MAKEUP RULES: Go nude in summer 2013

May 22. 2013 8:56AM
By Bobby Walsh (The Real King Bob), Special to the Weekender 

I want to take a break from makeup this time to focus on another area of cosmetics that we all love – nails! The past few months we have seen feathers, newspapers, crystals, beads, flocking, charms, studs, and LOTS OF GLITTER, but this season, we're taking a step back and keeping things simple.

Light creamy pastels, natural nudes, and soft creams are taking over, allowing more focus to be directed towards the makeup and clothing. Sheer glossy, almost candy coated colors are popping up everywhere from every brand; one of my favorites is “Oxygen” by China Glaze ($7.50), which is a light, almost white semi-sheer eggshell color.

Another in the same family of color is “Jacqueline” from the new spring collection by Zoya ($8.00). Sticking with the same spring collection from Zoya, the color “Neely” is a soft creamy sea foam green. Butter London also has that perfect creamy opaque mint green called “Fiver” ($15.00). If you are going for the sheer pink French manicure look minus the white tips, I suggest “Bubble Bath” by OPI ($9.00) or “Go Ginza,” a soft cherry blossom pink from Essie ($8.00).

The term “ombré” isn't just for your hair or lips anymore; now you can create a simple ombré look on your nails simply by taking some of your older colors from past collections in similar families of color and apply one color to each nail going from a medium color to one of the new sheer pastel colors! If you want a more advanced nail ombré take a makeup wedge and run it under water, then wring out any excess water. After you apply a nice base coat to your nails, take a pastel color of your choice along with a natural nude color and apply them in a swatch-like pattern next to each other on the wedge, then press onto the nail. Repeat this step until you have your desired opacity, then with some nail polish remover, clean up the area around your nails (trust me, its messy) and you're finished!

I like to finish all my looks with a matte top coat; my favorite is “Matte About You” from Essie ($10.00). It even gives glitter polishes a more sand-like appearance for a more satin shimmer without all that glitter glimmer.

Tip: Base coat is an absolute must; it's that special barrier that keeps unwanted oils away that cause chipping!

Trick: Create your own nude polish that matches your skin tone perfectly by adding your shade of your favorite mineral foundation to a clear nail lacquer or top coat, mix well, and voila, the perfect nude for you!