Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Thirteen of My Favorite Nail Art Looks From Spring 2013 NYFW

Looking back, I think my interest in nail art started at dance. To be more clear, from my classmate. She, being Vietnamese, and also born with an amazing passion for art, has developed amazing nail art techniques that she has worn countless time - on her nails. In a school where the uniform is a solid colored leotard, pink tights, and footwear that ranges between the soft cloth ballet-flat to the hard-shanked pointe shoe, nails are a unique avenue to express oneself. Over the years, she has moved the the traditional text-on-the-nail look to more complex designs of marble, roses, balloons, and basically whatever else she can fit in onto her ten fingers. Looking at her nails, I was taken with a special interest in my own nails, and immediately set to look online for more inspiration. One of the chief avenues I've found is Fashion Week. Twice a year, designers show off their clothes in the best possible light - and that includes nail art. While fashion editors are looking at the clothes, beauty editors scrutinize faces, hair, and yes, nails, in search of next season's trends. In this post, I have collected thirteen different manicures from the runways of NYFW (New York Fashion Week) and each with a caption on what polishes were used, as well as how the look was created.


Jenni Kayne
This is the modern, sleek version of the french mani. Nails were painted with OPI's putty-hued Don't Pretzel My Buttons and paired with a white half moon of Alpine Snow.


Tess Giberson
Here's one of the edgier manicures to hit the runway this season. Polish guru Jin Soon Choi created a look that's a little messy—in a cool way! Apply one coat of JINsoon Obsidian nail polish and use a makeup sponge to gently wipe off parts of the center layer, leaving color only around the cuticle and in streaks down the nail.


Rebecca Minkoff
I honestly think that this particular nail look definitely showcases a party - on the nails! The designer's spring collection had a Mexican theme inspired by Frida Kahlo and the manicures had to complement the clothes. The look started with two coats of Essie's Tart Deco and then skulls and flowers reminiscent of art from the Day of the Dead celebration were drawn on with a dotting tool using Butler Please, Licorice, and Blanc.


Betsy Johnson
Betsy Johnson is known for her wild, fun, eccentric clothing, so the nail art obviously had to compliment that. Inspired by the Aurora Borealis, Danielle Candido for Morgan Taylor used silver hue Could Have Foiled Me with a layer of sparkly Adorned In Diamonds at the tips, finished with a layer of glittery pink Sweetest Thing.


Christian Siriano
I love yellow on the nails - it looks cheery as well as stylish, not to mention effortless to create! Celebrity manicurist and Red Carpet Manicure brand ambassador Lisa Logan collaborated with the designer to dream up this simple yet sleek nail art look. Each nail was painted with Fake Bake as a base and then color blocked with a coat of The Perfect Pair underneath White Hot to make the yellow pop.


Libertine
This was the craziest (and most awesome!) nail art look on the spring runways. Katie Jane Hughes applied Butter London Nail Lacquer in Union Jack Black and applied colorful holographic foil on top. She jazzed it up even further by adding crystals, studs, and tiny red pom-poms as accents. Basically, go wild!


Tibi
I love lines on the nails, so obviously I digged this look. Jin Soon Choi wanted the collection theme of travel to be incorporated into the model's nail art, so the idea of lines was born. To create the look, apply two coats of off-white/blue-gray nail polish (the shade Jin used was from her upcoming JINsoon Spring 2014 Collection). Wait until the nails are totally dry and dip a thin nail art brush in JINsoon Obsidian. Carefully paint a straight line vertically down the nail on the middle finger. On every other nail, create a horizontal line.


Mara Hoffman
The tree root-like orange design here was created by too-cool celebrity manicurist Honey. She appliedMaybelline New York Color Show Nail Lacquer in Born With It as a base and used a thin brush to paint small lines starting at the base of the nail with Orange Fix.


Kate Spade
Celebrity manicure favorite Deborah Lippmann created one design, but used three different colors for each the accents. Models were painted with whichever shade paired best with their outfit. The general mani was created using two coats of Deborah Lippmann Pseudo Silk Kimono, a matte-finish white launching in November. The tip of each nail was painted with Bad Moon Rising from the holiday set launching in October. Finally a thin accent stripe was added under the gray tip using either It's Raining Men, Groove is in the Heart, or Walking on Sunshine.


Lela Rose
A lot of Spring nail art is basic, but sleek. Katie Jane Hughes was on the case to create the two different dynamic gray manis. The first was simply two coats of Butter London Nail Lacquer in Lady Muck finished with the brand's matte top coat. The second started with a base of Nail Foundation. Then Lady Muck was applied in a half moon shape just at the bottom of the nail near the cuticle.


Opening Ceremony
I think that this look wins the gold medal for coolest design. Polish pro Naomi Nails created this squiggly look using Estée Lauder Nail Lacquer in Blue Blood as a base and white and pale blue acrylic paint wiggled from down the center. Genius!


Diego Binetti
Nail designer Danielle Candido created three different looks with DIY lovers in mind. One was a simple half moon using Morgan Taylor All White Now over In the Nude. Another was literally a piece of white mesh placed carefully over Make It Last. And the last look involved a piece of lace applied just to the tips of nails over a coat of In the Nude.


Honor
This is look is girly glam in every possible way. Deborah Lippmann used six small swarovski Elements Crystals to craft a pyramid shape starting at the center base of each nail. The Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab Coat was painted on top to keep the sparkles in place.

No comments:

Post a Comment