Best of Beauty : Spring NAILS

As promised, I’m ready to talk about nails. Backstage at Fashion Week this season, we nutty beauty editors were all buzzing about the fact that nails are the new must-have accessory. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I have to say I have some ideas as to why nails have become important. Firstly, nails are the great unifier. Some beauty trends only work on certain coloring or types, whereas nail trends can literally be pulled off by anyone with the slightest bit of fingernail to work with. Furthermore, no matter your age or how many kids are camped out in the back of your minivan, a cool manicure is something that you are guaranteed free reign to try out.

I recently ran into a fab mom friend of mine who works at Barneys in Manhattan and has two yummy but quite active little boys. She was super-stoked to show me her wild mint ombre gel manicure that had little flecks of hologram-like glitter on random nails. She might have been wrist-deep in kindergarten paste and baggies of Goldfish, but this chic mama was not going to let her kids get between her and her manicure. I love it! So, onto the trends and what you must try this spring:

If you have time to leave the house, drive to the nail salon, enjoy a manicure and let it dry:

Try a traditional French manicure with an updated twist. This will run you anywhere from 10-15 dollars and if you get a decent top coat it will last you about a week. Ask your manicurist to help you match two seemingly unrelated colors that will work together in a French. I recently blogged about my own silly French that caused quite a stir at work; an actual French person told me she loved my nails. What?! Have fun with your wild French and remember that this one is for the girls.

from nailszine.com

I adore this neutral base with pastel tips!

If you have time to get a mani but really can’t deal with dry time:

A gel manicure is your best bet for lasting nails, and you can easily get 2-4 weeks out of one. But instead of sticking with blah colors, try an ombre gel manicure or something with a hint of glitter. These nails will make you smile every time you look down at them (for the next month!) and once your manicurist finishes up, you’re out of there. No dry time required.

From Bellini's and Butterflies

This green ombre effect is super cool. Try it with a more pastel colorway with spring...

From Bellini's and Butterflies

A little glitter never hurt anyone. I LOVE this look.

Yet another ombre option, this one takes you from dark to light and thumb to pinky.

If you have no time to go get a mani and would rather do your own nails while someone is napping and someone else is not yet home from work:

Doing your own nails is a cheap, quick and easy to way to experiment with polish trends and it’s certainly nothing to scoff at. An all-in-one buffer and a great bottle of polish is really all you need. Shape nails and buff them to a shine, then apply base coat. Pick your color of the week by scoping out the coolest new hues on the market and going with what inspires you. I love Essie’s current collection rich in pastels and bold brights. Chanel’s new peach is heavenly and OPI has plenty of options to suit your taste. As we discussed with eye makeup, neon is major right now. You can introduce neon on all your nails or try pastel on eight of ten with one accent nail on each hand. Have fun with your polish, and try everything!

Top color trends:

PASTEL

She's Picture Perfect, an iridescent lilac from Essie

 

CHANEL's yummy peach, "June," is all over the beauty blogs and about to be all over your nails.

"Trout Pout" by butter London is a creamy rose with subtle British 'tude. LOVE.

NEON

Anglomania is in full effect and I am obsessing over nails inc.'s "Notting Hill Gate," a ridiculously hot pink you will love at less than $10 a bottle, sephora.com

 

American Apparel has a very pleasing array of neon nail polishes this season; the entire line is aptly dubbed "NEON" and costs a cool 6 bucks a bottle.

GLITTER

Try a glittery topcoat like Essie’s new smash hits or go for a polish that is inherently glittery. Either way, your girly-disco-pretty nails will make you smile.

From saks.com

NARS's "Diamond Life" is a smoky purple with shimmer throughout. Lovely!

Sephora and OPI join forces? I'm in! This ultra-glittery collection is super fresh for spring.



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About Jenny

Jenny Studenroth is a cosmetics junkie and bridal blogger from New York City. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2007 with a creative writing degree, she went on to the beauty departments at Elle and the Wall Street Journal magazines, before becoming a freelance writer. Her wedding blog is BorntobeaBride.com. Jenny and her husband Josh split their time between Brooklyn and Washington, DC along with their cat Dolce and pup Harry. The family is expecting their first human baby in the fall.

Comments

  1. Loving the ombre mani!

  2. I think the ombre trend is so cool.