On , why not express love on your fingernails? Julie Kandalec, celebrity manicurist to the likes of Jessica Chastain, Mariah Carey ad Emily Blunt, notes some fun new trends.
鈥淵ou can do it for yourself. You can do it for Valentine鈥檚 Day. You can do it for your partner,鈥� she says.
Traditionally, Valentine鈥檚 nails would have been simple, she says: 鈥渁 solid red nail or a cute little simple pink heart or a French manicure.鈥� Now, thanks to social media, there are lots of ideas.
Kandalec鈥檚 top five nail trends for Valentine's Day:
COQUETTE OR KAWAII NAILS
Kandalec says she's obsessed with this one. An overload of cuteness, this maximalist manicure uses pastel pinks and lilacs loaded with dangly charms, hearts, flowers, bows, stickers, gems, pearls and all manner of appliques. Coquette nails were a trend over a decade ago, she says, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 been long enough that we鈥檙e bringing it back new. We would call it kawaii nails, which (means) 鈥榗ute鈥� in Japanese, so I love that it鈥檚 coming back.鈥�
FRENCH MANICURE / SQUARE NAILS
Square shaped nails are back in style after a long absence, Kandalec says. But this time round, the trend is for a square French style. Nails are squared off along the top and given a French manicure 鈥� a natural-colored nail with a white tip. She also notes that French nails are being paired with the 鈥渕ob wife look鈥� as a whole new trend.
鈥楳OB WIFE鈥�
This makeup and, of course, on nails draws inspiration from mafia wives both real and fictional, from Carmela Soprano to Karen Hill. These nails are extra long, extra square, extra pointed, with extra white French tips. No milky white subtle tips seen here. It's over the top and garish, with animal prints and 3D patterns popular, as well as glitter embellishments or a classic red.
Kandalec points out that the that started last fall and continues, and this can be combined with the mob trend.
MAGNETIC HEARTS
These are huge on Instagram and TikTok 鈥� Kandalec calls them 鈥�3D puffy hearts.鈥� The effect is achieved with a magnet held to wet gel polish that contains magnetic particles. 鈥淲hat you do is you hold it kind of perpendicular to the nail. And then it flips the magnetic particles and it gives it this really cool 3D look. Some people call it velvet nails. They call it cat-eye nails. They call it magnetic nails..鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really fun and kind of goes along with the kawaii, the coquette nails as well, and also jelly nails, which is what I have on right now," she says.
JELLY NAILS
Often described as lip gloss for nails. They're "a really sheer type of polish. It can be any color. It鈥檚 basically the color mixed with clear, or it鈥檚 already made that it鈥檚 very, very sheer. So it鈥檚 kind of like a wash of color. It鈥檚 a very big trend in Korea right now,鈥� she says. And the trend "is to have kind of a sheer base at the cuticle, so that there鈥檚 not that harsh line of color.鈥�
If none of the above trends appeal, maybe you can just give a little dedication to a special someone by adding their name or initials to the design.
"Or even if you鈥檙e single," says Kandaliec, "you can manifest someone by putting, you know, a little pink heart or a little something to kind of draw that person to you.鈥�
Louise Dixon, The Associated Press
