runway inspired Halloween manicures

A friend of mine, Hannah Morrill, asked me to come up with some runway inspired Halloween manicures for Harpersbazaar.com. I took ideas from Ruffian, Jenni Kayne, Prabal Gurung and Chanel runway looks to make a bit more real life friendly designs.

Prabal Gurung bloody tips:

I saw the Prabal Gurung manicure recreated all over the internet but kept thinking ‘who wants to look like they have been scratching off their mosquito bites?’ Somehow the runway version was a bit too literal for me. So I came up with something a bit more wearable. I love this manicure. It’s subtle enough for everyday. At first glance it reads as a plain red manicure but up close you see the shiny drips of blood. For more impact you can always apply the drips in a deeper red to amp up the contrast between the base color and the dripping ‘blood.’

Kate Spade polka dots gone googly eyes:

Everyone knows polka dots are in, everything is spotted and dotted up the wazoo. I liked the idea of reinterpreting  the  polka dot into googly eyes. Essie’s new Stylnomics hits on the rich jewels tones of Kate Spade’s fall collection so I thought it would make a great base color.

Jenni Kayne pumpkin french:

In the same vein of finding bloody nails less than appealing, recreating smoker’s jaundiced nails seems kind of gross to me as well. But the french manicure is a classic and I’ve been seeing multicolored french manicures all over the place. Enter the pumpkin french, I loved the Chanel beige and shimmering orange combo, and it doesn’t make you look like a chain smoker!

Ruffian / Chanel velvet silhouette:

Velvet manicures seem very popular right now. Ruffian had amazing 2 toned half moon manicures on their models for their fall 2012 runway show. there is something so luxurious and sophisticated about velvet. I have herd mixed reviews on the Ciate Velvet manicure sets but still can’t get the look off my mind. I decided to combine the Chanel cruise collection‘s silhouetted manicure with the sultry palette and texture of Ruffian’s fall nails. Matte top coat is amazing and really transforms the effect of a manicure.

pink polka dots

One of my favorite new fall items is a sweater from J. Crew. Burgundy and pink polka dots, I love it.

J. Crew COLLECTION CASHMERE POLKA-DOT SWEATER

Well I was thoroughly smitten with this combination and decided to try it out on my nails.

I used Essie’s Skirting the Issue as a base color. It a bit more of a red than the sweater in photos but in person it’s a pretty deep dark red. I used a dotting tool and Revlon’s Plum Seduction.

It’s not my best or favorite manicure. The pink polka dots don’t have quite the right vibrancy.

fall time floral

It’s starting to feel autumnal in NYC! Time for sweaters and cozy evenings. I am very excited for muted colors after a summer of neon.


I spotted this fun tree branch floral design on Whale’s nails and wanted to make a more seasonally appropriate version for September.

I used Chanel Frenzy as a base, Essie Skirting the Issue and Recessionista for the floral motifs. I mixed Skirting the Issue with some white to make the light pink color and added a few dots of white for highlights. I used OPI You Don’t Know Jacques for the branches.

fall colors chevron

chevron

Once I figured out how to do chevron I have been hooked on the design. It looks super impressive and very cool. I will not lie, it is a bitch to do and takes a long time, but I think the final result is well worth the effort. In these colors it almost feels like herringbone.

For this I used Dior Safari Beige as the base color. My thumb is Essie Playa del Platinum, followed by Essie Sew Psyched, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Chanel Frenzy and Essie Bordeaux.

 

nail art

neon on neon

This is a pretty simple manicure. First though I always put 1 coat of white nail polish on before I apply a neon color. Neons tend to be thin and streaky. A white base coat means you only have to use 2 coats of the neon color and it makes the neon SUPER NEON.

For this manicure I used two coats of China Glaze Celtic Sun. Then I painted 2 coats of Essie Lights in the shape of my nail but leaving room around the cuticle and on the sides to let the neon yellow show. Ta da!

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