Nail Corner: A handful of holiday manicures including candy stripes, Hanukkah toys, and Christmas trees!
Things are getting a little festive in the FASHION offices this week! From candy stripes to a sparkling Christmas tree, there are countless ways to paint your nails in a merry manner—and we have a number of holiday-inspired manicures wrapped up and ready to gift to you.
See all our holiday-inspired manis! »
Manicure by: Paige Dzenis, associate online editor
This candy stripe manicure is a modern twist on traditional holiday colours, substituting dark green with mint, red with burgundy and coral, and a little bit of blue thrown in for fun. The first three coats of polish were applied with a regular brush, building layers upon layers of colour. (A similar technique to last week’s crescent moon manicure.) The final two stripes—coral and white—were done with a nail art brush and a steady hand. The result? A delicious design that’s reminiscent of old-fashioned hard candy—and one that I’m very eager to keep using with different colours.
Polish used:
China Glaze “Re-Fresh Mint” ($8, nailpolishcanada.com)
Revlon ColourStay Longwear Nail Enamel “Velvet Rope” ($9 at drug stores)
Art Club Nail Art Lacquer “White” ($6, nailpolishcanada.com)
Gosh Nail Lacquer “Crispy Coral” ($7 at Shoppers Drug Mart, available February 2012)
OPI “Ski Teal We Drop” ($10 at Trade Secrets)
Manicure by: Randi Bergman, online editor
This playful blue manicure is actually the first time Randi has tried her hand at nail art, and her detailed work is quite impressive! For this Hanukkah-inspired design, she started with two coats of teal polish. Once dry, she used a white nail art brush to turn her nails into a dreidel, painting Hebrew letters from the spinning top toy. A top coat of shimmering Anna Sui polish finished off this holiday manicure.
Polish used:
OPI “Ski Teal We Drop” ($10 at Trade Secrets)
Art Club Nail Art Lacquer “White” ($6, nailpolishcanada.com)
Anna Sui Nail Colour “013” ($15, murale.ca)
Manicure by: Laura Kathleen Maize, intern
Last week I missed out on capturing a triangle manicure done by Laura, one of our online interns, but thought a redux of the design would be perfect for a festive and slightly abstract Christmas tree manicure. And, as her handiwork shows, it is! Laura started with two coats of Deborah Lippmann’s cult glitter favourite, “Happy Birthday,” putting most of the glitter at the bottom of the nail and dragging up to the top. Once dry, she used a bright green Orly polish to draw a triangle at the tip of each nail. Something about this design is very A Charlie Brown Christmas, no?
Polish used:
Deborah Lippmann “Happy Birthday” ($18, lippmanncollection.com)
Orly “Green With Envy” ($9, nailpolishcanada.com)
Manicure by: Paige Dzenis, associate online editor
When it comes down to it, you can’t do a holiday manicure roundup without something in the traditional red and green. This design takes inspiration from Christmas holly—the curved shape at the moon was my attempt to evoke the rounded edges of holly leaves. When applying the dark-green polish, I painted a half oval up the side of each nail, leaving the moon bare and almost scalloping the edges. I recommend using a trusted, thin polish brush for this design: the fatter the brush the harder it becomes to maneuver. The red holly berries were applied with a dotting tool. (You can buy one at a beauty supply store, such as Sally Beauty, or make your own by dipping a bamboo stick into polish and letting a little ball form and dry at the end.) I gave the middle berry an extra bit of holiday cheer with a dot of red glitter. Merry, merry!
Polish used:
Joe Fresh “Hunter” ($4, joefresh.com)
Gosh Nail Lacquer “Crispy Coral” ($7 at Shoppers Drug Mart, available February 2012)
Milani Nail Lacquer “Ruby Jewels” ($5 at drug stores)
 The final two stripes—coral and white—were done with a nail art brush and a steady hand. The result? A delicious design that’s reminiscent of old-fashioned hard candy—and one that I’m very eager to keep using with different colours.
Polish used:
China Glaze “Re-Fresh Mint” ($8, nailpolishcanada.com)
Revlon ColourStay Longwear Nail Enamel “Velvet Rope” ($9 at drug stores)
Art Club Nail Art Lacquer “White” ($6, nailpolishcanada.com)
Gosh Nail Lacquer “Crispy Coral” ($7 at Shoppers Drug Mart, available February 2012)
OPI “Ski Teal We Drop” ($10 at Trade Secrets)
Manicure by: Randi Bergman, online editor
This playful blue manicure is actually the first time Randi has tried her hand at nail art, and her detailed work is quite impressive! For this Hanukkah-inspired design, she started with two coats of teal polish. Once dry, she used a white nail art brush to turn her nails into a dreidel, painting Hebrew letters from the spinning top toy. A top coat of shimmering Anna Sui polish finished off this holiday manicure.
Polish used:
OPI “Ski Teal We Drop” ($10 at Trade Secrets)
Art Club Nail Art Lacquer “White” ($6, nailpolishcanada.com)
Anna Sui Nail Colour “013” ($15, murale.ca)
Manicure by: Laura Kathleen Maize, intern
Last week I missed out on capturing a triangle manicure done by Laura, one of our online interns, but thought a redux of the design would be perfect for a festive and slightly abstract Christmas tree manicure. And, as her handiwork shows, it is! Laura started with two coats of Deborah Lippmann’s cult glitter favourite, “Happy Birthday,” putting most of the glitter at the bottom of the nail and dragging up to the top. Once dry, she used a bright green Orly polish to draw a triangle at the tip of each nail. Something about this design is very A Charlie Brown Christmas, no?
Polish used:
Deborah Lippmann “Happy Birthday” ($18, lippmanncollection.com)
Orly “Green With Envy” ($9, nailpolishcanada.com)
Manicure by: Paige Dzenis, associate online editor
When it comes down to it, you can’t do a holiday manicure roundup without something in the traditional red and green. This design takes inspiration from Christmas holly—the curved shape at the moon was my attempt to evoke the rounded edges of holly leaves. When applying the dark-green polish, I painted a half oval up the side of each nail, leaving the moon bare and almost scalloping the edges. I recommend using a trusted, thin polish brush for this design: the fatter the brush the harder it becomes to maneuver. The red holly berries were applied with a dotting tool. (You can buy one at a beauty supply store, such as Sally Beauty, or make your own by dipping a bamboo stick into polish and letting a little ball form and dry at the end.) I gave the middle berry an extra bit of holiday cheer with a dot of red glitter. Merry, merry!
Polish used:
Joe Fresh “Hunter” ($4, joefresh.com)
Gosh Nail Lacquer “Crispy Coral” ($7 at Shoppers Drug Mart, available February 2012)
Milani Nail Lacquer “Ruby Jewels” ($5 at drug stores)){kind=link}