The beauty look at Desigual, with nails by Keri Blair. Photo / Supplied.
The beauty look at Desigual, with nails by Keri Blair. Photo / Supplied.
Beauty’s latest obsession is to think of your hands as jewels, not tools, reports Janetta Mackay.
Nails are a great conversation starter, says expert artist Keri Blair. The chatty American, responsible for some of the most striking nail looks seen at New York Fashion Week, could clearly talk all day about her passion for transforming tips.
"My dichotomy is nails as an accessory versus nails as detail," she says.
Personally, she prefers to wear a stand-out nail look, rather than one that blends in. Professionally, this senior M.A.C makeup artist turned nail specialist is delighted that the backstage beauty spotlight has shone on her craft in recent seasons. Nails are no longer a toned-in afterthought to a designer's collection, but a strong statement in their own right, garnering as much attention as hairstyles and lipstick colours from fashion and beauty media.
For last season's Ohne Titel show, Blair spent about 50 hours crafting 400 individual pre-made metallic tape nail tips to apply to models wearing nude, bold or black polish. The metallic trend is still shining, she says, with foiled gold picking up on effects used in makeup and seen in fabrics. At Desigual, she chose gold leaf.
Other fashion favourite shades for nails are oxbloods, wine and blackened reds, colours with something of a glam-grunge mood. For New York-based New Zealand designer Rebecca Taylor, Blair used these colours to create an ombre effect.
Even in shows where nails are kept more muted, they can be given an edge, through the use of texture or tone. The new neutrals verge from taupe or greyish, to what Blair calls "rock 'n' roll nudes".
Keri Blair looks on nails as a fashion accessory. Photo / Supplied.
Contrasting a matte polish with a shiny tip is, she says, an evolution of a classic French manicure. This classic look will never disappear altogether - although even brides are branching out - because it takes a skill that is appreciated by discerning women. The French has been reinvented in recent years, however, including with refined use of colour contrast at Chanel. Try bold combinations such as black and red or pink and orange, a mix of shine and matte polishes or the highlighting of moons rather than nail tips.
Blair says she is more about the art of nails than nail art, but for photography shoots she has bedecked them with everything from candies to broken glass and pins. She prefers polish to working with acrylics and gels because it is easier to change a look and better for nail health. M.A.C's Transformations, a series of top coats that add iridescence or texture, are, she says, a great way to get more mileage from existing polishes. "They're like changing the F-stop on your camera."
The collection includes liquid pigments in gold, blue and green tints and a leather topcoat which gives a pebbly finish. The focus on texture and embellishment will become more pronounced, she predicts.
Blair puts her love of nails down to the example of her mother, who visited the same manicurist for 17 years. She had her first nail art manicure at age 10. The nail art phenomenon has spread globally from America and is "huge" in Japan. It is an easy way for women to express some individuality, as is choice of colour. "It's become an affordable luxury, in a salon or at home."
Polish can last five or more days on properly prepared nails, she says. "Nail lengths have a chipping point, so shorter is better." Nails should be cared for as much as the face, benefiting from regular filing with an emery board and use of hand cream and cuticle oil. "Think of your hands as jewels, not tools."
The nail look by Keri Blair at Ohne titel. Photo / Supplied.
Celebrities are a big influence on what women ask for and manicams are now a feature at the Golden Globes. Blair cites Jennifer Lopez, Zooey Deschanel, Beyonce, Katy Perry and Rihanna as influential.
As well as setting trends, Blair follows the work of others on Instagram, including Aucklander Leah Light, whom she learned about through makeup world chat.
In working with celebrities, Blair says she applies the same approach as she does with anyone, trying to pick up on an aspect of their personality to highlight. "You have to look at who they are as a person, are they someone who is going to want to make a statement with their hands, or are they someone who is a little more subdued, a little more refined in their approach.
"I worked with [rapper] Lil Kim recently and in my mind I was thinking maybe she would want these crazy blinged-out nails. I took everything but the kitchen sink to her hotel room and she said 'I really want a beautiful nude that is going to bounce off my hands'.
"I was like, 'oh okay', and it worked with her outfit, it really came together beautifully."
Blair says many women have strong instincts about what suits their hands, because they see them more often than they look at their own faces. "You look at your nails when you are driving, when you are working."
If women are timid, she suggests: "Toes are a fun place to play, there is more playfulness in a pedicure."
At New Zealand Fashion Week many designers opted for nude or taupe nails, but a few got creative, including at Hailwood (top right) where OPI nail technician Cheryl Cooke worked three colours together. She combined the metallic grey-blue OPI shade I Don't Give a Rotterdam, with gold-beige DS Classic and shiny Black Onyx.
At Coop, the look was designed by M.A.C senior artist for Oceania, Nicole Thompson, who chose to go a bit dotty on nails coloured pink with M.A.C Saint Germain Studio Nail Lacquer. She used an eyeliner brush to apply circles of black in Nocturnelle and did a feature nail in gold glitter Soiree.
At Trelise Cooper's main show, Thompson again helmed makeup and offset a sparkling eye with a matte navy nail, lifted with silver applied in the inner crescent of the nail bed, like an upside down French manicure. She used M.A.C Spirit of Truth as her main shade, with Texturize Studio Nail Lacquer to turn it matte and then Discotheque for the shiny moon.
SUNNY SHADES
Leading local nail artist Amber McIver of Verdo Nails in Parnell says with the change of season customers are starting to request brighter shades. Year round, the weather is a big psychological influence on colour. "Even if it's cold outside, but sunny, clients will pick hot pinks and corals, while if it's raining, the darks such as warm chocolates come out.
Nail art is still in fashion, but McIver says many fans are tending back to plain colours with just a feature nail of glitter. This week she moves her boutique salon into bigger premises at 245 Parnell Rd, adding other beauty services to the menu. verdohairandmakeup.co.nz.
