Nail Trends Our Editors Can't Wait To Try This Fall

If you haven't heard, we're still feeling the adverse effects of some planetary mayhem. Already we've dealt with at least three short-lived retrogrades, but we're also in the midst of Saturn's backspin until the end of September. 'Til then, we're encouraged to look before we leap and avoid any rash behavior. While some may focus that energy on their careers and relationships, we'll be putting our conscientious decision-making into our nails.

If we can't control the direction in which the planets seem to be spinning, at least we can control what kind of nail art decorates our fingertips. With summer coming to a speedy close, we need something to look forward to for fall. Why not make that our manicures? We're ditching the predictable wine-red autumnal polish for something special, kind of funky, and totally unique.

Need some inspiration before booking that nail appointment? Check out our fall manicure plans ahead.

How Nails Can Be A Force For Change

One of the reasons I've always loved nails is that, like make-up, it's fun, everyone can enjoy it and it can boost your confidence. But sometimes a slick of polish can be more than that. Avon's latest commitment to end violence against women means that for just £3, you'll not only be purchasing Avon's True Colour Pro+ Nail Enamel in Arctic Steel, a cool steely blue shade, you'll be donating money to two important women's charities - Refuge and Women's Aid - with 50 per cent of profits of Arctic Steel being split equally between them.

And this is why the money raised is so important. What really stood out for me at the launch for Arctic Steel was the staggering facts behind domestic violence. One in four women will experience domestic violence in the UK. That means someone in your friendship circle could, has or is experiencing domestic violence. Shockingly, on average, two women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner. There are domestic violence related 999 calls every 30 seconds and 800,000 children will witness and experience domestic violence every year in the UK. Avon's aim from this campaign and going forward is to open up the conversation and make beauty a safe space for victims. This means being able to tell their beauty therapist, nail technician, hairdresser, Avon representative, whoever that person might be - and for that person to be armed with the right language and the knowledge to know what signs to look out for in someone who is suffering.

Founder of WAH nails, Sharmadean Reid, encourages her manicurists to look out for clients who might want to open up about domestic violence and be on hand to listen and offer the right guidance to a specialist organisation for anyone in need of help. “Beauty therapy is just that, therapy. But just like we aren't, as civilians, always equipped to deal with first-hand accounts of trauma in a professional manner, neither are the nail techs professionally equipped to deal with the weight of information and energy transference they receive from their clients on a daily basis. We are looking into domestic abuse and general counselling training as clients come to us with all kinds of personal problems and we want to be able to support them as well as protect themselves.” If Avon and WAH can join the conversation, more women might feel they too can come forward and speak out about their experience.

The Essential Nail Tips You Need To Know About

Make mani mistakes the stuff of beauty past with a little help from Adam Slee, talon-ted manicurist to the stars, official Rimmel spokesperson and all-round nail guru (cue rapturous applause).

Single File
'A good nail file is essential to achieving runway-ready nails. Friction is the biggest culprit for dryness as it causes heat and because nails are made up of several layers of keratin, like sawing through plywood, it can cause them to flake up. Speed is the thing that causes the most friction so take it slow and always file in one direction.'

Buff Love
'Don't use polishing buffers more than twice a month as it removes the surface of the nail making them weaker.'

Well Oiled
'Oil is the most important thing you can do for your nails – you can never over-do it (especially as you creep nearer to 40 when the skin becomes drier as the natural oils start to deplete.). Use it on and around nails as often as possible especially during the day when it's more likely to get washed off. I recommend slathering it on even if you're wearing polish as your nail will still absorb the oil at the cuticle to improve flexibility. (Oil doesn't make the nails stronger but it does make them more flexible and ensures that the cuticle doesn't stick to the nail bed as it grows out, helping to keep it neat.'

Patience Is A Virtue
'Never expect miracles overnight, nail treatments need to be kept up over a period of weeks rather than days before you are able to see any real difference to the condition of your talons, as the nail takes four to six months to grow from base to free edge. Damaged nails don't repair themselves and will only improve with fresh growth, proving that good things come to those who wait!'

Lift Off
'Whatever you wear on your nails: be it polish, gels or acrylic extensions, removal of the product is as important as the application. Most people will bite, pick and pull off product and then complain their nails are weaker after wearing them but nails are naturally hard and although they will soften if they are covered for a period of time, exposure to the elements will ensure they harden up again.'

Fix Up, Look Sharp
'Nails look great with colour but the key is uniformity so make sure they're all the same shape and length and never touch the skin around the sidewalls as the colour will bleed and look messy. If your nails are in less than tip-top shape and you want an instant make-over, go for a textured look as it can hide a multitude of sins.'

Don't Blow It
'Your breath contains wet air so never blow on your nails to help dry them as it will simply encourage bubbles.'

Cuticle Care
'Although it's fine to cut off dead bits of skin and neaten up, don't cut the actual cuticle as although it may look good for a day or two, cutting it opens up the seal of skin which means that it'll look worse in the long-term. If you need to do anything, push them back as it's far more gentle.'

Shape Up
'Most people's nails are a mirror of their cuticle shape so try and keep them as near to that shape as possible – it's what will suit your hands best and will also keep them the strongest. Speaking of strength… Keeping the side walls running as parallel as possible will ensure the strongest shape. Too pointed weakens them as you're taking off the side wall so they're more prone to flipping over, whilst a square shape, although not the most modern, will ensure that the nails will stay very strong.'

Fake It
'The biggest problem with acrylics is the fact that the nail isn't exposed to air which means that it's not working as it should naturally, making them weaker. Nails don't breathe (they don't have lungs!), but the keratin needs air to harden up. Also if you go from really short to really long instantly, the skin at end of nail isn't prepared to bear the extra weight (with naturally long nails it grows out gradually which is what makes them stronger).'

Staying Power
'Never put oil on before polish as it forms a barrier which means that the polish will come off quicker. If anything, apply it afterwards which will help to protect the polish and decrease the chances of it smudging. A base coat is your best bet because the surface of nail is porous, it will protect it from the oils coming out from nail bed as well as keeping the nail stain-free. (Some people's nail beds are oilier than others which influences how long the nail polish stays on). Contrary to what many of us think, nail polish actually takes a total of 74 hours to completely dry – never attempt to dry it in direct sunlight as it will simply make the polish dry too quickly resulting in an uneven, gloopy finish.'

Here's what white marks on nails really signify

All of have noticed, from time to time, little white marks on our fingernails and have wondered how did they get there.

According to old wives’ tales, they are caused when people are suffering from calcium deficiency. However, it turns out that it s actually a myth and the real reason for the small specks on the nail bed is often a lot less serious.

Medically, these specks are known as punctate leukonychia and more often than not are caused after trauma to the nail.

Trauma doesn't have to be something as major as slamming your hand in a car door, but can be as simple as excessive tapping or chewing.

The white marks form at the very bottom of the nail and move upwards as it begins to grow.

In fact, by the time the white speck becomes visible, it is likely you will have forgotten what caused the mark in the first place.

However, if the whole of the nail turns white, it can be more serious and it is advised you go and visit your doctor. This is because white nails can be an indicator of serious conditions such as liver cirrhosis, kidney failure or heart disease. Also, if the white marks fall in lines, it can be a sign of low levels of protein in the blood.

This blinking eyeball nail art may haunt your dreams

Can we just go back to vulva nails and stop, right there, as nail art had reached its peak?

There’s no need to try to top that, really. We’re talking about teeny tiny labia on your nails.

But alas, the nail artists around the world are not ready to accept that vulva nail art cannot be topped. Instead they’re intent on taking the art of jazzing up nails much too far.

Behold eyeball nails.

Created by Nail Sunny, a nail artist in Russia, eyeball nails are, as the name might suggest, nails decorated with eyeballs – but not just any eyeballs.

Nope, these are Huda Kattan’s eyes (well, they’re fake eyeballs based on her eyes. Using her actual eyeballs would be pretty brutal), and they blink.

The nail art is created by drilling a hole into a fake nail, sticking in a fake eyeball, then applying makeup on to the nail to make the eyes look like Huda’s.

So no, it’s not something you can easily try at home.

Plus, we find them quite unsettling. We don’t particularly fancy having nails that can give us side-eye.