5 Hot Holiday Manicures

I love the holidays. I wait for the shimmer, the glitter, festive colors, and holiday lights all year. When it is finally time to "Deck the Halls", no place is too big, or too small for some Christmas cheer. Here is my list of hot holiday manicure trends that you can get at home.

Classic Red
Nothing says Christmas spirit quite like bright red. There is also a reason that most cosmetology board exams include the red manicure: it is not easy to get it perfect, but I can tell you how.

First, start with a base coat on clean, dry fingernails. Allow 1-2 minutes for the base coat to become tacky. This will give your color a surface to adhere to, prolonging the life of your manicure. There are so many shades of red on the market that it may be difficult to choose just one. My favorite is #852, Gogo Girl by Sinful Colors, (www.walgreens.com). Using only 3 continuous strokes per fingernail, start at the cuticle and paint towards the free edge. Allow time for the first coat of nail polish to dry before the application of subsequent coats. When the second coat of red fingernail polish is dry, apply a top coat and allow it to dry naturally as well. Once your entire manicure is dry, use a cotton swab or a polish remover pen to clean up any smudges. Variations of this manicure technique can be used for all of the following holiday manicure looks.

Holiday French Manicure
There are a lot of ways to go about getting a French manicure. It does not matter if you choose French white tips for acrylic nails, a French nail polish duo, or have your nail tips airbrushed at the salon. What makes a holiday French manicure stand out from the garden variety is the finishing touch. A simple way to dress up your French manicure is to apply a coat of clear shimmer polish, like Zoya Nail Lacquer in Angela, (www.fornaturalnails.com), before the application of your top coat. To add some bling to your French manicure, try some rhinestones like those available from Kiss (www.kissusa.com).

Metallic Manicure
There are very few occasions that we can pull off completely metallic fingernails. Lucky for us, Christmas happens to be one of them. I love a gold fingernail, and have recently fallen head-over-heels in love with Bring on the Bling by OPI, (available at Sally Beauty Supply). If gold is not your chosen shade for a metallic manicure, OPI has a complete line of metallics inspired by the movie "Burlesque". Just don't forget the top coat, metallics that contain glitter particles tend to fade faster than pure color enamels. These hot colors would also make amazing stocking stuffers, hint, hint!

Updated French Manicure
This one is easy! Instead of using French white for the tips, experiment with holiday colors. Silver, gold, and chrome work very well. If you are the daring type, try a asymmetrical slant on the tip of your nail using metallic reds and greens.

Holiday Nail Art
Some people may call it tacky, but isn't the entire season? When used sparingly, (pinkie nails only), tiny depictions of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, holiday lights, or even reindeer can add a whimsical touch to your holiday manicure.

The most important thing to remember is to be creative in your experimentation. Mistakes can be whisked away with a little nail polish remover.