FASHION Magazine

Check out the photos from Mendocino’s 25th anniversary party! »

Mendocino’s 25th anniversary was marked last week with a celebration at the store’s Yonge Street location. The evening began with a trend presentation from the store’s head buyer, Christina Faucher. Key trends for fall and the upcoming holiday season—such as leather, oxblood and prints—were presented on models who mingled with partygoers throughout the night. Guests sipped custom cocktails tailored to the season’s tops trends (think: “Better than Bordeaux” and “Prints Charming”) while perusing merchandise. That is, unless their nails were wet: In honour of Mendocino’s silver anniversary, Tips Nail Bar joined the celebration to do metallic Essie manicures on guests. There were also many silver sweets to be had—while waiting for manicure partygoers filled takeout containers with silver and white sweets from a fully stocked candy table. Happy silver anniversary, indeed!

Outer space has inspired many a manicure, from the classic moon manicure (okay, it may be named for the moon of your nails and not the moon in the sky, but still!) to glittering galaxy-style nail art. Last fall Jeremy Laing had many a moon print in his collection and this season it seems Carolina Herrera is taking inspiration from astronomy. Two pieces in particular seemed to capture the crater-filled, swirling surface of the moon and it’s this print that served as the basis for today’s nail art. (Also, I’m not the only one completely enamoured with the images of Mars that the Curiosity Rover has been sending back to Earth, right? Outer space is on-trend!) To get the surface of the moon on your nails, you’ll need two shades of mushroom-purple nail polish, a silver-purple glitter and a few dotting tools. Don’t worry, this manicure is easier than rocket science.

See how the surface of the moon manicure is done! »

Considering just how much Temperley London was worn by Kate Middleton during her recent Diamond Jubilee tour of Southeast Asia, the label was top of mind when it came time to seek out this week’s nail art inspiration. It also helps that Temperley London’s Fall 2012 collection opened with an exquisite embroidered dress (worn by former FASHION cover girl Anais Pouliot, no less) that was basically begging the nail art treatment. For this design you’ll need a handful of colourful nail polishes, as it’s all about the contrast between the light-taupe background and the floral detail work. (I almost wish there had been more need for the dark, hunter-green shade I used, which was one of the Nars Andy Warhol polishes. It will certainly make a reappearance!) So, grab a nail art brush and a dotting tool and read on to see how this floral Temperley London manicure is done!

Try the Temperley London floral nail art! »

If you browse through our Fall/Winter trend report, you’ll happen to see a lot of green—from Kenzo and Milly to Chanel and Elie Saab, shades of emerald, forest and jade dominated the runways. It’s also just as popular in fall nail polish collections, with both OPI and Essie including so-dark-it’s-almost-black shades of green. In keeping with the trend of all-over jewel tones, this manicure pairs two green polishes for a monochromatic moon manicure.

Find out how to do the monochromatic moon mani! »

Sequins, gemstones and bedazzled extras made many an appearance in our Fall 2012 trend report, from accessories to eyebrows. And while we might be waiting for it to get a little cooler before we start donning rich jewel tones, metallic makeup is ideal for an early transition—especially when it’s on your nails. Taking a cue from the sequined sunset on a pair of Roger Vivier boots, this week’s manicure is a glitzy gradient of blues, purples, coppers and gold.

Find out how to do this glitzy gradient manicure! »

Summer is still in the air but as fall nail polish collections continue to be announced it becomes hard to resist the allure (and the colours!) of the changing seasons. While Peter Som‘s resort collection is intended for warmer climates, its rich shades of grey, taupe and burgundy matched just-launched polishes from both Essie and Nars. And while the spindly vine and flower pattern on many of the collection’s pieces seems like an unconventional nail art motif, its organic shapes are ideal for practicing your brush skills: no straight lines necessary!

Find out how to do this manicure! »

The Olympics are impressive for a variety of all reasons, but most of all for being the one event to turn even the most athletically disinclined into feverish sporting enthusiasts. Athletes replace celebrities in gossip circles, stringent co-workers suddenly have secret browser windows open to watch the games and, best of all, even Kate Middleton is involved! So once you’re done wrapping yourself up in Team Canada gear get your nails into the game with an Olympic-themed manicure.

See how it’s done! »

Created by arts organization No.9 and Toronto-based artists Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, Art Train Conductor No.9 is more than just a wrapped GO train—and it’s also the first time I’ve felt envious of commuters! (If you are a Toronto-area commuter, the train is currently running on the Lakeshore line, but is moving to Barrie as of July 31.) The whole design is beyond visually stunning: from blown-out multi-coloured pixels to bold zig-zags of black and white, there’s a lot going on. So when translating the train into nail art, the biggest obstacle was figuring out which elements to use and which to ignore. After drafting a few different ideas, I decided the best route was to focus on using similar colours and mimicking just a few repeating shapes. The result is a graphic set of striped nails that could serve as a great distraction during any commute home.

Love this look? Here’s how to do it »

After seeing Dior‘s spectacular Couture show earlier this week, one thing (aside from the collection, that is) stood out: the brightly hued lashes on each model. Created by makeup artist extraordinaire Pat McGrath, hot pink, cobalt blue and lime green eyeliner was applied over silver shadow, with matching mascara to make the neon colours stand out even more. Basically, it was impossible not to turn back to Sally Singer’s eyeball manicure for Nail Corner inspiration. This design may have more of a cartoonish than couture feel, but it’s one way you can get away with neon eyelashes for everyday wear.

Couldn’t you see Katy Perry in this mani? Find out how to do it before she does! »

Gingham! The picnic-friendly print was all over spring runways and, if Oscar de la Renta‘s Resort collection is any indication, it will continue to be popular well through next year. Which, of course, makes gingham an ideal choice for nail art, especially during the summertime. It’s proper enough to wear to the office during the week, but has a playful touch that will remind you to plan park adventures for the weekend. This is a design that requires a bit of skill, as painting straight lines can be a bit of a pain—but as with all nail art, practice does make perfect!

Let’s get this picnic started! Check out the gingham mani » »

Today, we’re going inside the bag belonging to Globe and Mail fashion editor Tiyana Grulovic. You see her excellent (and plentiful!) work weekly in the Globe’s style section, and you’ve seen her ombréd mug discussing the biggest and best red carpets on eTalk, but what you might not have seen (or heard) is her amazing, quirky sense of humour. Click through for several excellent references to what’s inside her bag.

Let’s explore! »

While tales of six figure wedding costs can make any bride-to-be nervous, a little resourcefulness can go a long way to keep a budget under control. For instance: doing your own makeup on your wedding day! (And, as a way of getting in extra practice, for all the related events leading up to your big day!) Consider that even Kate Middleton DIY’d her bridal look—and who can argue that they’ll be more scrutinized than a Queen-to-be? After all, while we all dream of looking like a princess, there’s nothing better than looking like a super-pretty version of yourself. From bridal hair tips to wedding-ready looks that can go from day to night, this week’s Beauty Fix has all the answers.

Read on for all the answers! »

In need of a beauty fix? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.