Have you noticed the influx of high-art nails in magazines and fashion spreads lately? Does that mean sparkly metallics, graphics, and photo-quality designs on the tips of our fingers are finally accepted? Yes, it does, so don't be shy and start sporting some funky nails!
When I saw this season's new Nail trends coming straight off the runway, I was literally over the moon. With Makeup & Hair inspirations from the 1920s and 1940s being witnessed on many of the Fall 2009 runways ... it comes as no surprise that Burlesque and Vintage fashion has also influenced current nail trends. Finally we have an alternative to our "Immortelle bien-aimee" French Manicure.
The "Half Moon Manicure" (also called "Reverse French") has me in thrall. Sure it's got shades of Gatsby, but the look can be aggressively postmodern too. The trick is to choose a dark plummy or jet color in a high lacquered gloss. My favorite by far is a white moon with black lacquer.
I head to Tips & Toes in the Greens regularly to have their amazing nail artist Jenibeth "fly me to the moon".
Of course, Dita Von Teese, the queen of vintage glamour and patron saint of moon manicures, has been flashing her lunar nails for years.
It's a given that I of course sported a "Half Moon" manicure at one of my last shoots ... it looked stunning - despite the glue-on nails flying all over the place with each dress change - our poor model Jovana from Bareface kept trying to collect them off the street and every now and then I still find a lonely half moon in my car.
As an alternative to nail lacquer I often revert to lacquer foils at shoots (if time is scarce or I am after strong sparkly metallics, golds or silver).
The ones most readily available here in Dubai are "Incoco - Dry Nail Applique" (Spinneys - Al Wasl) and "Sephora Nail Patches" (Sephora) - either one is great and I have no preference of one over the other, it purely depends on the color you are after.
At the "Girly Story" shoot, shot with my dear friend and photographer Billie Muller, I used Sephora's nail patches in "impeccable beige" and in this case the beautiful Cecily, our model from Bareface, actually applied the foils herself whilst I was doing her hair, the result was impeccable and saved us time which allowed the team to shoot a couple more frames.
The application of the foils is very easy. Use a tissue soaked with Isopropyl (available in any pharmacy) to wipe down your nails, select the shape from the nail strip that matches your nail best, peel off the backing, and smooth down onto each nail. Smooth down the strip with your fingers and file off the excess using a nail file. It’s quite simply, a cinch. No mess – means you can pretty much apply them anywhere, with no worries about spilling polish or messing up the result. You can apply over fakes and gels too, which is handy.
If all else fails you can always wear gloves ;)
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