Nail trend alert: get creative!

A quick check that the mascara hasn’t smudged, and a light spritz of your favourite perfume – these are only the final acts to look perfect for your first date. 

But an appointment starts a few hours before, in front of a cup of coffee with your best friend, or in the hands of your hair stylist. The first is that no matter who you’re with, you will speak about that great guy you are going to meet later on. The second is that in this moment you are definitely having a manicure, the real business card for any woman. 

Let us bring to you the hottest nail trends from the jungle of the net. Pull out your claws, babies and get creative!

Gradient Nails:

Treat your nails to this form of art where you use two shades of the same colour to create a gradient, from light to dark. It was most popular throughout spring, thanks to the pastel boom! Now try with darker colours or with a pair of contrasting colours. See the Bikini So Teeny and the Cascade Cool from Essie Nail Polish Summer Collection here.

You will need:

Two colour polishes and a top coat
A make-up sponge, a plastic sheet and toothpicks

How to:

1. Paint your nail with the lighter colour first.

2. On a flat plastic surface, paint a generous amount of the colours right next to each other. Using a toothpick, swirl the two colours together where they meet. The area where they mix will determine the length of the gradient.

3.  Take your sponge and dab it directly down onto the polish a few times.

4. Dab the sponge directly down onto your nail. Keep dabbing lightly and move it very slightly up and down your nail.

5. Add a topcoat.

6. Clean up all the excess polish using a brush dipped in acetone or nail polish remover. 

Olympic Nails:

Support the 2012 London Olympics by having the perfect nails this summer! You can celebrate in style by giving your fingertips a Union Jack update.

Go glam and wear metallic nail wraps – Nail Rock GB Nail here – or go retro and paint on a Union Jack yourself using the Mavala Olympic Trio Kit which you can find here.

You will need:

Red, blue and white nail polish

Nail wraps

How to:

1. Paint your whole nail blue then allow to dry.

2. Use a thin nail art brush to paint a white cross and a diagonal cross, then allow to dry. Add a thinner line of red polish over the white.

3. Finish with a layer of topcoat.

Experiment this weekend and try out different nail art, impress friends, strangers and family with what you can do. Anything is possible with a few bottles of polish! 

Laura De Vittori