BANGKOK FABULOUS – Nail art is huge right now. Which is great if you’re the kind of person who likes to spend hours and hours on some of the teeniest tiniest parts of your entire body. Back in the days when I had nothing else to do with my time but go to school and watch Home and Away, I used to love spending hours with six pots of varnish and a few cocktail sticks, creating mini masterpieces on my nails which would inevitably look a bit crap and then peel off in a couple of days.
I have to say, I don’t miss those days. However, I am glad that the French manicure (shudder) is no longer the height of chic.
For low-maintenance (read: lazy) girls like me, nail art is bad news. Okay, so nobody does their own nails anymore (it’s far too much fun feeling like a princess when you lie back and have minions, ahem, beauty therapists, do them for you) but, let’s face it, after the initial guilty pleasure of having people kneel at your hands and feet has worn off, it’s REALLY dull. You can’t even read a magazine for fear of smudging. And nail art takes even longer than a regular manicure! Arghghgh!
We can blame the likes of Adele, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Zooey Deschanel and Olympians like US tennis player Venus Williams, British cyclist Victoria Pendleton, and British swimmer Rebecca Adlington – who sported nails decorated with their national flags – for the increase in your salon bill and the amount of time you have to sit on your bum breathing in polish fumes. Thanks a lot, ladies.
So, if you must continue the trend, what should you have done? Let’s put this bluntly: Nail art can look fun and playful, or it can make you look utterly trashy. If you prefer the former look, ignore all the styles demonstrated on that scary looking board of false nails every salon seems to have propped up in their window. These designs often include elaborate flowers, clashing colors, and an awful lot of glitter. Err on the side of caution and go for something pretty instead. If Bangkok Fabulous wasn’t so morally against nail art (we’re too BUSY for this trend), we would suggest opting for a subtle streak of glitter on the tip of a painted nail, or some spray-painted graffiti-esque nails, or mixing it up with a combination of nail art and plain-painted nails. Our favorite nail art look was Katy Perry’s twist on the French manicure, with a blue strip replacing the white.
If you’re feeling really adventurous, and your bank balance will allow you to fork out thousands of baht for something that lasts mere weeks, then you might want to try the pointy-nailed look Fergie and Lady Gaga have championed. Sure, it will frighten the boys but guuuuurl, it looks fierce.
For some of the most experimental and fun nail designs in the city head to In the Garden Nail Spa, Ekamai So 10.
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Bangkok Fabulous: Where Gaby Doman explores fashion and beauty in the Big Mango. If it’s hot, it’s here. And it’s hot in here.
