FASHION Magazine

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Chanel continues to prove that its vision of air travel remains much better than our reality, with a limited edition makeup collection inspired by their Spring 2012 Couture show. Based on shades of blue from a “cloud-strewn sky,” the nine-piece collection includes a full spectrum of inky to iridescent shades, in eyeshadows, liners and—our favourite—a nail polish. The pale, pearly blue Le Vernis is called “Sky Line” and made its debut on Chanel’s airplane aisle runway back in January. The complete Blue Illusion de Chanel collection is available July 23 at select counters in Canada: Holt Renfrew and the Chanel boutique on Toronto’s Bloor Street, and at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver.

Of all the delicate pastels having a moment this season, cool mint is the one keeping us captivated long after Easter has passed.

Get the mint (chocolate?) scoop »

There’s something about Resort collections that make them seem more dreamy than the rest. Perhaps it’s the whole “envisioning each item in its natural habitat”—you know, a private vila in the Mediterranean or on a yacht somewhere only the very rich or the very royal can sail to. Or perhaps it’s just because super pretty dresses are so common in Resort collections, such as the multi-coloured lace numbers designed by Valentino. The pastel patchwork of flowers—which come in both gown and short frock format—might be intended for winter months, but work just as well as a mid-summer manicure.

Ready to do some resort on your nails? Read on! »

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! »

Will we ever tire of the rush that comes from anticipating a new Chanel nail polish colour at every runway show they do? Considering that today’s Fall 2012 Couture presentation provided us with not one, but three new polish gifts, we think not. That’s right, there were three treats on models’ fingers: two new colours, and one foray into nail art—which may just be a first for the brand.

The Hudson’s Bay Company stripes are certainly an iconic piece of Canadiana—going beyond the traditional Bay blanket, they can now be found on everything from cameras to bathing suits. Spotting the stripes in TV shows, movies or magazine shoots may as well be our other official national sport! As such, why not add a little yellow, blue and green to your red and white for this weekend’s Canada Day festivities? This colourful manicure will look nautical at the cottage, on-trend at the beach and totally playful for park picnics. (Plus, it will fit right in if you’re partaking in this weekend’s Pride parade!) Bring on the stripes!

Find out how to do the HBC striped manicure »

This is basically a dream come true for all of us who tried and failed to scribble on our hands with crayons as kids (the unrelenting-yet-colourful wax drove us to markers and whiteout time and time again). Crayola has unveiled an adorable line of nail polish for our digit-painting pleasure, giving us a handy excuse to indulge in a multi-coloured manicure.

Lacquer hoarders, unite! Starting next week, you’ll have 31 more reasons to head to your nearest M.A.C Cosmetics counter: the global beauty brand is introducing its first permanent nail polish collection. Up until now their polishes were only on counter for a limited time, so this new collection will put an end to disappointed searches for certain shades and thwarted purchases. While dedicated nail polish fans will likely scoop up all 31 colours right away (you know who you are…) the average at-home manicurist will set her eyes on a few key colours. However, with metallics, glitters, cremes and iridescent shades to choose from, choosing just a few can be hard to do. As such, here are five of our favourites as well as the reasons why each is worth adding to your own permanent nail polish collection.

See the entire collection and our top 5 picks! »

The best thing about an obsession with nail polish is that you barely have to wait for your manicure to dry before there’s a new trend to try. The second best thing is, of course, just how many other people are creating incredible nail art designs and sharing them—making the online world an amazing hub (or in some cases, a rabbit hole you can get lost for hours in) of inspiration. One of the latest designs to trend online is the “outline” or “framed” manicure: a single colour mani is given retro appeal by painting a a thin line of a darker polish around the edge of the entire nail. (Like a full circle version of the slim silhouette technique!) However, given that the dexterity required for such a design is quite advanced, I created a modified version that skips the need for a skinny brush. One makeup sponge and three shades of polish are all you need for this one—and best of all, you can do it in under an hour.

Find out how to do the oval ombré outline manicure! »

Not only did Carly Rae Jepsen sweep last night’s MMVAs, taking home three awards and performing twice—she also took the nail art spotlight away from manicure enthusiast Katy Perry. Jepsen’s sparkly tips were hard to miss on stage, and given her multiple wins and performances there was plenty of on-camera time to scope them out. […]

The post The scoop on Carly Rae Jepsen’s MMVA manicure! If there was an award for “Best Nails” she would have won it appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Sometimes a collection is full of items that seem to be just begging to be turned into a manicure. Case in point: Marc Jacobs Resort 2013. The endless colour blocking and pattern mixing makes quite the mood board for anyone with a super-saturated nail polish collection. From sequined stripes that could be mimicked with metallic polishes to micro-gingham prints that are full of DIY transfer potential, it was hard to choose just one look for this week’s Nail Corner. But in the end, bright, layered florals won out—and all you need to duplicate this design are a few dotting tools and your favourite punchy-coloured polishes.

Read on and see the Marc Jacobs floral dot mani! »

Daisy, daisy… doesn’t this manicure make you want a bicycle built for two? Or at the very least, a pair of Red Valentino shoes? The pretty floral pattern, which is rather neutral except for a burst of bright yellow, served as inspiration for this week’s Nail Corner. The result is a modified moon manicure, with added dimension thanks to the pearlescent background which contrasts—yet also camouflages–the taupe petals. Ready to daisy up your own fingers? Read on!

Check out the daisy petal moon manicure! »