Fashion Week nail art: How to paint the feathery nail design from Matis by Lucian Matis Fall 2013

As Essie Canada’s lead nail artist for World MasterCard Fashion Week, Rita Remark certainly had her hands full last week. She was in charge of creating nail looks for eight shows, including Mackage, Chloé Comme Parris and Pink Tartan—and with some shows casting more than 20 models, that meant Remark and her team had to file, prep and paint 1500 false nails in advance. Curious about the process of painting so many nails, I met Rita in her studio space at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. After getting a sneak peek at the nail art designs for upcoming shows, it was my turn to try painting.

For Matis by Lucian Matis Fall 2013, Rita had created three different nail looks, all inspired by the textures of the fabrics from the collection. It was the feathery Look One—which used Essie nail polish in “Sand Tropez,” “Bachelorette Bash,” “Going Incognito,” “Mesmerized” and “Smokin’ Hot”—that I would learn to create. While I’m normally a very confident nail painter, with a camera capturing every stroke of the polish brush and Rita watching, it suddenly felt like I had two left hands. However, after a few tries it became easier and easier.

For this look, you’ll need a fan brush, a selection of colours, a bowl of water, a bowl of acetone (most nail pros use shot glasses!) and a piece of plastic to use as a palette. After dipping the brush in the water you want to run your fingers over the bristles to “fan” them out. Then, dip each tip into the nail polish and starting at the base of the nail, drag the brush up, moving it back and forth in a waving motion. “The idea is that it’s not perfect,” Rita advises. Repeat with each colour (rinsing the brush in the acetone in between) and finish off with a healthy coat of Essie Good To Go top coat. And volia! Runway-ready nails in just a few minutes.

(Curious about how the models manage to wear such elaborate nails? Last season Rita Remark applied an entire set of 1-and-a-half inch nails—from the Ashtiani Spring 2013 show—on my hands. You can read about that entire experience here.)

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