Bringing bright nails back
After a couple of years of nail polish-free living, I’m embracing fancy fingertips for spring. This is an easy way to let colour in without giving yourself a fright every time you look in the mirror; and an opportunity to step away from the smartphone and switch off. When it comes to decorating nails, I usually leave pedicures to the experts and go for a simple DIY manicure at home. Yep. That Is My Manicure. Boots UK asked me to get creative with their gorgeous selection of spring colours, this involved a little experimentation with masking tape and a few goes at it before I came up with the final, quite minimal design.
Being a bit colour shy, I almost opted for the more subtle combination of pale ballet pink ‘at the barre’ with a burgundy ‘spiked with style’ contrast; both from Essie at Boots. But it’s spring and time to bring out the brights, so out came Essie’s lovely coral ‘on the list’ colour with neutral ‘at the barre’ contrast.
To get this look you need a steady hand and some quiet time, so you don’t end up in a smudgy mess. Ahem:
- Push back the cuticles and apply hand cream
- Prep nails with a coat of Rimmel London Nail Base & Top Coat
- Add two coats of the main colour and leave to dry
- Using a fine nail polish brush, apply the contrasting colour (masking tape aids precision)
- Allow to dry for at least 10-minutes
- Use a top coat of Rimmel London to seal the deal
- Be careful! For the next hour (no texting or Instagram)
For a speedier colour fix without the faffing, paint a couple of nails contrasting colours for a rainbow mani in half the time.
This is a sponsored post. Boots UK is on a mission to raise the health and happiness of the nation and there are loads of products on offer and lots of nail colours to choose from.
I love Essie and a great tip is to use the Essie gel setter on top of all – it will last for ages! Also if you are like me . . . an ants in the pants type who cannot ever manage to sit still long enough to let fingernails dry, always ending up with dents then use the Essie quick-e drying drops . . . works a treat to speed up the whole process!