FASHION Magazine

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! »

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 »

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.

Yes, technically a quatrefoil is a four-lobed shape—picture the Gothic clovers seen in Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery—and there are only three scalloped lobes in this nail design. However, it still evokes the shapes and lines of a repeating quatrefoil pattern (like you would see in latticework or on wallpaper) and besides, artistic liberties are wonderful things! By painting the quatrefoil design on top of a metallic polish, it gives this manicure a great deal of depth, as well as a sparkly finish. And maybe it also looks like clouds?

Learn how to do this quatrefoil design! »

This week on Nail Corner, we feature two designs that make clever use of manicure guide stickers—a half-moon mani and a tone-on-tone diagonal stripe. Both are even easier to do in person than they look. Plus, for those with a steady hand and playful mind, we present a festive birthday cupcake manicure. Like what you see? Want to share your own nail art? Join us on Facebook or Twitter!

Check out our manicures! »

From perfume and mascara to sunscreen and shampoo, we reveal your favourite beauty products. Plus, after a decade of divulging what you can’t live without, we introduce FASHION’s Beauty Hall of Fame to pay special tribute to your most-loved products from the past 10 years.

See all the winners »

It’s best to ease your way out of the holidays. After a week of eating nothing but comfort food, being hustled between endless family gatherings and feeling very squeezed in at Boxing Week sales, we could all use a mini-vacation before heading back to work. However, considering most of us are already back at our desks, it’s time to find relaxation in other ways, such as lavender. As a plant, lavender is known for its calming, restorative properties. So why not transfer a little bit of that relaxation onto your nails with a soothing lavender ombré manicure?

Relax with two ombré lavender manicures »

Happy New Year! There’s a definite sparkly obsession happing in the halls of FASHION this week—and what better way to ring in 2012 than with a glitter-packed manicure? From frosty-blue glitters to a multi-dimensional Texas-inspired mani, these sparkling designs will keep the focus on your fingers even after the ball drops. The countdown to midnight is on—and it’s time to start painting! Show (or tell) us all about your New Year’s manicures on Facebook or Twitter.

See all our New Year’s Eve manicures! »

Things are getting a little festive in the FASHION offices this week! From candy stripes to a sparkling Christmas tree, there are countless ways to paint your nails in a merry manner—and we have a number of holiday-inspired manicures wrapped up and ready to gift to you.

See all our holiday-inspired manis! »

It’s time to tango! »

Pantone has announced the colour of the year for 2012 and our future is looking bright. Tangerine Tango (that’s Pantone number 7625C for the designers out there) is a punchy mix of orange, coral, and red—making it an extremely versatile shade for all skin tones. And, considering that Sephora and Pantone are rumoured to be working on a Tangerine Tango–inspired makeup collection for March 2012, it’s a good thing this chosen colour is so multifaceted.

Find out how to dress up as Katy Perry »
Previously on Fashion’ween: Karl Lagerfeld »

It’s day two of Fashion’ween and we’ve moved from fashion personality to fashion plaything. Katy Perry might not always dress on trend, but from the red carpet to her music videos, she’s proven that her off-the-wall outfits are just as catchy as her (many) #1 songs.

The humidity in New York right now may be horrible for hair, but it’s doing wonders for skin. It helps to explain the luminous skin witnessed backstage at Jason Wu, first prepped with skincare by Sunday Riley. “A lot of the girls are coming from Peter Som where the makeup was heavier, so we’re leaving cleanser on for a little bit longer,” explained Riley. A pump of her lactic acid cream was included for additional exfoliation. Then it was off into the hands of makeup artist Diane Kendal, who perfected skin with concealer, and blotted T-zones with powder. Taking direction from Wu’s inspiration for his collection of ‘50s and ‘90s Pop Art, as well as NYC artist KAWS, Kendal painted bright-red tomato mouths using a trifecta of product: M.A.C. Lip Pencil in “Redd,” a yet-to-be-launched lipstick shade called “Scarlet Ibis,” and M.A.C. Pigment in “Neon Orange.” Mascara was skipped, but lids were treated to a thin black line close to the lashes and smudged “to give eyes some definition.” OPI’s “Monsooner Than Later”—a near match to the lips—was applied to fingers, while “Samoan Sand,” a nude, was painted on toes.