V Isn't Just For Vendetta Anymore

V-Gap is a nail trend introduced by London-based nail technician, Sophy Robson at Antonio Beradi's Fall '11 fashion show which first became popular in Europe and soon after in the United States. It is somewhat like a V-shaped “Moon Manicure” with a tiny gap in the middle of the design, which gives the illusion of a split. The beauty of this modern look is in its versatility: It can be sleek and subtle with dark or neutral shades and a matte finish, or chic and flashy by combining bright hues and a shimmering finish. The reason that the technique is called “V-Gap” is exactly that – a “V” shape is made at the moon of the nail with nail polish, while leaving a very small “gap” all the way down the center of the nail to the tip.This is definitely a look you are going to want to have in your nail art arsenal!

Nailing Your ABC's

When it comes to fashion, some people are particularly brand conscious and like to advertise who they’re wearing on the front of their shirt or on their handbag, for example. And in some cases, the label is the whole design. So it’s no surprise that a rising nail trend over the past couple of years draws inspiration from this idea of words as fashion. Typography nails are all about displaying letters in aesthetically pleasing combinations, which is not difficult as written language has its own natural balance and form. The easiest way to create this edgy look is with Newspaper Nails. Remember using Silly Putty on a newspaper comic strip? All this technique involves is dipping wet, just-polished nails into rubbing alcohol (or Vodka) and pressing newspaper against them for 30 seconds. Finish with your favorite top coat. Voila!

My favorite variation on this look is to use foreign newspapers -- Chinese, Russian, etc. for an exotic and unique manicure. You can try using comic strips too, but the images are usually too large to fit on most nails and will require careful and artistic trimming to be usable.

If you're not usually a "Do-It-Yourself" kind of girl, there is a typography nail set by The New Black sold at Sephora with all of the materials you will need to execute this manicure with the least amount of work possible. Also, Essie has a full cover nail applique that adheres to nails just like a sticker and wears about the same amount of time as a nail polish manicure (up to 5 days).

Glitter Polish

Nothing adds sparkle to the fun and flirty fashion of warm weather quite like glitter polish. Summer is full of picnics, barbecues, and trips to the beach, so what better way to accessorize than with a spectacular mani and pedi that will have you twinkling right alongside the crystal blue water and glimmering night sky? An added benefit -- glitter polish is super durable and lasts longer than traditional polish, especially on your toes. This look is a fashionable favorite of celebrities such as Katy Perry, Nina Dobrev, Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens and Pink. To glitz up your manis and pedis, try any of Deborah Lippman's amazing glitter polishes (my personal favorite is "Happy Birthday").

The Key to Color Blocking

Keep clients excited with your services by constantly incorporating the latest and most popular trends in nail art design. Geometric patterned nail designs are a go-to manicure trend among celebrities who enjoy pushing the fashion envelope including Fergie, Solange Knowles and Katy Perry. The technique is often called “color blocking” – a simple way of creating patterns that place complementary blocks of solid color next to each other to construct eye-catching designs. For even more pizzazz, different finishes or textures, such as glitter or beads can also be included. This is a style that is fun to wear and ranges from minimal and simple to highly elaborate. Now there’s no excuse not to get into shape!

Spring Cleaning at the Nail Salon

 It's that time of the year again...Spring Cleaning at the salon! The obvious is to go through all of your products and discard anything that is expired, reevaluate any areas that may have become cluttered and if you're like me, get out your label gun and go hog wild sorting, organizing and labeling like your life depends on it!

But what else can you do to spruce up your salon and make the most of your efforts? 
Here are some helpful hints:

Leftover lotions and Scrubs – Gather up any remaining scrubs or lotions you may have lying around the salon. As with nail polish, all of us have creams, lotions, and scrubs that either weren’t a client favorite or we never finished using. Combining them together can save you money as well as create a new signature product for your salon.

Tips

• Organize products into scents that complement each other. For example, pair fruit fragrances together instead of with almond or vanilla. 

• Mixing lotions with opposite consistencies can make the perfect pair.  Combining a “too-thick” cream and a “too-thin” lotion can ultimately produce the optimum consistency for your new “signature” cream.

• If your scrubs are partially dried out, you can add the last drops of cuticle oils to the mixture or even standard olive oil to improve consistency. 

Nail Polish – We all have those bottles of nail polish that are only about 1/4 full and will inevitably thicken beyond saving or dry up and will have to be discarded. Why not do what many of the celebrity Nail Techs do at Fashion Week and create your own custom colors by combining these leftovers? All you need are some empty nail polish bottles (and ball bearings for mixing) from your local beauty supply store (or you can easily order these on Amazon or eBay).

Tips

•  Have fun and be creative, but try to mix colors that will complement each other so you don't end up with an unattractive shade that no one will want to wear. As a rule, try not to mix more than 3 colors together.

• Purchase a small plastic painter's palette at your local art supply store so you can test your color mixes with small amounts of polish to make sure you like the results before you use up all of your resources.

• Keep records of what products you mixed together and in what proportions so you can recreate a color that becomes a hit with your clients.

• Make homemade labels for your bespoke color creations and give them fun, original names!

Pre-Summer Pedi Primer

With sandal season right around the corner, your clients will need to get their feet summer ready. In fact, many will expect nail techs to perform a miracle on feet that have been neglected all winter long. To make delivering this a miracle a bit easier, here are some tips to encourage “pre-summer” pedicures – a way  to ease the use and abuse during the closed-toe season.

·         Encourage clients to start the season with a professional spa pedicure early on, before the summer actually gets here. This way they can get a head start on smooth summer feet.

·         Promote Mother’s Day gift certificates for pedicures. This is always a much appreciated gift for Mom! 

·         Maintain your own professional pedicure to ensure your feet are always looking great. It’s free advertising! Nothing looks worse than chipped toenail polish or rough heels in summer sandals or flip-flops.

HELPFUL HINT: At the close of a service, provide tips to help clients keep pedicures looking their best. This will ultimately keep your work looking fabulous and also make your job easier when clients return for their next service. Here are a few:

·         Soak feet in a warm milk bath with a few drops of olive oil. The lactic acid in milk helps slough away dead skin while the oil will help moisturize.

·         Before showering, exfoliate feet dry with a foot file or buffer to remove hard, old calluses and rough spots. Once in the shower, exfoliate again by using a pumice stone along with a quality foot or body scrub.

·         Make a habit of moisturizing. Before bedtime, apply foot cream and sleep with moisture locking socks.

·         Use a good cuticle oil. (My favorite is Solar Oil by CND ). Massage into cuticles daily to nourish nails and surrounding skin. Applying cuticle oil is also a quick pick-me-up for polished toe nails. It refreshes the pedicure and actually keeps polish flexible so there is less chipping, making pedis last longer!    

The Kiddie Nail Craze

Nail services for children have been rising in popularity for some time now, especially with the birthday party set of little princesses that want to get pampered and polished in style. However, child stars and the children of celebrities have recently taken nail services for kids to a whole new level with dramatic style and flair for girls and boys alike. Little Suri Cruise prefers simple polished manicures in pretty pastel shades, while teen pop sensation Willow Smith delights in imaginative 3-D embellished acrylic extensions. The new kid on the block that has everyone talking is Gwen Stefani’s fashion-forward son, Kingston Rossdale. Kingston’s multi-color manis and pedis were the talk of the town and a bold move for him when he began sporting them as a mere five-year-old. Like his fashionable Mom, Kingston has a flair for style and often sports designer duds and a highlighted faux-hawk.

Half & Half For A Whole New Look

Half and Half manis are picking up momentum because there are so many variations on the theme and the color combinations are truly endless. The simplest ways to achieve the look include the straightforward vertical and diagonal styles: the nail is segmented into two halves with color or designs. The more sophisticated half and half look involves taking the curve out of smile lines and using straight horizontal lines across the nail to separate colors and designs for a two-tone look that can be accented in numerous ways. Celebrity fans of this trend include Keri Hilson and Amerie.

Jungle Fever

The lovely ladies of stage and screen are simply wild for animal print nail art. Fun and sexy, this look has a veritable treasure trove of styles ranging from zebra and giraffe to a plethora of jungle cats. Celebrity enthusiasts of this look include Ke$ha, Fergie, Rihanna and Katy Perry, who often like to take it to the next level by mixing their animal print nail art with shimmering metallic polish and glitter. So go on...get your animal print nail art on!

Lace Nails

Not since Madonna’s 1980’s fingerless lace gloves has lace as a hand accessory been such a sensation! Lace Nails are achieved by cutting thin pieces of lace material and affixing them to the natural nail with nail adhesive. They can then be polished over with a clear coat for a long lasting, shiny finish, sealed with UV gel or left bare for a short-term matte effect. The color, texture and pattern of the lace contribute to the vast variety of options for implementing this look. The nature of the process ensures that no two nails will be exactly alike, which is enticing to those looking to make a unique statement with their manicure. Lace Nails have been spotted on the red carpet upon fashion-forward celebrities such as Blake Lively and Jennifer Lopez, among others.

Blackberry Bling

In this technological age, it seems like everyone is incessantly typing away on their iPhones and Blackberries, as texting has become the preferred means of communication. Along with progress, must come style and “Blackberry Bling” is the fearless fashionista’s way of making more than one statement while texting. The idea is to polish the four fingers of the hand one color and then the thumbs in a different, yet complimentary color or use glitter and gems to embellish them. This makes the thumbs stand out from the rest of the hand, as they are the fingers used to type when texting. An alternate variation is to paint the ring fingers to match the thumbs. This is a fun and flashy look for clients looking for something bold and unique in their manicure.

Mommy & Me Manis

Reinvigorate your service menu with a super-hot service offering that’s taking salons by storm. “Mommy & Me” Manicures are all the rage from Hollywood to the biggest cities and smallest towns. A perfect mother-daughter bonding activity, an indulgent trip to the nail salon is high quality girl time with perks! Little divas know well manicured fingers and toes are an ultra chic accessory for any outfit. Celebrity mother/daughters hooked on this practice include Jennifer Garner & Violet Affleck, Kate Beckinsale & Lily Sheen, Katie Holmes & Suri Cruise, and Tish & Miley Cyrus.

The Great UV Lamp Debate

The great debate about UV gel curing lamps rages on -- are they harmful or harmless? Well, here's the final word from Nailpro Magazine's March 2013 issue. The verdict? UV lamps are safe! So if you'd like to try a UV or LED cured gel manicure -- go right ahead!

Marvels of the Male Pedicure

For those of you looking for a hot new service to add to your menu, look no further than the pedicure for men. Once an outlandish idea, men everywhere have been slowly warming to the idea of the stress-relieving and hygienic benefits of maintaining their feet and toenails. Nail salons have seen a steady increase of male clientele over the past few years, who have embraced the idea of “man-scaping” as part of their general wellness routine. Big cities like New York and Los Angeles have even seen an increased interest in polished pedicures for men – worn ever so stylishly by celebrities like Dean McDermott and Seal. The most popular shades among the male persuasion are black, beige and gray.

Why not promote specials to encourage your female clients to bring in their significant others for a relaxing foot-soak and much-needed toe nail trim? The ladies will surely thank you for your efforts!

Mad About Mad Men

I know that I'm a little late in jumping on the bandwagon, but I was recently introduced to the wonder that is AMC's Mad Men by my glorious sister (who knows my taste in television so well!). For those that may not know, the show is set in Manhattan during the 1960's at a Madison Avenue advertising agency. Besides the intriguing storyline, fantastic period clothing and vintage props, the first item to really capture my attention was of course, the nails!

How fabulous are housewife Betty Draper's perfect pink oval-shaped nails? They are always flawlessly manicured and complement her clothing and accessories with panache. Even prim and proper Peggy Olsen's nails are obviously well maintained, though she has yet to sport nail polish even once throughout all four seasons of the show! Then there's sultry Joan Holloway with her lovely red talons that just ooze sex appeal.

Betty Draper (January Jones), Peggy Olsen (Elizabeth Moss) & Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks)

Not only do the main characters get to wear stunning 1960's style manis -- the supporting female characters get in on the action too. Next door neighbor and fellow housewife, Francine Hanson is always elaborately coiffed and manicured with full face makeup. Young wife Trudy Campbell is fresh-faced and smartly dressed with a mani to match her proper Manhattanite outfits. By far, the glitziest nails on the show so far belonged to Bobbie Barrett -- one of Don Draper's short-lived trysts. She rocked a solid gold metallic manicure to match her cocktail dress in true classic Hollywood style.

Francine Hanson (Anne Dudek), Trudy Campbell (Alison Brie) & Bobbie Barrett (Melinda McGraw)

Of course, there is an amazing woman behind the fabulous nails of Mad Men! Series costume designer Janie Bryant is the creative mastermind behind all that goes into creating the phenomenal period costumes, hairstyles and nails for the show. Her eye for detail is nothing short of genius! In the fall of 2010, Bryant paired with Nailtini of the 'Tini Beauty Lounge cosmetic brand to create a limited edition set of Mad Men nail lacquers inspired by the lush and luxurious fabrics popular in the 1960's. Since liquor is practically a supporting character on the show, a cocktail-themed nail polish line makes perfect sense!

The limited edition collection features four luxuriously opulent hues. Bourbon Satin (chocolate mousse brown), French 75 (micro glitter gold lamé), Deauxville (metallic platinum silver), and Stinger (iridescent green/black chrome). It's been sold out in stores for quite a while now, but I did a little research and found it can still be purchased online at Amazon.com, among others.

Limited Edition Fall 2010 Collection

Due to the success of their first collaboration, Nailtini released a second nail lacquer collection created by Janie Bryant for the Spring of 2011 called Garden Party. This second vintage-inspired spread includes four shades fit for a Sterling Cooper company picnic! The collection is comprised of Garden Jubilee (gold shimmer), Blue Carnation (milky blue/gray), Blushing Lady (baby pink), and Admiral Perry (patent leather royal blue).

Garden Party - Spring 2011 Collection

Word is that due to contract disputes between AMC and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, the highly anticipated 5th season of the show isn't going to premiere until some time in 2012. Until then, all we can do is indulge our obsession by watching re-runs on Netflix while wearing our Mad Men Nailtini nail colors!