Merry Macaron Manis: Start Your Own Nail Art Trend this Holiday Season with Pretty Pastry Party Polishes

Photo by Nurit Gazit

Move aside cupcakes, there's a new sheriff in town. Macaron mania has swept the country--and just in time for the holidays. Call it confection heaven!

Think of these pretty pastries as a somersault for your senses. A generous amount of ganache, buttercream or jam layered between two meringue-based almond biscuits sends your taste buds into a tizzy. Even better, these decadent dessert sandwiches come in several colorful creations--mint, pistachio, coffee, lemon, raspberry, coconut and chocolate.

The festive flavors inspired us to present playful party polishes for one-of-a-kind Merry Macaron Manis. Winter whites, noteworthy neons, mighty mochas and pretty pastels come together to make bold style statements. Alternate the shades on each digit, create a polka dot accent nail, or paint eye-popping half moons or French tips. 

This is the best time of the year to be a beautynista. So have yourself a holly, jolly mani season!

Photo by Louise Docker

SHINE: Color Club Professional Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Twiggie (retro green), Warhol (neon pink) and Almost Famous (bright yellow). BEACON: Free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Vegan and no animal testing.

Photo by Louise Docker

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Cotton Candy (bright pink cream), Broadway Beige (medium tone taupe cream) and Pea Pod (light yellowish green semi sheer shimmer). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Photo by Keven Law

SHINE: Color Club Professional Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Age of Aquarius (turquoise), Blushing Rose (pink), Almost Famous (bright yellow) and Killer Curves (daring brown). BEACON: Free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Vegan and no animal testing.

Photo by Nurit Gazit


SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Strawberry Macaron (light pink cream), White Lightning (white cream) and Sahara (bright yellow cream). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Halloween Nail Art: To-Die-For Day of the Dead Digits

Photo by Cody Garcia

Make no bones about it! Gravity star Sandra Bullock recently got into the Halloween spirit with an otherworldy outfit. She and her 3-year-old son Louis wore matching macabre skeleton costumes to his school party. Bullock also completely covered her face with Day of the Dead makeup using white paint accented by black eyes, nose, lips and cheek stitches, and a red flower chin and petal socket eyes. 

Sandra Bullock: Superstar sugar skull look.

This type of face paint honors a holiday celebration in Central and South America called Day of the Dead. Dia de los Muertos, as it's known, takes place on November 1 and 2, and actually brings about joyful rather scary feelings. The tradition remembers deceased friends and family members with special altars that have been lovingly adorned with edible sugar skulls, flowers and other gifts that the departed enjoyed during their lifetime.

Sugar skulls inspire festive nail art designs in a scary good way. Whimsical elements that can be applied with polish include petal socket eyes, cobwebs, stitches and flowers. So, in honor of Halloween and Day of the Dead, my niece, Natalie J. Wilson, and I created several easy patterns using glue-on thumb nails as our canvas. They're drop-dead gorgeous!

Please feel free to share your own Halloween or Day of the Dead nail art ideas. We'd love to hear about them!  

SIMPLIFIED SUGAR SKULL

Nail art by Natalie J. Wilson

SHINE: Karma Organic Nail Polish San Gennaro in September (red), Velvet Night (purple) and Cobblestone Matte (gray). BEAUTY: Start with two coats of gray polish. Then, using purple lacquer, paint two large eye sockets, a triangle nose and a mouth with a long, straight line and several small vertical stitches. Use the tip of your brush or a nail art dotting tool to finish the skull with red flower-like petals around the eyes. BEACON: No animal testing. Free of toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate. 

STYLISH STITCHES

Nail art by Natalie J. Wilson

SHINE: Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish Green Peace (bright to dark green), Summer Love (bright to burnt orange) and Horizon (bright to deep red). BEAUTY: Sugar skull art often features flowers, stitches and geometric shapes. To create a sophisticated stitch-'em-up look, apply two coats of orange polish. Next, paint two layers of green lacquer over the upper half of your nail bed. Where the two colors meet, draw a red line across the entire nail. After it dries, paint small uneven vertical stitches to complete the look. BEACON: Vegan and no animal testing. Supports GLAAD, Autism Speaks and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

CLASSIC COBWEB

Nail art by Rhonda J. Wilson

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer Portia's Wit (white), Midnight Express (black) and Oh My! (bright orange). BEAUTY: A spider web design playfully presents a gothic graphic look on a sugar skull--and your nails. Start with two coats of white polish, and then paint fan-shaped straight black lines from the bottom of the nail to the top. To complete the cobweb-like effect, draw arches in between the lines to connect them. Finish by painting orange polish over some of the black lines to create more depth. BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

FESTIVE FLOWER

Nail art by Natalie J. Wilson

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer Morning Dew (bright green), Oh My! (bright orange), Rapid Red (crimson), Midnight Express (black) and Strawberry Macaron (pink). BEAUTY: Sugar skulls often get crowned with paper or fresh flowers, such as gladiolas. To recreate one, layer two coats of pink polish over the entire nail. Next, use a nail art brush or the edge of the polish brush to draw a large star-like outline with four pointed corners in black lacquer. Then, begin coloring in the look with green leaves and orange petal polish. Complete the flower by placing a large red dot in the center. BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Photo by Shabnam Mogharabi

My Halloween version of Day of the Dead.

Easter Basket Nail Colors: Transform Your Tips with A Mani Makeover

Shades of spring: Celebrate the season with SpaRitual Love Is In the Air Creme (thumb), Delight Creme (index finger), Lucid Creme (middle finger), Idyllic (ring finger) and Eye of the Beholder Creme (pinky).

Are you in the mood for a makeover? Spring is a great time of the year to do it--whether it's in your personal or professional life. People seem more open to renewal due to the change in weather, blossoming flowers, and the celebrations of Easter and Passover.

Many of you will be attending sunrise services this Sunday for Easter. You'll also be spending more time with your families and friends. So, in honor of this special season, we'd like to present several transformative nail colors that will revitalize your look and soul. They're ideal for a mani makeover. 

May your Easter basket overflow with these lively lacquers.

 SHINE: Butter London Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Teddy Girl (pink), Bossy Boots (pale green), Cheeky Chops (yellow), Cream Tea (white) and Squatter (bright green). BEACON: Formulated without formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate or parabens.

 SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Dawning Desire (purple), Pea Pod (green), Citrus Streak (orange), Girlishy Giddy (soft pink) and Morning Sky (blue). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

SHINE: Essie Nail Polish. BEAUTY: Flawless (mauve), Mint Candy Apple (creamy green), Lilacism (pastel purple), Better Together (soft pink) and Borrowed & Blue (baby blue). BEACON: Free of dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde.

SHINE: LCN USA Nail Polish. BEAUTY: I Love Mint (soft green), Vintage Rose (pinky orange), Soft Daisy (light yellow) and Lilac Blossom (pastel purple). BEACON: Contains no formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate or toluene.

SHINE: SpaRitual Lacquer. BEAUTY: Eye of the Beholder Creme (pear green), Idyllic (sheer pink), Delight Creme (creamy aqua), Love Is In the Air Creme (soft bubble gum pink) and Lucid Creme (lilac blue). BEACON: Vegan, and free of synthetic dyes, dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde.

SHINE: Zoya Nail Polish. BEAUTY: GeiGei (pink metallic), Piaf (yellow metallic), Blu (baby blue), Neely (creamy green) and Julie (soft purple metallic). BEACON: No animal testing. Contains no toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin or dibutyl phthalate.

Halloween Nails: Candy Corn-Colored Polishes

Boo!-hoo... Too bad Halloween only comes once each year. Be that as it may, we're gonna supersize our sweet tooth craving with one of the most iconic treats of the annual celebration--candy corn. This classic confection not only screams Halloween, but also bursts with bold colors of the season (pumpkin orange, leaf changing yellow and ghostly white). 

Candy corn serves as a drop-dead template for a scary good mani. The devil's in the details, so begin with a base coat and two layers of yellow polish. Next, apply two coats of orange lacquer over two-thirds of the nail starting from slightly lower than mid-range to the top. Then, layer two coats of white polish on the tip of the nail. Finish with a top coat.

No matter "witch" polish you select, the following lacquers make your nails look more delightful than frightful. They may not raise the spirits, but they're guaranteed to lift yours. 

Happy Halloween Eve!

SHINE: Butter London. BEAUTY: Cream Tea (white), Cheeky Chops (yellow) and Jaffa (orange). BEACON: Free of formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and parabens.

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Sheer Elegance (almond), Frozen Lemonade (pale yellow) and Orange Sorbet (orange). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose.

SHINE: Milani Nail Lacquer High Speed Fast Dry and NEON (right). BEAUTY: White on the Spot (white), Yellow Whiz (yellow) and Awesome Orange (orange). BEACON: Free of dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde. 

SHINE: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color (middle) and Complete Salon Manicure. BEAUTY: 120 Polar Bare (white), 360 Mellow Yellow and 560 Kook-A-Mango (orange). BEACON: Contains no dibutyl phthalate, toluene or formaldehyde.

SHINE: Zoya Nail Polish. BEAUTY: Christinna (white), Pippa (yellow) and Pia (orange). BEACON: No animal testing. Free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate.