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Fuzzy nails - are you fur-real?
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You may remember late last year that I told of great things to come in the nail market, one of which was textured polishes. Leather look nails, concrete finishes and studded denim effects are all down to nails inc’s genius creative team but it appears the other brands are keen not to be left behind and the start of 2013 is shaping up to be a race for the most radical and unique textures you can swipe onto talons at home.
My first case in point is MUA’s ‘fur’ manicure which I was invited to try out this week. Don’t panic animal lovers, it’s actually felt but I think you’ll agree with the marketeers when I say that fur sounds more luxe.
More of an add-on accessory than a polish per se, the concept isn’t rocket science. Picture the scene (or look at the pictures). Take one small plastic pot filled with finely milled felt, paint your nail with regular polish, roll said nail in the felt, then brush off any excess fluff with a tapered make-up brush. Job done.
In reality it’s not that different from ciate’s velvet manicure, except this only costs £1.99. And I did like the effect, especially keeping it just to the ring finger – a handful might have felt a bit mutton if I’m honest but that’s for others to experiment with.
The downside is that the lifespan of a fur mani is a short one. MUA did warn me that unlike polish, the lack of topcoat and 3D effect meant it wouldn’t last longer than a weekend and sure enough after 24 hours which included a hair wash and a stint playing human dishwasher at the sink, the tips were starting to go patchy. But this trend isn’t about longeivity, it’s about attention-grabbing nails.
Which is why along with fur comes Essie’s desire to create a mock croc manicure. Returning to the trend that became popular last year - magnetic polishes, while I’m not a massive magnetic polish advocate, I’m keen to try these when they launch in February (£9.99 each) as in usual Essie style, it looks like they’ve been done exquisitely well.
Called Repstyle the result is a metallic snakeskin-esque finish that comes from painting each nail and then holding the lid over the polish-covered nail. The mottled effect then appears before your very eyes. How? Because the polish contains tiny iron filings and it’s these that react to the magnet hidden in the lid. If you ever had ‘Wooly Willy’ as a youngster, you’ll know exactly how it works.
I don’t expect the trend will stop here either and I predict that right now brands like OPI and Jessica are scratching their heads in a bid to come up with the next covetable new texture. Until they appear though, these will keep me entertained for a little while longer.
