Oh My Vogue! Look how cute these nails are! Okay, I get very excited about such things. It's called a French Valentine.
Obviously that is not MY hands in the picture. Although I am pretty good at doing a good manicure, even a creative one which includes different colours, I am not this skilled.
I was sent a step by step guide by Essie on how to create this look, and you all know how much I love doing new things with my nails. This is definitely going to test my nail-polish-ninja powers, that's for sure. Challenge Accepted.
I'll explain in brief how to do it, but I'd rather leave it to the expert, Michelle Saunders, an LA based manicurist to do it properly. She has a celebrity client list as long as my arm and also heads up the Essie team backstage at New York Fashion Week. So, I assume that she must know her stuff with that street cred.
Before you start on your nails, always make sure that they're clean and prepped with a base coat. It's much healthier for your nails, it helps prevent harsh colours from staining your nails and it's a great foundation for your nail polish.
Let's start, shall we? The most important thing you'll need before you start is time. Make sure that you can sit back and not have to touch ANYTHING for the next two hours or so. This goes for whenever you do your nails. The silly things smudge so easily and then it's RUINED! We don't want that. That said, pour yourself a glass of wine, put your bum on the couch and have your favourite series on the tellie. We all have a series we're dying to catch up on and here's your excuse to do just that. The wine will help with the inevitable frustration you'll experience as a mere mortal trying to perfect an intricate look, thus this is perhaps the most important part of your prep. Comfortable? Great. Wine? Great. Series? Great. Now we are ready to start.
The following three colours were used in creating this look:
Ballet Slippers, Fiesta and Lollipop
Step 1
Paint all your nails with Ballet Slippers, do two coats (it's always two coats with nail polish, why can't someone just make a nail polish that you only need to do one coat with?) - leave to dry for two minutes - or in my case, at least 10, I always manage to smudge my nails! It's one of my many superpowers. You may take a swig of your wine while you wait for it to dry.
Step 2
Apply Fiesta in two half circles to the top half of your nails, kind of like the top of a heart - again, let this dry for like 20 minutes! Just to be sure that you don't have to redo it later (this happens to me often) My nails are sometimes done so creatively, then *SMUDGE* and I don't have the patience to redo it the same way..... #girlproblems. More wine will be required here as you try to get those half circles perfect.
Step 3
With Lollipop, follow the lines of Fiesta, but leave a bit of the pink peaking out. It should look like double hearts - I cannot stress this enough, leave to dry for at least half an hour. Trust me on this. This is your cue for more wine.
After you are convinced that your nails are completely dry (surprise, they're NOT), wait another 10 minutes. Believe me, they're not dry. Just do it and have the rest of that wine. Or another glass.
Finish it off with a top coat. This makes sure that your nails stay pretty for a long time. To ensure that your nails stay chip free for even longer, let your minions do most of your work, especially housework. Washing dishes and cleaning are the enemy of manicures! I think women all over should protest against doing anything that can chip our manicures. Even if just for a few days.
Here's a video that probably explains it better:
I have decided to try this in the next week or so, and will post a picture. I may also take some pictures of my progress and possibly document it. I predict that there will be a lot of bad language that goes along with the frustration of trying to get this perfect.
Wish me luck!
