How to do your nails 2014 style - and make your manicure last!

The things we can do with our nails these days are limited only by our imagination or mood really - and doing your nails is one of those small but significant ways to express yourself, accent an outfit, or just to feel put together.  You know - sometimes you want to go all out, OTT and crazy fun with your nails and sometimes you just want to be insanely chic!  You would know by now that I mostly sit somewhere around the middle of that scale (with more than a slight slant towards fun) but sometimes I need a chic week too!

 

If you're after some inspiration this post covers just a few of the current autumn/winter runway trends making it all the more easy to express yourself whether it be out there or more understated.   In my social media stalking, this season I've been seeing a lot of:

 

Matte or textured nails

[Source]

 

[Source]

You may be a traditionalist like I was and feel that a mani with a high lacquered finish is the only way to go but then again why not turn that idea on its head once in a while? I used to think it was all about high shine or nothing but this year I've become quite obsessed with textured looks and I like the downplayed effect of mattifying nail colours - I've seen how polishes magically transform to some kind of velvety subtlety with a mattifying top coat.  Doing my own matte manicure is high on my to do list this winter!

 

Glitter (again!)

[Source]

Glitter has been a mainstay over the last few years and it's continually getting more interesting here as brands (mainstream as well as indie) come up with more and more imaginative colour and shape combinations.  Layering different glitter polishes and doing gradient manicures as shown above can only add to the interest.  

 

Metallics

[Source]

I've always been a fan of metallic polish and these are cropping up again in time for winter - with lots of darker shades.  This winter I'm craving metallic versions of dark charcoal grey, burgundy, royal purple or inky blue.


Oxblood nails

[Source]

 I've been seeing this shade a lot in lips and nails and it's another personal favourite of mine because it's a modern day classic look and this is one I prefer with a high lacquered finish.  I view deep oxblood red as the 'other' neutral besides stone grey or beige for winter nails. 

 

Half Moon Nail art

[Source]

 It seems half moons are still popping up everywhere on the runway and thankfully this nail art design is quite easy to create with some strategically paper hole reinforcement stickers and creative layering of different colours and textures of polish.  I really need to make a trip to my office supply store and get experimenting with this look myself because I love the idea of a bright half moon peeking out from the base of an otherwise vampy nail!

Now hopefully you're inspired to do your nails this season so here's how to make your manicure last!

 

UV Gels

If you're going to go to the trouble of doing your own manicure, chances are you probably want it to last beyond the first couple of days! This is where UV polishes have come to the rescue over the past few years with the advent of UV gel nail polish and DIY UV nail polish kits.  UV gel nails promise superior wear time lasting up to two weeks and are worth considering if you're busy and slowing down to deal with a chipped manicure is probably not high on the list of priorities. 

This leads me to introduce GlazeMe, a leading Australian online UV polish store selling everything you need from individual UV gel polishes and nail accessories to complete starter kits.  GlazeMe have an extensive shade range of 54 colours in cream, pearl, metallic and glitter finishes so check out their website below!

www.glazeme.com.au

 

  

*Sponsored Post*