Flaunt Those Digits With These Hot Summer Nail Colours

Manicures and pedicures are a summer staple … and for South Asian women, there are particular issues that should be addressed to optimise the rainbow of hues that are on full display for summer. Read on to discover handy tips and nail trends with these hot summer nail colours!

Summer is all about colour from the lush fauna in our parks to cheerful wardrobes that decimate the lingering memories of winter.  The best way to ensure that your tips are drenched in on trend colour is to prepare a brightened nail base that features moisturized skin and neutralized nail beds.

MOISTURE IS KEY!

A moisturized nail base is important because when our skin gets dry, it tends to become ashy which distracts from vibrant colour. I suggest massaging a basic exfoliator into the hands and feet, using a circular motion. To ensure that the blood flow continues to the tips of the fingers, press along the length of the fingers, and repeat the same technique with the toes. Afterwards, rinse the hands and feet, towel dry them and massage in a brightening cream (see technique for exfoliator) such as Vasanti Brighten Up! Love my Hand Cream.

The cream is a paraben-free wonder that is composed of aloe (adds brightness); shea butter, mango butter and coconut oil (all add hydration); rosehip seed oil (minimises age spots); and vitamin E (protects against free radical damage).  I noticed that my feet are particularly battered during the summer and despite my best efforts to apply sunscreen, the skin looks lined.  I decided to massage my hands and feet daily with this cream, and all four members are brighter and softer.

HOW TO HANDLE YELLOW NAILS

I observed over many years of doing manicures that after a while my nails turn yellow, even though I  carefully remove my nail polish. The stained nails’ yellow tinge is even more obvious when next to the innate warmth of my brown skin. Unfortunately, the yellowness resulted in my light coloured  manicures being less than stellar. To solve your yellow nail problem, use a buffer to smooth the surface of each nail. You know just like how your manicurist would do. Here’s my routine:

1. Stick out the finger whose nail you wish to buff.
2. Stroke the buffer (left to right, or right to left, your choice), a few times.
3. The trick is to ensure that each millimetre of the nail bed has been stroked at least once.
4. Blow on each nail to remove the dust and
5. Repeat steps 1-4 on your toes.

GET IN SHAPE!

Once your nails are buffed, shape them according to your taste and lifestyle.  Regardless of your choice, always use a nail file that is gritty.  The worst thing you can do to a nail is to saw them into shape using  a battered nail file.  The sawing motion encourages split tips.  I love my Deborah Lippmann Eco Files because they shape my nails after two to three strokes, all done in one direction (again, right to left or left to right, your choice).

The rule of thumb for nail shape is to always examine your lifestyle and finger shape. For example if you type a lot, a short squoval shape is ideal ie: the nails do not pass the finger tip in length and are squared off with rounded edges. If your style is more glamorous, and you are prepared to upkeep the colour, shape your nails into a soft ovals ensuring that they remain a few millimetres longer than the nail bed. The shape of your nails acts as the frame for the nail colour.

Once you have created a strong base, it is time for fun … nail colour!

Summer 2020 features three distinct trends that are perfect for South Asian women.

TREND 1 —  SPECIAL EFFECTS

A shimmery nail polish is a summer 2020 essential!

Chrome, shimmer, holographic shades are a fantastic way to add edge to your everyday look. That’s why I love the OPI Hidden Prism collection, which features six shades loaded with glimmer that dance with the light. Initially I was concerned that the polishes would not possess enough pigment to vibrate against my brown skin, but those concerns immediately disappeared the minute I saw the splash of colour on my nail.

The first layer of each shade is quite soft, and I realized that if you have a deep shade of pink that is more winter, you can make the shade summer-friendly by applying the deep pink shade and then adding a layer of She’s a Prismaniac (pink shimmer) on top. The deeper shade instantly looks fresh and modern. You can achieve this quick update by matching your deep shade with one from the collection.

After experimenting with updating my winter shades, I decided to see if a double layer of a Hidden Prism shade would create a great manicure. I was delighted to discover that two layers of Gleam On! (pea green shimmer) transformed my nails into peridots. It delivered the the perfect level of opaqueness and the shimmer permitted my hands to look brighter.

TREND 2 — BOLD, SOLID SHADES

As someone who works out 6 days a week, and types on a daily basis, I prefer to use soft and/or neutral shades on my squoval nails. I opt for these two types of shades because chips are less visible and I don’t want to go through the rigmarole of re-applying base coat, polish and top coat midweek.

The Essie Expressie collection taught me an important lesson: embrace the bold!

The polishes are designed to be applied without a basecoat, dry in mere seconds, and don’t require a top coat (although this product does make a manicure last longer). The DNA of Expressie smashed all of the reasons why I refuse to embrace bold nail colour.

The line features punchy shades that easily fit with the natural vibrancy of South Asian cultures from around the world. I loved applying In the Time Zone, a cool-toned pink that catches the eye because its tone is opposite to my warmth. I applied a top coat and was amazed to see that the manicure remained in great shape for four whole days. On the fourth day, I just switched colours and didn’t lose any time, or experience any aggravation of having to dedicate a huge amount of time to a manicure.

What I love about quick dry polishes is that they also allow you to experiment with colour combinations without the hassle of creating a perfect manicure that “must last” a week. For example, multi-coloured manicures are popular, whereby each finger is a different colour. Your nails resemble a bowl of candy, and it suits the spirit of the season. If you are not ready to embrace the rainbow but still want to have fun with bold punches of colour, I suggest that you apply Bolt and Be Bold ( a bright orange) on the ring finger of each hand.

Then apply a softer orange such as  All things OOO (pastel peach) on the remaining ones.

Remember, with your brightened skin and neutralized nails, the shades will literally jump off of your fingers.

A bold shade is perfect for the summer, because you are not hiding under gloves, you use hand gestures during zoom meetings, and quick dry formula alleviates the responsibility of maintaining a perfect manicure.

TREND 3 — NUDITY

The nude nail is a classic look but during the summer when colour is abound, this category of colour is an important counterpoint for people who want their clothes or jewellery to be the focal point. Given that we Desi women, for the most part, have warmer skin tones, many of the classic nude shades look ashen on our nails. I was happy to find the L’Oxygéné collection from  Nailberry, a Halal, vegan line that includes 8 shades that fall into the elusive blush, nude family of colour (check out Lait Fraise, Candy Floss, Happiness, A Touch of Powder, Simplicity, Honesty, Au Naturel and Almond).

In addition to being impressed by the range of colours, I love that just prior to writing this blog I gave my mom her first manicure in 40 years. She loves nail polish but those of a more conservative persuasion alleged that her abulition for prayers would be incomplete if she wore it because water does not reach the nail bed.Based on that religious interpretation, my mother, and many other women for that matter, opted to forego nail polish.

The L’Oxygéné line, as the name indicates, is a breathable collection of nail polish that permits water to reach the nail bed. My mother and I both tried Simplicity, a cool-toned putty, and was pleased to observe that a single coat of polish covered our nails in sufficient pigment that we did not require the typical second coat.

We used the Bare Essentials  2 in 1 Base and Top Coat, and the Dry & Dash Drying Drops (both are Halal) to execute a complete manicure.

After my nails dried (about 15 minutes), I was mesmerized by the opacity of the polish, and its richness complimented my naturally rich skin tone. It  looks board room sophisticated and summer-friendly, and compliments adventurous colours.

Nudity is more than a summer trend, it is a necessity. It is important to have a counterpoint to brightness because summer’s beauty encompasses calm moments.

NAILED IT

My research for this blog has taught me that nail polish is by far one of the most inclusive categories of beauty product. I love that that there are shades and formulations that suit all South Asian women. The tricks for us to optimize the nail trends are to care of the  skin by using a brightening, hydrating cream that allows our skin to gleam, and to minimize the yellowing by buffing the surface of the nails.