Who knew: Nails

Say goodbye to french tips there's a lot of newness when it comes to nails. There's nothing like a fresh manicure and pedicure. I'm pretty basic with my nails, I keep them short and stay away from acrylics, gels, and overlays. I do play around with color but that is about as far as I'll go. In my glory High School days I had LONG acrylic nails and the craziest airbrushed design, nowadays I'm not even sure if Airbrushing even exists. But lately I've been bored and have been playing around with color and researching different nail trends. I found the most insane things going on with nails and really felt out of the loop.

Lets start with the most basic: Matte color. Basically Matte polishes come in a variety of colors but do not have the shine that we are used to with polishes. OPI has released six of their popular shades in Matte form.

My favorite fashionista Kim Kardashian had a fab spin on the trend and used a black Matte color but did the tips in a regular black shiny polish. I absolutely love this and as soon as I land my hands on a black Matte polish I'm definitely copying this one.

The next hot new nail trend is Minx. Minx is a solid nail coating that is applied to the nail using heat. Basically you can pick any design you want, or stick with the metallics that Beyonce and Lady Gaga have sported, a sticker like piece is heated and then put on your nail. Prices range from $45 for a manicure to $85 for a pedicure. I've heard many mixed reviews on the quality and the amount of time these last. A manicure should last for two weeks and a pedicure a month but some have complained that the stickers start peeling on the nails in about a week. For the price a regular manicure would last about the same amount of time. There are a few salons offering this in Philadelphia:

Signatures Salon & Day Spa
Marybeth Cross
4084 Higbee Street
Philadelphia, PA 19135
215-831-8477

Elite Nailz
Chenell Ellis

Island Nails and Cosmetic Tattoo
7619 Torresdale Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19136
215-331-7654

And last but certainly not least is the newest nail trend that has been brought to my attention thru many fashion blogs and the Marie Claire's September issue with an article on nail trends (which BTW I tore out every nail picture for inspiration). The Calgel is a long lasting, layered gel manicure. "Calgel won't lift, peel, chip, go rubbery or damage your own nails with harsh acrylics or drills. Calgel doesn't interfere with nailbed metabolism which is why it can actually strengthen your own nails giving you the nails you always dreamed about. Calgel can be used on tips or as a natural nail overlay, and is available in over 80 colors, so the days of smudging, chipping and peeling nail polish are over!" The Calgel manicure should last anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. If you opt for a clear color near the base of your nail this will make your manicure last longer because the new nail growth will not be as noticeable. The cost for a full set is $50 and the only negative things that I've heard about Calgel is that it is not easy to remove if your doing it yourself but that goes for any gel or acrylic nail. After researching this I cannot find a salon that offers this in the Philadelphia area yet but if you know of any places, let me know!