5.11.10

Hard as Nails: Nail Rock

Nails are having a fashion moment. Originally perceived as a mini trend, the Spring/Summer catwalks have shown the finger to that one, and now it seems 'The Nail' will be huge. Nails were edgy and toughened up for Autumn Winter 2010- at Gareth Pugh, nail technician Marian Newman added chain-mail and long chain strands to talons. House of Holland featured in your face statement nails, including Henry Holland created acronyms- 'Not A Lot Going On' and 'Chill The F*** Out'. Carrying on the trend into Spring/Summer 2011, Marian Newman and Minx co founders Janice Jordan and Dawn Lynch-Goodwin along with the Minx design team developed a whole range of Minx designs for Alexander McQueen based on fabric swatches from the show. The result was a glamourous metallic hued foil. Celebrities are also jumping on the nail-art bandwagon, with Katy Perry taking to Twitter to show off her mani and her man and Pixie Lott rocking metallic from Minx Nails. 

Katy Perry: Twitter,  Pixie Lott in Minx,  House of Holland,  Zoe Pocock

But for now Summer seems forever away. It's getting chilly and I haven't the cash for MINX. Winter
is fast approaching- and instead of sporting blue tinged nails I will wrap up warm in Fair Isle and wrap up my nails in Nail Rock. I'm talking of course of Nail Rock Nail Wraps- brainchild of Zoe Pocock, former student of Marian Newman, celebrity nail technician of Daniel Galvin's London salon and pioneer of the Louboutin Manicure- the underside of the nail is painted a deep red whilst the topside is painted black resulting in an oh so chic homage to the famous, almost iconic, red soles.

Zoe lends her Technician talent to us with these wraps, which are available in ASOS and Topshop, allowing us to create catwalk ready nails at home at the fraction of the cost of such brands like Minx. The wraps are adhesive designs of metallics and geometric prints- cut them to the right size of your nail and follow the instructions religiously. The process involves pushing the cuticles down and making sure the nails are buffed but not shined (the glue will not stick to shiny nails) place one foil on the bottom of the nail lightly, then heat with a hairdryer (a mini one is best) to melt the glue and push down on one side of the nail. Then reheat and push the other side down, this limits the chance of bubbling. It takes a few goes but in the end it's quite easy, I found I had to trim the wrap as I have thinner nails and the wrap started to overlap my skin, stopping it from sticking fully. If you do get a few bubbles heat with the hairdryer to melt the glue again and reposition. In all there are 24 adhesives, so lots of spares if it doesn't go well first time.

I opted for gold metallic, but there are loads more designs, including animal print for that sixties mod vibe and even Bridget Riley espque op-art with the Wave Nailwrap. Channel Gareth Pugh with Metallic Stud or Sophy Robson's lace for Henry Holland with the White Lace Nailwraps. Take a look at these catwalk nail trends and the Nail Rock design to match:




Nailrock £6.50 available at ASOS and Topshop- instore and online.
Louboutin Manicure photo from Grazia Magazine. NailRock images from www.nailrock.com.