FASHION Magazine

Floral prints were in full bloom in our spring trend report and given that we seem to be experiencing the balmiest March weather on record, a floral manicure was a natural choice for this week’s Nail Corner. From Marni and Mary Katrantzou to Erdem and Prabal Gurung, flowers were bright and best done in matchy-matchy all-over arrangements. And, because we’re right in the middle of Toronto Fashion Week, it seemed appropriate to seek inspiration from one of our favourite TFW Spring 2012 shows: Denis Gagnon.

Read on and feel the flower power! »

Go backstage with us to do nails for Lucian Matis! » View the full collection » See all Toronto Fashion Week coverage » My obsession with everything nails has been well-documented over the last few months, so you can only imagine the backflips of joy that occurred when top manicurist Leeanne Colley called, asking me […]

The post TFW backstage beauty: We join the Tips Nail Bar team and go behind-the-scenes to do nails at Lucian Matis appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See all of nail stylist Lisa Logan’s behind-the-scenes pictures! »

The hotly anticipated Haute Mess editorial from Vogue Italia dropped today and it’s a glitter lover and nail-art fanatic’s dream. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the shoot includes some of the most familiar faces in modeling. But thanks to makeup artist Pat McGrath and hairstylist Jimmy Paul, it takes a keen eye to identify Joan Smalls, Jessica Stam, Karen Elson, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Lindsey Wixson, Daphne Groeneveld, Guinevere van Seenus, and Coco Rocha underneath the wigs, gemstones, and pencil-thin eyebrows.

While the abundance of brightly dyed furs on almost every runway was tempting inspiration for Nail Corner, the colour blocking at Céline’s Fall 2012 presentation made for a much better manicure. Mixing horizontal and diagonal stripes, this design matches the asymmetrical pattern of an undeniably stunning Céline overcoat.

See the Céline colour-block mani! »

Without a doubt, one of the most inventive beauty looks from Milan was at Prada. Those eyes! Style.com called it a “tricolour layering effort on lids”—shades of deep blue, shimmering purple, electric orange, and greasy black all stacked together. Despite how exciting the Prada look is, it’s extremely editorial and not so much a “try this at home!” style. So rather than toning it down for the face, I took the vibrant makeup to my nails. After all, six colours in one manicure? Totally doable.

See the Prada Fall 2012 makeup mani »

A few hours after the Erdem show ended on Monday, pictures of the lacy, camouflage-esque floral print started popping up across Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. It’s always interesting to see which elements of a collection achieve viral (for lack of a better word) status on social media sites and go on to become ubiquitous within months—Miu Miu’s swallows, anyone? So, in effort to start canonizing Erdem’s vibrant print, I took the Fall 2012 design to my nails.

See the Erdem manicure! »

I have a seriously difficult time making my nail polish look nice when I do an at-home manicure—my non-dominant hand always ruins it! Any training tips?
Since few of us are ambidextrous and gifted at polish application, I wouldn’t sweat your skill set. Leeanne Colley, Revlon’s nail expert for Canada, recently recommended one simple solution for this exact complication: start by painting the nails on your more difficult hand!

If I’m going to put so much effort into creating cool nail art, how can I guarantee it won’t chip away the very next day?
Fixing nail polish that’s chipped already and preventing it from happening from the start are two totally different dilemmas. Investing your time in detailed handiwork validates the placement of a security blanket—that is, a good quality base coat and top coat. But not all protective layers are created equal, and some are more useful in particular instances.

It took less than a split second for me to fall in love with the manicures at Rachel Antonoff’s Fall 2012 presentation. CND tweeted a close-up of the design—which was created to mimic the printed flowers found throughout the collection—and I was hooked. It looks like a cross between a hibiscus and a lotus: wide petals that extend up from the moon of your nail and into a bright-red background. And once you sort out what colours to use it’s an extremely fun design to paint.

See the Rachel Antonoff floral moon mani! »

There’s nothing better than a holiday to inspire a great manicure—and for us, Valentine’s Day sits at the top of the list. After all, pink and red are the most popular polish colours available. From tiny hearts to handwritten love letters, we have five manicures to share that are sure to, at the very least, inspire a night in with your true love: nail polish.

Let’s get romantic! See the manicures »

At some point this week it actually snowed in Toronto—huge fluffy flakes!—and the snow globe-like atmosphere instantly became Nail Corner inspiration. I’ve been dreaming of opaque white glitter for a few months now, but after going down a rabbit hole of searching for such a polish, it seems it’s a mix that’s nearly impossible to acquire. So nail art, paired with two of my all-time-favourite glitters, seemed like an appropriate substitute. (For now, that is!)

See the snow globe manicure! »

How can I fix a botched manicure? If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s accidentally smudging, chipping, and or tearing a nail.
Waiting for nail polish to dry is like, well, watching paint dry! A pristine paint job stands practically no chance against a phone beeping with text messages and, unless you’ve got time aplenty, impatience will likely run its course and ruin a paint job before it’s even been admired. Lucky for nail enthusiasts, there’s a new tough guy in town.