Nails... Nails... Nails!!

I am passionate about nail art. I love painting my nails, I love having manicures and one of my favourite pastimes involves strolling the aisles marvelling at the plethora of new and exciting colours available.
Week after week I clog my Instagram feed with images of my new nail conceptions (to the left my manicure Du Jour) and thankfully, hundreds of the people I follow do the same.

It does fill me with an extra joy to know that of late, others seem to be coming out of the #Nailporn closet.

With the rise of nail powerhouse WAH Nails; having whimsical nails is THE thing to express your personality. It is something that doesn't have to break the bank, is quirky but doesn't scream 'FASHIONISTA' as much as a Philip Treacy creation atop your crown even if you are trying to channel the late but great Isabella Blow on the sly.




I tend to favour painting my own nails, it is a cathartic process that can take up an afternoon trialling block patterns, lines and fades for you to silently admire while on the tube for the next week. My new favourite endeavour, is buying (in bulk) the new Ciaté Kits, they are called 'Wow Kits' for a reason. Ciaté, famed first and foremost for their Caviar Manicure sets (£18.00). This 'gateway' kit (there is no other word for it) led me to hunt down & purchase the following sets Colourfoil (£18.00) & Velvet (£14.00). Each have their own benefits and personal vanity rewards that cannot be missed. There are lots of kits available and I haven't the time to try them all!

For the most eye catching manicure, good for a night or if you just want your nails to feel fabulous all the time the Caviar set is the one for the job. It is super easy to apply; you just paint your nails in either the colour that is provided with the kit (normally the best match) and press in the pearls and wait to dry. For a longer lasting manicure add a high gloss topcoat to secure the pearls (They can start to separate after a night on the town without it) you do run the risk of losing the lustre of the pearls in the White (Mother of Pearl) Cotton Candy Colourways. but it is not a notable change for everyday.
The Coloufoil, is a similarly easy and high impact manicure set. This is suited more for the everyday, but is can be made vibrant enough for your needs. You apply the base colour of your choosing, apply the glue once the colour is dry (I would recommend leaving this to dry for a minute or so) and going wild with the various foils in in the kit. This provides a fun, urban look good on both long and short nails and can be accentuated by not foiling all the nails or just foiling one (my preference when wearing this manicure is to only apply the foils to either the pinky or ring finger) this draws attention to the detailing and does look great if you've a few costume rings on.
The most troublesome to apply and maintain is undoubtedly the chicest. The velvet manicure is my personal favourite, but this really does take up an entire afternoon/evening to make sure it looks perfect. For the best results use the colour provided in the kit, paint the nail with the colour and immediately apply the velvet coating to the nail to ensure even coverage. I  would suggest doing one nail at a time if you aren't having a manicure party with friends (The most fun, I highly endorse and recommend this as an evening in) as you need to get even coverage while the polish is still wet and this can really only be achieved if you work one at a time, you don't get a second chance either. The manicure lasts for about three days, if you don't get your nails wet, get any oils on them (moisturising is OUT) but they look and feel amazing. you'll find yourself stroking your nails at any given opportunity!

I have also been playing around with modified French Tips, this is an easy manicure look if you fancy having easy, chic nails for the week.You can play around with striking bases, neutral bases, neon and glitter tips you could use a matte topcoat for the base; essentially the world is your oyster with an infinite array of options only limited to your imagination.
I have found, if you aren't comfortable painting your tips blind if you have an opaque base (I am not and have had many a wonky French Manicure to prove it!) you can use these to help you get the perfect shape. they are designed to perfectly shape the nail and are great for stripes in addition to French Manicures. For the Strip to work you will need to make sure the base coat is bone dry before attaching these to the nail. This week I have gone for a metallic base (Models Own - Pink Fizz)  with a neutral tip (Nails Inc - Porchester Square). An easy and modern update to the traditional and chic French Manicure, eye catching enough for you to feel amazing and for others to take notice.

No doubt I will find more nail polishes, colours and manicure sets for you all to try yourself. let me know of your success with any of the above!

I am off to match my colours for next week!