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Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Creative Nail Design at The Blonds- Claws, Crystals, and more - NYFW Fall 2010
Of all the shows I saw during Fashion Week, the one I knew would be the most eye-catching and memorable was the one at the Altman Building for The Blonds. In some shows, you might not notice the nails so much, but in a runway show where "Jungle Goddess" is the theme and theatrics are what bring out fans and celebrities alike, nails, really matter.
Creative Nail Design nail techs made custom nails for The Blonds, and these had a big part in creating amazing looks on the runway. I had a chance to visit backstage at The Blonds, and get the scoop on the nail looks. Kristina Estabrooks was the lead for this show (see and hear her describe the looks in detail on my video further down in this post)
Unlike many runway shows where the girls all get the same nail treatment, there were many different sets of nail looks for The Blonds. Although Creative Nail Design used press-on nails, many of the looks were created on site at the Altman Building. And, as you'll hear Kristina say on the video (below), when it comes to The Blonds, there are often last minute changes (for this show, girly pink nails were added at the last minute, just for starters).
Creative Nail Design crafted all the nails on press-on bases, using a lot of Red (Scarlet Letter polish) and Black Jack (black polish). But they also used some unique items to make the looks, pop! You might not be able to re-create these complicated looks at home, but you can "get the look" by adding decorations to your nails while the polish is wet such as sugar crystals, coffee grounds, or crystals (and then cover or seal the look with a top coat such as CNDs Super Shine-E)
For The Blonds, we were treated to nails with red pave crystals and crushed glass, nails with sequins, nails with swirls of silver and gold chrome polish over or under another polish. There were also bona-fide "talons" (polished with CND's Brilliant White polish, applied at the last moments before the model walked the runway). For Philippe Blond, there was one special set of white nails encrusted with all pave crystals...but that's not all!
Two sets of nails were done by Anna Nelson, winner of Creative Nail Design's Art Nail Contest Winner. Her prize was a trip to Fashion Week, and I also met her backstage at the Twinkle show. Nelson was part of the CND team at The Blonds, as well. Her nails were created by swirling metallic polish on or over another layer of wet nail polish, to create one of a kind designs on the nails.
I had planned to talk to Creative Nail Design's Jan Arnold, but I missed her. However, I did get a chance to get Creative Nail Design's Kristina Estabrooks to explain the nail look a bit more on the (unedited) video, below. I hope you like it!
Creative Nail Design's Christina Estabrooks details the nails, for The Blonds Fall 2010 runway show.
I use provided samples for most of my reviews. Learn more in the "A Note About Compensation" section of my What Works Beauty, Cosmetics and Fashion review column: http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html
Alison Blackman Dunham, aka. "Advice Sister Alison, " is a beauty, lifestyles and advice expert. "The Advice Sisters®" are credited with bringing the advice genre online more than 16 years ago. The Advice Sisters online publications include a web site, a blog, bulletin boards, and a by-subscription newsletter. Please visit the Advice Sisters Web Site as well as this blog, and check out our latest features!