Nail art–in its over-the-top 3D incarnation, at least–is waning in popularity a bit, and polishes aimed at giving you a nail art-y feel without all the work have been taking its place.
We tried tons of the so-called textured polishes–here’s what we think.
Welcome to our new nail art column–the Top Coat! Every week we’ll be doing a step-by-step nail art tutorial. We’ve already told you the essentials you need for a good nail art kit, so gather your tools and try our next project. In anticipation of the upcoming 2012 Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Read more →
Halloween is just around the corner, and while you can’t exactly wear a costume to the office, your fingertips can provide the perfect outlet for some spooky spirit. Sure, you could pick up one of the many holiday polishes out there, but what’s coolor: a trendy shade of orange, or a Goosebumps-esque slime design?
Though some forms of nail art might seem a little out of reach for those with not-so-steady hands, it’s a lot easier than you think and there are some simple Halloween designs you can do with shades you probably already have at home.
To try out nail art of your own, you’ll just need a few supplies.
Base Coat–My go-to is Sally Hansen’s Diamond Strength Instant Nail Hardener. A strengthening base coat is key.
Top Coat–Seche Vite is the best. Period. It’s super shiny, dries really fast, and never splinters.
Q-tips and Polish Remover–Everyone makes mistakes.
**Optional: Thin-Brush Polish–They’re great for French manicures or contrasting tips, making polka dots, stripes… everything. They’re just easier to use than regular size brushes. I recommend Hurricane, which you can find at most beauty supply stores, but Milani’s Precision Brush is good too and is available at CVS. I advise getting white and black. If you don’t have a thin brush or don’t want to buy one, don’t worry. It’s not necessary, just simpler. And if you want to do some detailing, you can always dip a pin or toothpick in your polish
Properly armed? Click through to get a step-by-step guide for five different Halloween nail art designs!
We’ve managed to amass quite a pile of beauty awesomeness on our desks over the last few weeks, so we sorted through it all and picked out the best of the bunch to share with you.
These products have absolutely nothing in common other than: 1) they’re new 2) they’re fabulous. From the top of your head, to the tips of your fingers, there are lots of new things to try this month.
Click through to see the treasures we found.
This past January Ning Chao made the jump from magazines to the web, where she is the beauty director at Beautylish. (Welcome to the jungle, Ning!) In the ten years prior to that she’s covered beauty for Marie Claire, InStyle, Elle, Vogue, and Glamour. Now she’s putting her expertise to work at Beautylish, a slick site devoted to all things beauty: there are product reviews, makeup tutorials, message boards, and a stellar news section (they scored an exclusive interview with Blake Lively’s hair colorist—it took ten hours to make her a redhead.)
Ning shared her current favorite beauty obsessions:
