Every Wild and Wonderful Nail Art Design From The Blonds Show

All the presentations at New York Fashion Week are works of art, but every season, I look forward to the beauty masterpieces from one show in particular: The Blonds. Partners and design team Phillipe and David Blond have outfitted the likes of Ariana Grande and Beyoncé with sparkle-encrusted, divalicious fashion creations. They've been inspired by Clockwork Orange, Egyptology, and "gangsta genies" for past collections.


If that doesn't have you hooked already, then you need to know that they also see nail art as an important part of translating their vision to the public. "The nails are an integral part of our overall story," Phillipe has said. It makes sense, then, that they always partner with CND when presenting each collection.

In addition to its groundbreaking longwear Shellac nail color formula, CND is known for its highly talented team of technicians. Many are award-winning artists (some of which have been on the reality show Nail'd It!) who literally create something out of nothing — they use acrylic powder to sculpt working sarcophagi and scarab beetles from scratch. The way the finished nail art plays off each piece on the runway is truly a thing of majesty. "It's quite amazing when you get artists together collaborating," said Jan Arnold, CND cofounder and style director.

For the Fall 2016 collection, femininity was placed in the spotlight with a variety of pink, red, and lace nails — but these are obviously not your average manicures. The 22 sets of nails took a team of 12 artists 900 hours to create. The Blonds' inspiration came from a hybrid of 1950s Hollywood glamour and the Alice in Wonderland animated movie.

Nail Art

To create this graffiti design, start with a light base colour in either white, light grey or nude. Apply two coats of this colour and allow to dry completely before moving onto the artwork portion.



1. Gently peel the newspaper off the nail starting on one side and voilà! The ink from the newsprint is now on your nail.

2. After you have applied the newsprint on each of your nails, you can now start being an artist. Select a variety of colours and use a sponge and nail art brush to create an abstract design.

3. To ensure that you don't get blobs of nail polish at the beginning of your lines or with your sponging, don't use a lot of polish and start the brush strokes on the skin around your nails then continue onto the nail.

4. Once your base colour is dry, cut some pieces of newspaper that will fit the size of your nails.

5. Take a small glass (a shot glass is the perfect size) and fill it with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Dip one of your nails into the rubbing alcohol for five seconds then remove.

6. Quickly, take the piece of newspaper for that nail and place it with the words or image you want on the nail face down. Press lightly on the newspaper so it makes contact with the entire nail and absorbs the rubbing alcohol.

7. Once you are happy with the design, take some acetone on a small, flat paintbrush or a Q-tip and remove all the nail polish on your cuticles and skin.

Let the design dry for a couple of minutes then apply a top coat so your masterpiece can last. Applying some cuticle oil around your nail would also be a great idea as the acetone cleanup dries out the skin and cuticles.

I Wore Insanely Long Nails Like Kylie Jenner for a Week

Love them or hate them, but anything remotely dealing with the Kardashians tends to saturate the media, and instead of making small talk with a stranger over what exactly Scott Disick is up to these days will trump conversation topics like how weird the weather has been lately.



I'm completely guilty of keeping up with them in most aspects—most meaning, I couldn't exactly justify spending $2.99 on their repsective apps. Out of the entire Kardashian-Jenner crew, I'm partial to Kim because I'm super into the way she does her makeup, and Khloe, of course, is the one you want to party with.

I'll admit that I'm pretty fascinated by Kylie. Her beauty transformation has been pretty dramatic, causing such a stir that she's launching her own lip kit as a result. I'm pretty sure her wig room alone is bigger than my entire apartment, and those nails? Don't even get me started; those are mesmerizing enough to warrant an entire story of their own.

So I thought, why not? I'll wear super-long Kylie Jenner nails for a week, try to navigate such intricacies like showering and applying skin care, and hopefully live to tell the tale. Besides, if it brings me that much closer to Kanye, I'm down. With that, I booked an appointment at New York City's Yukie Beauty Spa and asked for a set of insanely long gel extensions. I thought the pearl nail polish made a nice touch.


As a side note, my wireless router in my apartment broke earlier that week, so immediately after getting my nails done, I had to pick up a new one from Best Buy and install it at home. Small wires are the absolute worst to untangle and plug in when you're sort of re-learning how to use your fingers without cracking your manicure, and the entire process took about 30 minutes longer than the standard two, but it eventually got done.

How To Do Stiletto Nails & Create Your Perfect Nail Look

Stiletto nails are a gift and a curse. They look fierce, but figuring out how to do stiletto nails is hard, even if they are really trendy right now. Also, they have the potential to take out one or both of your eyes if you're not careful. Well, maybe that's just me, but those things can be scary. Still, I am happy to tell you all about how to get some claws. I admire the women who can rock them on nights out that don't end in the emergency room. And if you can wear stiletto nails and stiletto heels? Well, I bow down.

That being said, there's more to stiletto nails than just pointy tips. Like anything beauty-related, they're part art, part science, and there's a right way and a wrong way to rock them. There's also a lot of misconceptions about what a stiletto nail actually is. A lot of women think they're rocking stilettos when they're really wearing ballerinas or almonds. Not that it matters, as long as you're happy with your nails, but knowledge is power.



1. Acrylic Tutorial

If you're a fan of acrylic, you can get full acrylic kits in any drugstore. I feel like I should warn the uninitiated that acrylic takes practice. There's a reason an acrylic nail salon sits on every corner. But you'll never get it down if you don't start somewhere.

2. Gel Tutorial

Gels are so much easier than acrylics in my opinion, but you'll find plenty of people who believe the opposite is true. Gels also require a lot of somewhat pricey gear, but the results last a really long time and look really smooth.

3.The Shape

Just because your nails have a point doesn't mean they're stilettos. Stiletto nails are really pointy. If they're flattened at the top, they're coffin or ballerina nails. If they're rounded at the top, or if they're pointy but a little wide at the sides, then they're technically almond nails. Some of these tutorials veer more toward almond, but they will all give you the info you need to get your points on point.

4. Press-On Tutorial

Press-ons are cheap, easy to get your hands on, and a quick at-home solution. Plus, you can change them out or take them off whenever you're over them.

Would You Try Spray-On Nail Polish?

Nail polish technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, but the newest invention is something entirely different. Nails Inc's new Paint Can polish is designed to make application quicker than ever - just apply the base coat and spray your nails using the grafitti-style canister for around 20 seconds, then follow with top coat. Naturally your hands will also end up covered in paint - and lots of it - but once the top coat has dried this can be removed with warm soapy water or even face wipes.



Our verdict? As Vogue deputy beauty editor Lauren Murdoch-Smith says in the December issue, it's "quick, easy - but most importantly, fun!" The only decision left is whether to opt for silver or pink. See the full All About Evening party make-up feature in December Vogue, out now.

Shattered glass nail art is the hottest trend on the Internet

After bubble nails, it's safe to say we're a little skeptical of nail art. But now, the beauty world is bringing us one of the coolest and most wearable nail-art trends we've seen in a long time.


 
We're talking about shattered glass nails. The trend supposedly originated in South Korea, but it has made its way stateside with women around the country emulating the look of shattered glass on their nail beds. The results are quite striking, to say the least.

At Valley, a salon in Manhattan that specializes in nail art, owner Nina Werman explained that her technicians use a foil adhesive that can be bought from supply stores online. The technicians cut the foil into different sized pieces with sharp-looking edges. Then, during a gel manicure, they apply the pieces after the top coat. A builder gel is placed on top of them in order to lock in the design. Werman explained that because the design is incorporated into your standard gel manicure, so you can style your nails like this as often as you do a typical gel application without an additional health risk.

Here's what you do:

1.Use your go-to base coat on all of your nails.

2.Paint a coat or two of your favorite dark polish. Yankee said anything from navy to black to purple to even deep red and burgundy can do the trick.

3.Use top coat and let dry for 10 to 15 minutes or until tacky.

4.With iridescent cellophane that you can find at your local crafts store, randomly cut little triangles so it resembles shards of glass. Tip: If you don't have cellophane, no problem! Yankee said you can easily get the same look using gold transfer foil or even a thin sheet of aluminum foil.

5.Grab a tweezer and carefully place the pieces onto the nail in a design of your choice. The more pieces you put on the nail, the more "shattered" it will look. Tip: To avoid sharp edges and bumps make sure to gently press the paper onto the nail.

6.Apply a final layer of top coat. For best results, Yankee suggests using a top coat that's specifically designed for nail art.

If you want to create this manicure using an at-home gel kit, Yankee suggests applying the cut up pieces after the last round of polish. She says to then finish the manicure just like any other.

Nail care tips you should follow

No matter how impeccably you're dressed, if you have shabby nails, somehow your entire look can fall apart.



Your nails not only have aesthetic value but can also reveal a lot about your health, say experts. Your fingernails are made up of a protein known as keratin. A healthy nail is smooth, light pink and does not have any grooves or dents. It also does not break or crack easily. Here are some easy to follow and effective tips that will keep your nails looking and feeling healthy...

- Cut your fingernails regularly and make it a habit to file them every two to three days. Not only will this keep them in shape but also ensure that they don't break easily.

- Make it a weekly habit to soak your fingers in a bowl of warm water and lemon juice. This will strengthen your nails. If your nails are weak, use a nail strengthener or hardener daily. There are several varieties available in the market today.

- Don't snip off your cuticles when you do a manicure. They're there to protect your nails and when you cut them off, you're inviting infections.

- While white spots or lines appear on nails at times, they usually grow out on their own. However, if they persistently keep appearing, it could indicate a deficiency of some sort. Ask your doctor to prescribe some tests.

- Try and keep your nails as dry as possible. regular contact with water can weaken them. If you have to do the dishes, wear rubber gloves.

- Don't cut your nails too short. This might cause painful in-growths. And when you moisturise your arms and legs, don't forget to moisturise your nails and cuticles as well.

- Don't apply nail polish all the time. This will cause you nails to acquire a yellow tinge and also make them brittle. Allow a fed days of 'breathing time' inbetween your manicure sessions.