Tough as nails

A gel polish that’s gentle on your tips (no buffing during removal!) and a durable regular polish that stays chip-free for a week – we’ll take one in every shade, please.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

A gel polish that’s gentle on your tips (no buffing during removal!) and a durable regular polish that stays chip-free for a week – we’ll take one in every shade, please.

Have you ever stepped out of a nail bar with a fresh manicure only to have it ruined within half an hour? We’ve been there too. The possible solutions? Get a gel manicure, or use quick-drying regular polishes. Our new favourites: the gentlerthan- usual gel polishes from CND’s Shellac range, which can be removed sans buffing, and the regular ones from its Vinylux range, said to take only eight and a half minutes to fully dry and last about a week without chipping.

To give our Her World Beauty Club members a treat, we hosted 100 of them at the exclusive Her World Beauty Club x CND Singapore launch party in December last year, where they nibbled on canapes and enjoyed free manicures. The Shellac and Vinylux polishes received rave reviews at the event, and earned stamps of approval from both our club members and our beauty team.

Here, those we’re loving at the moment – use them to recreate the latest Spring 2016 nail trends.

CND Shellac polishes are only available as insalon manicures. Call 9615-5259 for stockists.

PRETTY METALLICS

The hues above are in tune with the more-prettythan- edgy metallic finishes we see on the runways this season – think the dreamy pearlescent tips at Reem Arca and the gilded crackle varnishes at Kenzo.

Kenzo
Kenzo
(From top) CND Shellac Color Coat in Tundra, and Vinylux Weekly Polish in #118 Grapefruit Sparkle, $18, and #194 Safety Pin, $18.
(From top) CND Shellac Color Coat in Tundra, and Vinylux Weekly Polish in #118 Grapefruit Sparkle, $18, and #194 Safety Pin, $18.

NEW NUDES

Do like Noon by Noor, and update your nude mani. Use any of the ones on the left as base colours, then draw a single metallic stripe on each nail, or layer one of them over a bright pink polish for a subtle pop of colour.

Noon by Noor
Noon by Noor
(From top) CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in #180 Dandelion, and Shellac Color Coat in Powder My Nose and Naked Naivete, $18 each.
(From top) CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in #180 Dandelion, and Shellac Color Coat in Powder My Nose and Naked Naivete, $18 each.

GO BLUE

This colour is hot right now; try the shades below for notice-me digits – like those spotted on the Jenny Packham runway.

Jenny Packham
Jenny Packham
(From left) CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in #211 Digi-teal, $18, and Shellac Color Coat in Creekside and Blue Rapture.
(From left) CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in #211 Digi-teal, $18, and Shellac Color Coat in Creekside and Blue Rapture.
More: polish