Nail Art. There’s probably two words you haven’t heard since the late eighties. But it’s back and the fashion pack have embraced it. In fact, so have all of us in the Mamamia office, well, maybe not Rick.
You know a beauty trend is big when British IT girl, Alexa Chung starts sporting it. She was snapped at New York Fashion Week with pretty palm trees on her nails, possibly sparking a worldwide shortage of white, green and brown nail polish.
What is even better about this trend is that you don’t need a steady hand or an appointment at the nail salon to pull off the look. Many nail brands are launching nail decals, that are easy to apply, peel off when you are bored with the look and best of all won’t chip.
OPI has Nail Apps $19.95, which come in 12 different designs ranging from animal print and checks to hearts and feathers. I tried the steps design, which were a big hit with my friends, everyone thought I was some kind of nail genius.
Sally Hansen also has a range of decals, Salon Effects $14.95 available from Priceline and David Jones, featuring 16 colours including neons and prints. A single pack includes a nail file/buffer, cuticle stick and 16 nail polish strips (in case you stuff a few up). These ones are our faves -they are shaped slightly smaller, which means less trimming and they peel off smoothly making them really easy to apply.
Tips for applying nail stickers: measure the strips against your fingers first, then rub the strip for a few seconds to heat up the adhesive. Peel back and apply to your nail, rubbing over with a nail buff to smooth out any air bubbles. Cut off, and use the enclosed nail file in a downward motion to trim off excess, following your natural nail shape.
If you do have the time (and patience) to paint a few coats of polish, and want an animal effect, try OPI Black Shatter. It looks great over a bright or glittery nail polish, I’m not sure how this works, other than by magic. But once a thin layer is painted over the nails, it begins to crack and ‘shatter’ to reveal an animal pattern. This video from OPI shows you how to best apply it for various different effects.
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Will you be trying out this trend?