This season black, almost black and burgundy nails replaced the spring/summer 2018 neon shades. The modern French mani is still trending but this time tips are hot pink, gold, orange and lime rather than blue and silver. While the nude trend continued there was also the rise of the neutral nail with colours such as grey, taupe and khaki. Metallic nails never go out of style and Christian Siriano went for a red and gold look and Civindi a metallic geranium green. Naeem Khan was actually inspired by the shell of a Peruvian beetle and created a holographic blue and green nail. The silver and black glitter tips at Cushnie De Oches looked fun and sophisticated while the neon ombre glitter nails at Creature of Comfort added colour and bling. Creature of Comfort also painted model's nails black with jumbo gems very reminiscent of last season's nails at Philip Plein. Pale nails at Sophia Webster looked delicate and glamourous with a gold lace gem detail and at Bibhu Mohapatra gems were placed below each nail.
Neon leopard print at Jeremy Scott made a classic print fun and contemporary while Gypsy Sport went for zebra print and hound-tooth pattern sticking to a monochrome palette. Statement nails were on fire at The Blonds with nails representing different stages of the power of Lucifer with spikes and gems. Sophia Webster was inspired by the film Strictly Ballroom and made sure nails had some bling. Never one to shy away from statement nails Libertine had ginormous tassels extending from each nail.
For the shiny, black nail polish seen at Alice and Olivia nail artists used Essie Nail polish in Licorice (£7.99) with a layer of Essie Speed Setter Top Coat (£6.90) to add shine. The trend continued at Self portrait where nails were painted a deep blue-black colour using Essie in Midnight Cami (£7.99.)
2. Burgundy and Dark Red Nails
Dark nails were a big theme in the Autumn/Winter 2018 shows but this time they were in burgundy and dark red hues. Temperly's autumn 2018 collection was inspired by the 1930s and 1940s and used Orly Nail Polish in Ruby (£9.95) to match the period. At Prabul Gurang burgundy nails were given a glossy top coat.
Marc Jacobs showcased his jewel colored nails on the runway - specifically his deep purple, red and green metallic nail polishes which coordinated with the model's eye makeup and the brims of the hats they were wearing. The red and gold nails worn at Christian Siriano were part of his limited edition imPRESS nail manicure collection (now discontinued.) Nails at Naem Khan was inspired by the blue-green shell of a Peruvian insect and he used imPRESS Special Effect Gel Manicure in Goal Digger (now discontinued.)
At Tanya Taylor two coats of Essie No Place Like Home (£11.47) was applied and the tips were painted with Essie Tart Deco. Finally speed Setter Top coat was applied for a quick drying shine. Over at Cinvidi models wore vegan nail polish by Faby in Glittering Chlorophyll a metallic olive shade to match their eye liner (13 Euros.)
4 Alternative French Tip Nails
Roberta Einer was inspired by 80's french manicures but with a colourful neon twist. Nail artists used Artistic Colour Revolution nail polishes in Bubblegum Pink (£3.23) Shred it Up (£6.99) and Sultry (£8.99.) Over at Tanya Taylor Essie nail artist Julie Kandalee took inspiration from the two-toned shoes in the collection and deliberately chose an unusual colour pairing. Nails were painted with two coats of Essie's Burgandy Bahama Mama (£7.99). Afterwards she used a stiff skinny eyeliner brush dipped in acetone to remove the polish at the tip and added a layer of Essie Speed Setter Top Coat. (£7.) Once dry the tip was painted with two coats of Essie Chillato Lime Green nail polish. (£7.99.) Over at Alice McCall models wore natural or naked nails with gold tips.
Cushnie Et Och showed everyone that glitter can still be sophisticated. Nails were painted with two coats of Essie Skinny Dip- a sheer pink (£9.95) followed by glitter with Essie's Summit of Style (£6.99.) Over at Preen nails were covered in chunky glitter using Rimmel Love Glitter Nail polish (£10.95 for 5 nail polishes.) To recreate the glitter ombre nails seen at Creatures of Comfort you need to apply a base coat and then use glitter polishes or pour a mix of fine glitter across each nail changing the colours as you do so.
6. Nude Nails and the new Neutral Nails
All the models at Mouret wore Kure Bazaar in Nude nail polish (£17.50) along with CND Solar Oil (£9.45) to protect and nourish the nails. As well as traditional nude nails, a lot of neutral nails in earthy tones were seen across the catwalks. At Emilio De La Morena models wore IZ Beauty's Gel Effect Nail Lacquer in Earthy Brown (£6) followed by iZ Gel Top Coat (£10.50.) A similar hue in a lighter shade was spotted at Eudon Choi and at Prabal Gurung models wore Zoya nail polish in Dove (£9.95.)
7. Gem Nails
In a similar vein to nails seen at Philip Plein's SS18 show, models at Creatures of Comfort wore shiny black nail polish with large gems. To prepare the nails Deborah Lippmann used Marshmallow Whipped Hand and Cuticle scrub (£25.) Then she painted two coats of Deborah Lippmann Fade To Black Vinyl Polish ($20) and large Swarovski crystals were placed on each nail. Sophia Webster wanted to make nail polish look like expensive jewellery so nails were embellished nails with gold flower and lace gems.
At Bibhu Mohapatra gems were glued below the nail to complement the negative space manicure in white Zoya Aspen nail polish (£9.95) or in red Zoya Tanwny nail polish.
8. Patterned Nails
The neon leopard print nails at Jeremy Scott was created by nail artist Miss Pop. She used Essie's hot pink Bachelorette Bash (pictured) Tarte Deco (Coral) or Playdate (violet.) all £7.99. She drew macaroni shapes and single dots to get the leopard print effect. To recreate the look paint nail extensions using a nail art tool kit. At Chromat models nails were painted in a red and black checkerboard pattern or in white with red wavy lines. Models at Gypsy sport went for white and black stripes and a hounds-tooth pattern.
9. Statement Nails
You can always count on The Blonds for a dramatic nail. Their AW18 nails revolved around the story of Lucifer becoming a powerful female and her journey from the darkness into light. Each nail design represented a different stage through her journey. At the beginning you see her "burning in the fire, finding the melted, molten marble, protecting herself with armor and finding her spikes and her crystals,” said Jan from CND Nails. “You then see the weapons emerge (on the nails) and from there, there is a transformation that leads us to heaven—where angels are ascending and finding their power and taking over the darkness and evil with wonderful goodness.”
Beginning with pink and gold ombre nails with black tips, the nails transform into pink, grey and white marble as if the ombre had melted. The next stage sees red nails with black armour with lots of crystals and spikes. The nail becomes more elaborate with gold dotted trim outlining the nail shape, then the silver spikes get bigger forming big silver spiked weapons. Nail artists used shellac top coat to create a sticky base for the clothing spikes to adhere to. Then comes the ascension with blue and gold frescoes of angels.
Armour begins to form again first white and then blue and gold with spikes. However the amour is there to protect the nail instead of being a weapon. The nails forms volcanic crystals until they evolve into red and gold crocodile nails. You can see a video of the stages of the journey at Nail Pro.
Sophia Webster's autumn winter 2018 collection was inspired by her favourite film Strictly Ballroom. “The collection and the show theme this season is very close to my heart as I grew up with competitive dancing,” reveals Sophia. “Dance costumes have to be made in striking colour combinations, sequins and crystals to attract the attention of the judges and I loved bringing this to life in AW18.” Another show stopper was the extremely long fringing extending from gem studded nails at Libertine.
