How to: Match Your Manicure to Your Heels – Like Jessica Biel!

Mon, 6 August 2012 5:21PM

If there’s one thing we’ve been noting of late about Jessica Biel, it’s her fabulous fringe. But in this case, pushing fringes to the side (as, uh, Jess has done here), we’re zoning in on her metallic-tipped mani at the premiere of Total Recall:

and here’s a close up of her nails …

So as you can see, she’s opted for a solid pastel pinky beige shade for her base and then either painted or used a stick-on nail strip for the semi-circular metallic tips. However, if you are feeling a little on the crafty side, which I always am, you can use the Sally Hansen Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pen in Silver Chrome, $16.95, from Priceline. It’s a similar concept to the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen that I used last week for the Australian flag manicure, except it has a soft, bushy brush to create a really precise stroke of polish. With the pen facing downwards and towards the base of your nail, place the tip of the brush at the highest part of the semi-circle, and press down so the bristles fan outwards, essentially creating the shape for you. Too easy!

But here’s where it gets interesting. If you look closer at Jessica’s nails, and her full-length shot in general, you can see that she’s actually coordinated her nails to her Louis Vuitton metallic toe-cap heels, direct from the S/S ’12 catwalk. See? So chic. So seriously on trend.

So it got me to thinking about where we draw our inspiration from when it comes to our makeup, our hair, and in this case, our nails. For my pretty pink-purple and sky blue marble nail art it was the Zimmermann MBFWA ’12 runway show. For my Australian flag it was – obviously – the Australian flag, except because I wasn’t going to paint the whole flag on one nail, I designed the Southern Cross and its stars to sprinkle across the rest of my nails.

Today, I’m going to make like Jessica and coordinate it to a pair of heels I have on my radar. Or maybe not these heels necessarily, since they’d blow out my summer clothing budget. But since neon and colour-blocking seem to be hanging around for yet another season, it’s high time I get myself a pair of shoes with a fluorescent accent. Coincidentally, Jessica Biel actually wore these heels to the ESPY Awards.

Nicholas Kirkwood Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

So I’m sure you have probably guessed, but I’m not going to paint the shoe on my nail. Instead, I’m picking up on the key colours – in this case a medium sandy grey and neon yellow, and work a way to reflect it on my nails. Here’s how it went down …

Step 1:

Paint a thin coat of base coat.

Step 2:

Once your base coat is dry, paint two coats of Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel in Bare Bones, $16.95, from pharmacies.

Step 3:

Then, using a small, thin-bristled paintbrush or craft brush (I got mine from a craft store for under $2) dip it into your chosen nail colour and paint the finest of lines up one side of your nail, then across the tip, down the other side, and across the base. It looks as though you are creating an outline of your polish. I used Bloom sass and bide II Nail Polish in $19.95, from Bloom Cosmetics. My number one tip is to not paint the line too thickly, or re-trace the colour, as the line will eventually build up to be too wide.

Step 4:

Repeat on your other nails, finishing with a glossy top coat. I love Nails Inc Kensington Caviar, $18.95.

Voilà!

What do you think Primpettes?

Have you got a pair of heels that you would match your nails to?

Or are there any you have your eye on?

Hayley x

Posted by: Hayley Bennett

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Tags: bloom cosmetics, diy, how to, jessica biel, manicure, nails, nails inc, neon, neon nails, revlon, total recall