with the help of hot stones for the massage of the feet and legs helping your muscles relax and loosen.

A classic pedicure is the French Pedicure this is the basic pedicure that involves the use of white polish on the nail tips with a sheer pink color on the base. Perfect if your planning on wearing peep toe shoes or flip flops in summer. This will make your toes look stunning and classic.

For those who are looking for a more sweet time and want to indulge a little but more then look no further than the Chocolate and Ice Cream Pedicures. The Chocolate Pedicure is the basic pedicure which may include a chocolate foot soak, chocolate foot mask or chocolate moisturising lotion. This will make your feet smell amazing. The Ice Cream Pedicure. this is the basic Pedicure where you choose your Bath ball which looks like a scoop of ice cream. The foot soak is then followed with a foot scrub usually in (Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry) And topped with a whipped moisturising lotion and then your toe nails painted cherry red. Sweet as candy.

So if your wanting perfect feet for your summer holidays then you'll be spoiled for choice with these. Go classic or go sweet. But always remember to sparkle to the tip!

Bad habits

We all have our bad habits but nails biting is a terrible one. Nail biting is essentially when you bite off your the free edge of your nail. People. It's their nails for various reasons. The most common being stress but it can also be caused by boredom, lack of tools to trim the nails, imitation (copying a family or friend) and even trauma. Although it can't stunt your nail growth no ones nails look good when they're all bitten. Biting your nails will also damage your cuticles. Here are a few helpful tips to help you stop the nail biting habit. There are also some images shown below of a before and after of a clients nails with bitten nails that I did recently.

Try relaxing more. If your nail biting is a result of being overly stressed then try taking some time out and relaxing. Try reading a magazine or a book to keep calm. Or even try using a stress ball to relieve your stress. With bitten nails being socially unacceptable try wearing false nails. This will help cover up your bitten nails and make them look more presentable. Your nails will also grow under the false nails meaning they can recover. Try distracting yourself. This will help to get biting your nails off you mind. The easiest tip is to apply a bitter tasting nail polish on to your nails so then when you try to bite your nails you have a bitter taste left in your mouth. Over time this will then stop you biting your nails as you don't want the taste.

I hope you all stop biting your nails and keep those nails look stunning. Remember to sparkle to the tip!

The Velveteen Manicure

An amazing new trend has emerged in the nail scene. Many nail technicians claim to have created it but whoever originally did it is a genius. The Velveteen Manicure gives your natural nail or nail enhancements the effect of velvet fabric. They appear soft and slightly fury just like velvet but is very hard wearing. This product us even waterproof!

Whether your having The Velveteen Manicure on your whole nail or incorporating it into nail art they're sure to look stunning.

This needs nothing more than a UV lamp to cure the gel sealer required to bond the fibres.To apply on to a gel polish, sprinkle the powder like material onto your wet gel and then cure for 2 minutes. Brush away the excess and return to the jar. You can also apply Velveteen with regular top coat over polish. Then you have amazing textured nails! Who says nails have to be either matt or shiny why not go Velveteen.

Remember sparkle to the tip!

Wedding Bells

On your special day you want everything to be perfect. Down to the smallest detail. Each flower, the venue, the outfits and of course your nails. Delicate and beautiful. Natural.

For amazing wedding nails focus on looking natural and not over done. The most popular wedding nails are classic French tips with delicate nail art. Floral nail art designs emphasise the pretty and girly look of the bride. Try having gold highlights or glitter for added glamour and sparkle. Some brides have even had 3D acrylic flowers applied to the nails along with small pearls. You could even have lace nail art to add to the delicateness of the bridal gown.

You could use your wedding colour scheme in your nail art too. If you have purple flowers, chairs etc you could have purple nail art on your ring fingers to coordinate with the venue and emphasise the ring. Hope you get some inspiration for great bridal nails for your special day.

Remember sparkle to the tip!

Good Old Acrylics

Acrylic is the oldest and best known nail extension in the beauty world, they are strong and durable and acrylic nails aren't expensive. They are thick and can also be easily be fixed and soaked off at home with out the help of a nail technician so have become popular with customers. They are also great for adding length to short nails. They can be sculpted past the nail edge, so you can get more length without applying a plastic tip first. With the chemicals used for acrylic nails pregnant women are advised to stay clear of this treatment. Acrylic nails will have a good life, usually lasting from 2 to 4 weeks depending on the person and the condition of the natural nail. Acrylic nails are built up of liquid monomer and powdered polymer so become very strong. This mixture hardens when it contacts air creating a shell like coating. Nail technicians use acrylic nails to create classic French tips. Acrylic nails can also be created in fan shapes and even spirals!

A lot of celebrities like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna have all been seen wearing acrylic nails in a pointed shape each having amazing nail accessories on such as flowers to make the nails look stunning. Pointed acrylic nails were seen on the cover of Decembers Scratch Magazine (the forum for nail professionals) in the style of long icicles dropping from the models fingers these were then adorned with small acrylic flowers. Acrylic nails were seen at The Olympia Beauty Show where nail technicians sculpted acrylic fantasy nails including miniature mermaids! Pointed nails can be seen everywhere and can be short or very long and exaggerated. Fierce. If painted a nude shade pointed acrylic nails will make your hands look slender and feminine.

Remember to sparkle to the tip!

Current runway fashion heading to nails

Spotted on the catwalk, the chic colour collection of red and gold are hitting the fashion trends for nails according to the beauty news in Harpers Bazaar's in August 2012 edition.

So I have been investigating what colours I think would work well. I love OPI classic red colours and think these work really well. My favourite would have to be 'The Thrill of Brazil' I think this works really well.

There are lots of ways you can really show off some great red and gold colours you could go for red manicure and gold pedicure (also works well visa versa). If you go for acrylic tips then why not have classic red nails with a gold smile line.

Thrill of Brazil

Some golds that work really well are China Glaze 'I'm not lion' which has some amazing sparkle that when it hits the really brightens a room. 'Kalahari Kiss' is also a great one from China Glaze which is in their 'on safari' range.

I'm not Lion

Hope this gives you some ideas to try some great trends out.

remember to sparkle to the tip