Black Beauty

The current fad to paint nails dark has the fashion frat divided

It’s a far cry from oh-so-propah French manicures and all natural pinks! In fact,it’s very,very dark and the first time I spotted someone flaunting the look in the city,I thought she was either a biker babe or someone who had a Gothic leaning in life. Since then,the appearances of all-black or extremely dark nails seemed to multiply. In the haute world of Hollywood,actors like Jessica Simpson and Gwyneth Paltrow have been sporting dark nail paint even at formal red carpet events proving a point that the trend isn’t all casual. Taking the dark trend forward more than once has been Bollywood’s newest fashion diva Sonam Kapoor. She was noticed first with all-black nails teamed with a red Greco-Roman attire on the sets of NDTV Imagine’s ‘Oye! It’s Friday’. Then once again Kapoor flashed her deep-dark nails,this time offset with an all-white off shoulder dress she wore for a Bollywood awards function. Both times,Kapoor’s look scored a hit. Not that it is an easy look to carry,but the dark nail paint trend seems to be catching on everywhere. Why,there’s Celina Jaitely who went all-black recently and so did Kareena. Closer home,Panjab University student Mahima Sharma has been donning the dark colours for a while now. “It’s quite a cool look. Paired with coloured rings it stands out even more,” you hear Sharma say. Given her preference to wear jeans and T-shirts mostly,the dark talons don’t look that bad. Equally upbeat about the dark tones is fashion merchandiser Kirat Randhawa,who is currently sporting a dark blue colour,complete with glitter. “Not everyone likes it but I feel it goes well with a grunge look for youngsters mostly. I won’t recommend the kitty set to flaunt it,” she laughs as we notice her nails are kept square and blunt. “It’s a faux pas to be wearing such dark colour on long nails. That would spell a horror look,” Randhawa is quick to tip us.

While these girls seem to love the trend,city-based fashion designer Niharika isn’t as accepting. “It’s silly. Not only does it look dirty but doesn’t go with the Indian skin tone,” the designer spells out straight. Ditto for the very stylish model Amanpreet Wahi who prefers going only dark red and not black. “It’s too black for my liking and moreover will draw too much attention to the hands without really flattering them,” spells out the fashion diva.

But if you are looking to try the trend at home,here’s some professional advice. Darker colours look better on shorter nails. If you want to keep your nails long,then don’t go dark. Darker colours can stain your nail bed or turn them yellow. You can protect your nails by applying a base coat first. If don’t have one,try using a lighter nail polish that matches your natural nail colour. To remove stains,soak your nails in a little bleach,or rub them with half a lemon. To prevent nails from chipping,invest in a good top coat. That’s all the tip talk for now!