While summer is the best season to experiment with eye-popping nail polish shades like orange and fluorescent yellow, a nude manicure is still one of the most popular looks.
In addition to being super low-maintenance (chips are barely noticeable), a neutral nail hue complements every outfit in your wardrobe, perfect for when you don't have time to switch up your polish to match your ensemble. Take LaLa Vazquez for example, who sported a beige mani with two different multi-colored frocks at the Art For Life and QVC's Super Saturday events in New York this past weekend.
Love her nails? Us Weekly got the how-to scoop from Skyy Hadley, owner of As U Wish Nail Spa in Hoboken, who gave Vazquez her clean and classic manicure.
1. Stay away from cuticle clippers. Leave it to the pros. One wrong clip can result in an infection. To soften the skin around your nails, massage some oil onto your cuticles and rub off with a buffer instead.
2. File your nails the right way. If you file your nails too square they will break faster. Try to file them into "sqoval" shapes (squared oval), rounding out both sides of the nail for a softer look.
3. Choose a complementing hue. For a classic look, stick with light pinks or whites. Hadley loves the sheer, off-white creamy color of ZOYA's Adel and the warm, peachy nude hue of ZOYA's Amanda. (Both are great to wear to the office or to dinner during the summer months.)
4. Seal it in. If you plan on spending the rest of the summer in a pool or the ocean, be sure to add an extra clear top coat to seal in the color and protect it from chipping too soon. Do not use a protein or nail strengthener over your color as this will cause the polish to crack.
