Nailed it! Nail art is just as much of an accessory these days as a designer handbag or a sick pair of shoes. And when it comes to the celebs with the coolest nail art in the game, Kylie Jenner, Dua Lipa and Zendaya are at the tippy top of list.
So, to kick our manicures into high gear for the height of summer, we turned to the mastermind behind celebs’ best looks, Chaun Legend. The nail artist, who has partnered with Hornitos Tequila, exclusively told Us Weekly what patterns, shapes and styles are trending this season.
The common thread through it all though is that “anything colorful and bold” is the way to go. “Neon, definitely neon. We have colorful swirls, marble designs. There’s snake print and crocodile print.”
Of course, there’s also the French manicure from the early aughts, which has gotten a 2021 upgrade. “I like to create mine with a nice sheer pink base with a deep smile line for the French tip,” Legend told Stylish. “That’s what modernizes it.”
In fact, he created a similar look on Jenner in June. As for how he got the inspo to create the look, which she wore with a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier dress? Well, it’s a “collaborative effort.”
“She’ll show picture references, a picture of her dress. And show me pictures of different nail inspirations and be like, ‘Oh, I think this would go good with the nail, what do you think?’” Legend explained, noting that a design can sometimes take hours to complete. “Then, I’ll come in with my take on it and be like, ‘Okay I have an idea. Let’s try adding this on now and see how it comes together.”
While picking a summer-ready design is half the battle, it’s also important to make sure that the look lasts.
“I’m always like, ‘Ladies, please keep your cuticles oiled,’” Legend explained. “They tend to get dry, especially in this day and age when we’re always using hand sanitizers and washing our hands.”
While a solid nail care routine may cut in on the regular, summer introduces a new concern — opening a spiked seltzer. One wrong move and acrylic is bound to pop off.
As such, Legend, who partnered with Hornitos Tequila for their Crack a Seltzer, Not a Nail campaign, has some foolproof tips.
“Tip number one is the side finger. Please don’t use the actual nails — just use the side finger and pop it open,” the manicurist said. “Tip number two is the filing system … So you just slide the nail file under the lid and pop it open.”
Tip number three — and perhaps the one most used by Legend’s clients — is the “buddy” system. “Simply get someone else to do it [for you],” the manicurist said.
