Nail art is a Birchbox obsession. One of the first places we look for inspiration is Glitter, She Wrote, Anna Norman’s cheery, imaginative blog, where she shares her gorgeous designs and muses about life in the Big Apple. This week, Anna takes us inside her nail guru world, and will show us how to get gorgeous, DIY art on our fingertips.
They may be small, but that doesn’t mean your nails can’t make a wow-inducing fashion statement. Try one of these fresh, on-trend ideas to add some serious pizzazz on prom night.
Caviar Manicure
Photo: ciate.co.uk
The caviar manicure is becoming one of the hottest new nail trends, so it’s a perfect choice for prom-bound fashionistas. Tiny “pearls” stick to wet nail polish to create a fashion-forward 3D effect. UK brand Ciaté will begin selling its Caviar Manicure Kit in three colors (rainbow, black pearls, and mother of pearl) at Sephora next month. For an inexpensive D.I.Y. version, pick up some microbeads at your local craft store and sprinkle them over wet polish. You wouldn’t wait until prom day to try on your dress for the first time, so I suggest giving these nails a trial run before the big day, too.
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Nail art is a Birchbox obsession. One of the first places we look for inspiration is Glitter, She Wrote, Anna Norman’s cheery, imaginative blog, where she shares her gorgeous designs and muses about life in the Big Apple. This week, Anna takes us inside her nail guru world, and will show us how to get gorgeous, DIY art on our fingertips.
The Beatles said all you need is love. But if we’re talking nails, I say all you need is Scotch Tape.
For geometric nail designs like stripes, triangles, or zig-zags, Scotch tape is a girl’s best friend. With the help of a simple roll of tape, even the shakiest of hands can create clean, crisp designs.
For the look above, I used Color Club Neons in Jackie Oh! and Age of Aquarius, and Zoya Dove. Here are a few tips to create your own eye-catching Scotch Tape nail art. No one will believe you did your nails yourself!
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Nail art is a Birchbox obsession. One of the first places we look for inspiration is Glitter, She Wrote, Anna Norman’s cheery, imaginative blog, where she shares her gorgeous designs and muses about life in the Big Apple. This week, Anna takes us inside her nail guru world, and will show us how to get gorgeous, DIY art on our fingertips.
Always looking to satisfy my sweet tooth, I recently paid a visit to New York City’s sugary paradise, Dylan’s Candy Bar. I love finding nail art inspiration in unconventional places, and I couldn’t wait to recreate these classic sweet treats on my nails. You can have your candy and wear it, too!
JAWBREAKERS
For this jawbreaker-inspired look, prepare to get a little messy. Begin by applying a solid white polish. Dip a small makeup brush or old toothbrush in colored polish, and then quickly dip the polish-covered brush in nail polish remover to thin it out a bit. Now it’s time to channel your inner preschooler. Splatter polish from the brush across your nails, changing colors as desired. Use nail polish remover to clean up the polish that splattered outside the lines, and finish with a good top coat!
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We fell hard for Natalie Alcala last fall, when the LA-based writer and blogger spent a week guest blogging for us. In fact, we loved her posts so much that we asked her to be a contributing editor. In addition to blogging for us once a week, she’ll also be writing for the Birchbox Magazine and keeping us up to speed on all things fashion, beauty, and fun.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending The Makeup Show L.A., also known as a beauty aficionado’s dream. While I had tons of fun fawning over the latest offerings from brands like Anastasia and stila, there was one booth in particular that caught my eye: The New Black.
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Photo: washingtonpost.com
Gel manicures, like CND’s shellac, have been growing in popularity as a long-lasting, durable nail option since the mani lasts for up to two weeks chip-free and is dry the minute you walk out of the salon. (Many a doorknob and purse zipper has been cursed when I’ve smushed my newly-painted non-gel nails.) But recent research has shown that the UV lamps used to set gel lacquers on fingertips may be a cause for serious concern.
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All photos: zimbio.com
We thought that the nails at New York Fashion Week were cool but Paris always takes things to the next level, and manicures are no exception. At the Thierry Mugler show earlier this week, models sported some of the most insane nail art we’ve ever seen. This season’s inspiration came from the brand’s 1990s “Insect” collection, which explains why these talons look so bug-y.
Click through to see more pictures! What do you think of these outrageous manis?
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Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every Thursday for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
February seems to have flown right by and you know what that means—time for the color of the month! Last month we revamped our nails with a super-charged purple that kept us chugging through the cold weeks of February. This time around though, I’m all about adding a little (or rather, a lot of) sparkle.
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Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every Thursday for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
Spring is almost here and there are tons of exciting polishes coming out. I’ve been doing lots of experimenting and this week, I’m particularly obsessed with the new Me Amour collection from Mattese Elite.
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New York Fashion Week might have come to an end, but we’re still gushing over our favorite manicures from the fall 2012 shows. We wanted to round up the highlights, so we came up with the five standouts that have inspired us to test out new designs.
Show: threeASFOUR
The Look: Gorgeous lacey, spider web nails by Color Club that were created to match the laser-cut pieces. Lead manicurist Alicia Torello used a specially made dove gray nail art pen to draw tiny stripes back and forth free-hand over the nail, mimicking the unique, romantic feel of lace.
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Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every Thursday for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
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