Nailed It! Flash Your Tips With The Hottest Spring Nail Colours Perfect For Brown Skin
Beauty Mar 04, 2021
Check out these hot tips on how to give your nails that extra TLC and having some fun with the hottest spring nail colours perfect for brown skin!
Sitting at home and staring at screens is neither exciting, nor particularly constructive. It is important to engage in self-care that challenges the mind and inspires our creativity. Manicures are a fantastic option because not only do we care for our all-important fingers, we become artists who are in complete control of our nails; which is comforting when we live in a time when our lack of control is salient. It’s time to elevate your nail care, give yourself a soothing experience and have fun with the coolest nail colours!
SOOTHING MANICURE – ELIMINATE WHAT IS PESKY AND FOCUS ON THE CALM
In financially trying times, where nickels have started to take on the value of quarters, there is no need to invest in a relaxing candle or special lights to set the ambiance. I suggest that safe and effective means of setting the ambiance involve these steps:
1.Yes, I’m stating the obvious here but you’d be surprised how we often overlook this simple step. Be sure that you go to the bathroom prior to starting any nail work. I am so peeved when I have applied base coat and my music is drowned out by the call of the wild. I used to mistakenly drink water prior to my manicure to avoid becoming thirsty while I focussed on painting my nails. Experience, or rather my cranky bladder, has taught me that if I take small sips of tea whilst doing the manicure, the call of the wild raises its volume after my nails are dry.
2.Prepare a fragrant tea such as Kusmi Green Almond, and take small sips between steps of the manicure. This strongly flavoured tea smells like barfi and emits a delicate scent that thrills my senses and relaxes me instantly. There are many types of teas, and depending on your personal taste, choose a tea, accordingly.
3. I like to select music that runs continuously for at least an hour. YouTube is a treasure trove of music, and you can easily find scores to famous films or masterpieces from composers. Once I settle on my music, I place my device on an elevated surface away from my nail bath, set the volume to low, and dive into my nail care.
4. Being organized is half the battle, and I like to line up my products in the order in which I use them. I also loosen the caps as I line them up so that I will not have to struggle with them when my nails are wet. Yes it’s a simple step but it pays off!
5. I believe in the healing power of touch, and manicures are an opportunity to show our hardworking fingers respect. After having shaped my nails, and snipped my cuticles, I apply a tiny drop of cuticle cream such as Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream at the base of each nail. I then use the fingers of the opposing hand to massage the cream using circular motions around the nail bed and down the length of each finger. This type of care ensures that I reduce the incidence of raggedy cuticles, and I relax my fingers. These digits type away on my devices and computers and they deserve some serious TLC. Once I have completed the massage, I clean the surface of each nail, apply base coat, and become an artist.
COLOUR – HARMLESS FUN AND CREATIVITY
For late Winter/Spring 2021, I have noted three colour trends that are worth exploring, as we try to add colour to what has been a fairly grey existence:
- A focus on romantic, feminine shades such as soft pinks and lilacs.
- Shades that flirt with Pantone’s colours of the year “Ultimate Gray” and “Illuminating”.
- Strong, stark berry shades which range from raspberry to cranberry.
I have always been fond of pinks and lilacs because they are soft enough to be treated as neutrals but have enough personality to flatter my brown skin. In the OPI Hollywood collection, I recommend three shades:
Suzi Calls the Paparazzi is a deep blush pink that has enough panache to flatter dark cuticles. It is a great pinky neutral for dark skin;
I’m an Extra is more muted and veers toward a deep beige, and it looks fantastic on medium skin tones.
Hollywood & Vibe is a cool lilac that is timeless and flatters light skin tones.
I am intrigued by Pantone’s colours of the year because I have traditionally avoided grey and have used yellow in a limited fashion in my wardrobe. However the Hollywood collection has a butter yellow and a blue that flirts with dove grey, called Bee-hind the Scenes and Designed to be a Legend, respectively. They are pastel-like and an easy introduction to yellow and grey. If you are in the mood to experiment, start slowly and softly with these shades, and ramp up the intensity as the year progresses.
Berry shades are timeless and effortlessly complement South Asian skin tones, regardless of their intensity. My three picks are:
Butter London Jelly Preserve Strengthening Treatment in Strawberry Rhubarb. It literally looks like you dipped your fingers in strawberry jam, and the translucid red finish adds brightness and freshness to the hands.
If raspberries pique your interest, then Butter London Patent Shine 10X™ in Bonkers is perfect. This magenta contains enough pink to evoke the berry but is cool enough to work with the current cool clime.
Cranberries are popular around Christmas but there is no denying this shade’s year-round beauty. If your beauty style is dramatic and unapologetic, then Nailberry L’Oxygéné (a halal line) in Harmony is ideal.
ADDING ARTISTRY TO COLOUR
The aughts taught us that there is more to nail polish than the classic two coats of a single shade applied to each nail. I do enjoy the classic approach but sometimes, I want to unleash my inner-Sher-Gil and colour within the lines I set for myself. The tools for nail art are likely already at home, I suggest using these three to create interesting effects:
Have fun with contrast layering. Paint your nails in the classic way, and then top off the fingers by adding a contrasting shade using a makeup sponge. This method creates a double contrast, first with the colour and then with the spray paint effect from the sponge on a smooth surface.
Have fund with geometric shapes. If you want to experiment with geometric contrasts, apply one coat of the dominant shade; wait for it to dry; apply clear tape to divide the nail into two sections; apply the second shade; wait for it to dry; and then finish with top coat.
You can’t go wrong with polka dots! Polka dots are fun, and you can use a pinhead from a sewing kit to add them to your manicure. I suggest that you wipe the pinhead after completing a nail, so that the dried polish will not distort the shape of the pinhead.
NAILING IT
After a long day in front of the computer, I am both antsy and bored; a deadly combination when you are living under curfew and a nighttime walk is not possible. Doing a manicure settles my mind, and my efforts are immediately rewarded with pretty nails. Manicures are a great way to insert self-care into a weekly routine!
Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty
Author
Meena (@meenalaregina) always loved the idea of exploring the non-conventional idea of beauty. Having grown up as a pimply chubby teenager, she wanted to see the change in the world that best reflected your uniqueness as well. Her well-received collection of blogs where she tries on various beauty p...