In the middle fashion week, the kids at Fashion Indie set up a Blogger Breakroom full of plenty of fun stuff, including a full on beauty salon with eyebrow waxing, massages, and manicures provided by Spa Martier. There were a lot of manicure stations installed around fashion week this season, but how many of them were offering Japanese nail art and gels? Novelty manicures have had a recent spike in popularity, and while airbrushed acrylic dragon talons have always been popular amongst a certain beauty-school dropout set, they've only recently evolved into something more widely acceptable. Not to say that they've broken from their tacky roots, but rather than being ghetto fabulous, the designs are more fun, silly, and smile inducing. You probably won't be winning any "chic points" for having 3D donuts popping off every fingernail (see example below), but having a ridiculous manicure will bring untold amounts of personal joy, as well as the cooing attention of some very strange strangers.
I went for a multicolored reverse-french manicure using gels, with a few 3D flowers and rhinestones. I have been hearing about gels for the last few months, and was thrilled to finally try them. They've held out miraculously well, and after a week and a half, have shown no signs of wear or chipping. They're supposed to last three to six weeks, and I expect to have some nice long nails when I remove them. Best yet, the incredible nail technicians were ridiculously fast, detail-oriented, and dedicated. If it didn't cost around $100, I would probably get it done every week. I'll just have to wait for a special occasion to go back to Spa Martier. I'm planning on getting some donuts, cupcakes, and pizza slices next.
-Tiffany