summer manicure
The coolest styles for summer vacation
Entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni loves the Shellac manicure with its colorful dopamine look.
© imago/Independent Photo Agency Int.
These summer nail trends withstand salt water, sand and sun and bring the colorful flower meadow directly to our hands.
The summer will be hot. Between sunbathing on the beach and dining at the beach club, we don’t want to worry about whether our nails can withstand the sand, chlorine and sun. That’s why the trend is back towards long-lasting paints. One look in particular is particularly popular at the moment.
Sponge French tips in rainbow colors
French manicure is nothing new. As early as the 18th century, it was considered fashionable to dye the tips of your nails white. Moderator and influencer Cathy Hummels (34) also shows this trend on Instagram.
‘Why always only white?’ Some trendsetters thought and a new look was born: With 8.2 million views are trending on TikTok currently so-called “Sponge French Tips” in rainbow colors. The difference to the classic French manicure is that the nail tips are not painted, but pressed in a silicone sponge previously coated with the desired color. Pulling out the nail creates the classic French look. With a long-lasting varnish – for example in the form of a Shellac manicure – the trend also survives the entire summer vacation.
dried flowers
Anyone who created a herbarium with pressed flowers and leaves in school will love this nail trend: Dried flowers directly on the nail. To do this, the nails are first manicured in a neutral French look, without colored tips. Then the dried flowers (you can easily pick them yourself in the garden and park in summer) are carefully placed on the nail and sealed with a gel varnish under the UV lamp. In order to avoid unsightly edges or overlaps, you should make sure when selecting the dried flowers that they are no larger than the nail itself.
Studio manicure to stick on
Instead of too boring nail polish, manicure lovers like to use a quick solution: nail foil.
You simply choose the design that you like best from a wide range of colors and patterns. The foil is then glued to the nail, filed to size and bang: the look is done, like fresh from the nail salon. The foils can be removed with nail polish remover, and at prices between five and 20 euros per set, you can quickly vary them to match your outfit.
What is the difference between Shellac, Gel and Co.?
Shellac manicure is a hybrid technique of regular nail polish and gel. In contrast to the classic gel manicure, the varnish is applied much thinner – mostly in one color or, as with the influencer Chiara Ferragni (35), in a colorful dopamine look. It hardens under the UV lamp within a few seconds. Visually, it can hardly be distinguished from ordinary nail polish, it only impresses with its durability of two to three weeks. Another benefit: when removing the nail, it is not ground down with a cutter and thereby stressed. If you don’t have the time or money to visit the studio, you can even remove the polish yourself at home with a nail polish remover containing acetone. Recently there are also vegan alternatives in the Shellac segment.
The gel technique, on the other hand, is a real classic. As with the Shellac manicure, the gel, which is applied and modeled much thicker, hardens under UV light. After hardening, the consistency is significantly more stable than Shellac and guarantees a shelf life of three to four weeks. As a rule, the studio visit is more expensive than with a Shellac treatment.
The acrylic manicure is the supreme discipline among the procedures. Unlike the ready-mixed gel, here the acrylic powder is mixed with a liquid. Consistency needs to be worked and shaped quickly before the material hardens.