Marvelous Manicures

A recent fashion trend is all about the details.  This award season celebrities were modeling much more than beautiful gowns, shoes, and jewelry on the red carpets.  It wasn’t the most obvious accessory but it definitely made a bold statement.

Many musicians and movie stars had unique manicures that set them apart from the crowd.   There were neutral nails, metallic nails, and those brave enough to add a pop of color with neon nails.  Some celebs went for the “ombré” look, having each nail painted a different shade of one color.   But the best manicures embraced patterns, studs, or crystals … Zooey Deschanel even had filmstrips painted on hers!

Photo Credit: MTV Style

As a girl with a pretty impressive nail polish collection and fear of unpainted nails, this craze quickly caught my attention.  Although I pride myself on having a pretty steady hand, I’ll occasionally shell out the fifteen dollars and treat myself to a manicure.  Celebrities take this luxury a few steps further.  According to Yahoo, both Kelly Osborne and Jennifer Lopez had their nails painted with an extravagant Azature polish that had crushed black diamond powder in it.  One bottle costs a whopping $250,000!

Obviously purchasing a bottle liquid diamonds is out of the question.  So how does a college girl still stay stylish without breaking the bank?  Cue Sally Hansen!  As I found out, the affordable beauty product line offers plenty of options for a chic and impressive at home manicure.

On my first trip to CVS I picked up the brand’s “Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips.”  There were tons of patterns to choose from including tribal, lace, stripes, flowers, glitter, and snakeskin.  Once I settled on leopard and got home, I found that applying them really wasn’t that difficult.  I basically just stuck them on and filed the long strips down to the size of my own nails.  The whole process was cheaper than getting a manicure and took just about the same time to do.

Photo Credit: Makeup and Beauty Blog

The next week I decided to get a little more adventurous with my nail art.  I bought a few different “Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pens.”  After enlisting the help of my roommate, we got to work trying to draw our own designs on each other’s nails with the pens.  This method was a little bit more of a challenge and took some concentration and skill.  Those more artistic than me will definitely have much better results.  However, the color blocking that I did for my friend wasn’t actually too bad.

I never really thought of my nails as being an accessory before.  Once they were painted in a way that was out of the ordinary, I realized why celebrities are splurging!  I really loved the way that my nails looked and a lot of people noticed the difference.  They really made a fashion statement.

Photo credit: Glitta Gloves

So opt for a pattern, bold color or design, even try adding crystals.  But, don’t fall for the trick that celebrities do.  This trendy look can be achieved at home, and for less than you would think.  Just head to a local beauty supply store and start painting!