You’re making your way down your prom checklist and you realize something is missing: Your nails! You want to do something special, but without spending a lot of money. (After all, why blow your budget now when we’ve shown you how to style a complete prom look for less than $500 and do your own hair?)Thankfully, creating an impressive manicure is easier than ever, thanks to the abundance of nail art products, bloggers and ideas. Bring on the nail tutorials! All you need is an afternoon to practice your painting skills, a couple bottles of your favourite nail polish colours and some inspiration—may we suggest taking a cue from your prom dress, shoes or even your date? From polka dots and florals to glittery patterns and Jackson Pollock-inspired splatters, we’ve found 18 of the best nail tutorials out there that are perfect for prom. Scroll down to see them all and get ready to receive more compliments on your nails than ever before!
When Kelly Osbournewore a sample of Azature’s $250,000 Black Diamond nail polish to the Emmy Awards last fall, reaction was split between jealousy and outrage. While the manicure was stunning, she was accused by many of exaggerating the actual cost. The lone bottle of $250,000 nail polish, which contains 267 carats of black diamonds, is still on display at Selfridges in London.
With a quarter of a million dollars price tag, it’s no surprise that the sole bottle of Black Diamond nail polish has yet to be purchased. However, in an effort to bring the luxe look to the masses, Azature removed a few zeros and released a $25 version last fall. The significantly cheaper Azature Black Diamond nail polish contains one real black pave diamond and coats nails with a black, glittery shine that resembles the sparkly $250,000 diamond look.
Makeup collectors, get ready: Next month the Pierre Hardy for Nars collection is hitting counters and it’s sure to inspire a need-it-all hoarding frenzy. Inspired by Pierre Hardy’s shoes for summer 2013, the 14-piece makeup collection includes six nail polish duo sets and two brightly-coloured blushes. And as if you needed further incentive to purchase, the nail polishes come packaged in adorable, miniature dust bags and Pierre Hardy shoeboxes. The blushes, on the other hand, make use of Hardy’s signature cube print. “Rotonde” is a tiger lilly-orange blush while “Boys Don’t Cry” is a poppy pink grapefruit shade—and both are accented with a shimmering gold overlay of the geometric design.
Amidst the neon nail polishes, textured manicures and creative nail art, sometimes all we want is a simple, polished manicure. Enter the new nail polish collection from Revlon that is giving us exactly that. The iconic beauty brand has just launched Nude Expressions, a collection of eight neutral nail polishes. The shades are designed to match many skin tones for a minimalist style that is right on trend with the 1990s beauty look of the moment.
Modeled by actress and Revlon representative Olivia Wilde, the limited edition polishes include shades such as “Cool Beige” and “Natural Tan.” Both light and dark hues are included, and they vary from pink to yellow undertones—making the colours seem more like foundation or concealer than a typical nail polish range. Indeed, the “mannequin hands” look is back.
It may have occurred at the very end of Toronto Fashion Week, but the makeup and nails at Lucian Matis set the bar for Fall 2013 beauty trends. Of course, having some talented heavyweights on board certainly helped: Revlon global artistic director Gucci Westman and Revlon nail expert Leeanne Colley were behind the retro look.
Despite a scheduling conflict that prevented Westman from actually being backstage, she didn’t want to pass up the chance to work with Lucian Matis. Skype sessions allowed for proper collaboration with the designer and once the look was finalized, her right-hand gal, Mimi Imanishi, led the team in Toronto.
“The inspiration for this look was Lucian’s gorgeous, monochromatic colour palette while incorporating safari khaki tones to the eye. This look is also very much inspired by the ’60s, specifically, the German model, Veruschka,” Westman said, via press release.
OPI is releasing a nail polish collection inspired by the iconic Bond girls from the past 50 years of James Bond films. Hot on the heels of their successful James Bond SkyFall collection last year, the latest OPI James Bond collaboration includes six new textured nail shades for each of Bond’s most memorable female characters.
Titled Bond Girls, the new collection features six uniquely textured Liquid Sand nail polishes that have a shimmery-yet-matte finish. True to the Bond girls’ high-fashion image, the glittery hues of pink, gold, turquoise and purple are eye-catching and glamourous. Fans of textured nail art will love the sparkly 3-D feeling of Liquid Sand polish—which is quickly becoming a mainstay in OPI collections. With strict instructions not to use a top coat, the nail polish leaves a pebbled finish fitting the allure surrounding the Bond girls, as well as the ongoing trend of textured nail art.
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.
The makeup: “It’s about society girls gone bad. Rich girls who’ve been partying all night long and their makeup’s been really worn in and lived in and danced in.” —Grace Lee, Maybelline New York lead makeup artist
Skin was evened out with a mixture of Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and moisturizer. For a dewy, “sweaty” highlight, clear Baby Lips lip balm was rubbed on the high plains of the cheek and the bridge of the nose.
Eyes were lined with a black kohl pencil, then more Baby Lips was pressed right into the liner with a thin brush, to give the effect of a girl who’s been in her makeup all night long. Soon-to-launch pots of Maybelline pigments in “Luxurious Bronze” and “Cashmere Brown” were applied on the lids, with more Baby Lips pressed on top. “It’s all about layering,” said Lee. She had models close their eyes while she held the lids open slightly with her finger so she could apply Rocket Mascara thickly to the top and bottom lashes at the same time, which gave an imperfect look, with smudges left below the eyes. “I want them to look a little bit messy, a little bit off. “ Brows were brushed up but left natural, because “it’s all about the screwed-up eye.”
There’s some debate right now as to whether nail art is still thriving as one of the biggest cosmetic trends. One one hand (see what we did there?) new nail art polishes, products and tools are being released almost every single day. On the other, when it comes to runways and red carpets, we didn’t see as many nail art designs this season as we have in the past. Whatever the trend, we’re still in love with nail art and it seems like most of the internet is too. Read on for some of the best tutorials and news stories that we’ve come across this week—and see how long you can resist reaching for a bottle of nail polish.
Photography courtesy Move Slightly16. More than reason enough to still love nail art: This Prada Spring 2013 design is simply sublime [Move Slightly]
Gel manicures have become quite popular in the last few years, most of all thanks to their ability to last a long time without chipping. Although gel nail polish can be difficult to remove (FYI, read our tips on how to remove gel nail polish at home here), many of us have embraced gel manis as an easier alternative to traditional nail polish. However, according to a new study from the Skin Cancer Foundation, there may be more serious reasons to reconsider our dedication to the gel manicure.
As nail techs and anyone who’s tried out a gel manicure will know, UV-emitting devices are used to seal the polish to the nail. But how safe is it? In a statement released by the Skin Care Foundation, Vice President Elizabeth K. Hale confirmed what many already suspected: UV-emitting nail lamps are carcinogenic to humans. Although Hale describes the skin cancer risk for gel manicures as “very low,” it is not insignificant enough to ignore. The statement indicates that the risk is greatest for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common skin cancer. “SCC is mainly caused by chronic UV exposure and is very common on the hands and around the fingernails,” Hale said.
The punk rock-inspired beauty look at the Marc Jacobs Fall 2013 show had many elements worth obsessing over. Models all wore cropped, shaggy wigs which were done as homage to Joan Jett (remember when Kristen Stewart had the same hair?), covered in so much hairspray that they looked authentically rock show sweaty. The makeup—which cited Marianne Faithful as muse—was equally gritty, with heavily-lined eyes that had “cool girl” style. “The eye is smoky, but round and defined and we created really matte, perfect skin,” explained lead makeup artist François Nars of the look.
However, it was the nails at Marc Jacobs Fall 2013 (it always comes back to the nails, doesn’t it?) that had everyone excited.
On the heels of his recent capsule collection with Target, Prabal Gurung is quickly becoming known as a designer who embraces collaborations. His latest –and most prolific—venture comes in the form of nail polish, specifically with Sally Hansen. For a sixth consecutive season, Gurung has worked with Sally Hansen to create new nail polish shades to be used on the runway—and then later sold at retail.
Three new shades were used this week for the Prabal Gurung Fall 2013 presentation. The runway show, which had a strong military feel, was complemented with nail art that reflected the dark colour palette of the collection. The new Sally Hansen colours include “Loden Green” (olive), “Night Watch” (navy), and “Coat of Arms” (gold). For the runway show, manicurist Jin Soon Choi used the three new shades together by layering them and creating a sharp triangle shape that extended from the moon, meant to reflect the unique style of Prabal Gurung.
