Nail it!

Along with taking good care of your skin and hair, a very minute yet important part which is left to beautify are the nails – yes your claws must be in coherence with the rest of your body! Talking of coherence, one need not follow the trend religiously but must maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Some ladies are fond of colourful nails while some prefer to sport a natural look. This season has brought with it some fancy trends in nail art. Here's a sneak-peak to the designs and a little help to create them.

Beauty and make-up expert Aakriti Kochar suggests that floral designs, nudes with a texture, sparkles, pastels and french manicure are perfect for the year's nail art trends. Let's have a quick look:

Nude with a texture: Move away from basic nudes as the safe color for summers, use the ones with a little matte or graphic texture instead.

Add a golden touch: To a sombre base add a golden arch stroke to the tip of the nail, or create some geometric designs on a dark base. Use some tapes to secure the shape of your golden strokes. First colour the base, then go ahead with the tips.

Floral beauty: Flowers complement Summer and bring freshness to the overall look. One can experiment with numerous floral designs. Start with a clear base coat, dry it and top it with floral designs in pastel shades. Cute floral motives are the designs you may always go for when picking girly patterns for your short nails. So you may combine a simple nude background with appropriate colors, creating some really catchy and appealing looks. Such nail designs are also easy to create.

Polka dots: That which never get old are the famous polka dots. Use pastels or even darker shades as a base and deck it up with the dots. An easy method to apply uniform dots is to use the tip of a bobby pin! Dip it in the desired colour (preferably white) and methodically dot your colouful nails giving them a new appearance.

Geometric designs: Start by applying a clear top coat. Let it dry completely and then make some stars, moons, or geometric shapes with soft or delicate shades of nail polishes. To make it a little catchy you may choose to use dark colours for the base and designs like that in the image on the left.

Let pastels steal the show: Complement two pastel colours in different geometries, by cutting into each other (vertically or horizontally). This is a more wearable approach to certain colours which you might not wear on its own otherwise.Pastel and white ombre nails are a fresh style now. A light color on the top of the nail gradually blending into a darker color toward the tip – very effortlessly compliments your summer wardrobe colors.

Monochrome: This classic combination never fails to make its mark. You can try various designs using black base and white motifs or vice-versa to create a sassy look which can be sported with almost every attire.

Classic French manicure: The usual white tips with a hand painted white swirl. That goes with saying that French manicure looks absolutely elegant. You can carry this look for your nails at work place as well as at the parties. This look can be easily paired with any outfit.

Classic French manicure: The usual white tips with a hand painted white swirl. That goes with saying that French manicure looks absolutely elegant. You can carry this look for your nails at work place as well as at the parties. This look can be easily paired with any outfit.