Summer nail trends and treatments

Louise Scodie asks salons to showcase their latest treatments and offer tips for colour and style summer trends

The Cowshed - complete with mini tellysets to watch whilst you wait for your nails to dry

7 July 2014

Nail trends and treatments evolve with the seasons – something you won’t notice if, like me, you always go for the same hue on your digits with your standard mani pedi.

I asked these salons to showcase their latest treatments as well as tips for colour and style trends for summer 2014. Bravely, I let the salons take charge in the name of fashion - I’m typing this with baby pink nails, quite the departure from my usual gothic dark blue.

Vintage Nails

What’s the buzz?

Forget the ‘vintage’ misnomer – this little, super-friendly salon right next to Harringey Station is anything but stuck in the past. Thanks to Zanna, Vintage’s resident beautician, the salon is only one of two in London offering a ‘luxury jelly pedicure’. The latest trend over from New York, it involves soaking your feet in a jelly-filled footspa. The jelly softens your feet and makes the hot water stay hot for longer.

The result? Easier removal of dead skin and bliss all round. Smooshing your feet around in hot jelly is a lot of fun. Zanna then applies a foot mask before you put your feet in hot mitts for ten minutes. It felt cosy and my feet were refreshed afterwards. All of this luxury comes at the same price as a standard pedicure at most salons. Zanna’s colour tips for summer 2014 were neon on the toes and a corresponding pastel on the fingers - I had this in pink.

Manicure-wise there’s a good choice of treatments and colours (OPI and Sally Hansen) on offer. I had a luxury manicure, complete with a delicious scrub. When some polish went streaky, perfectionist Zanna removed the lot and started again. Having strayed outside of my colour zone I was surprised by how much I liked the result. Meanwhile, hairstylist Mel worked on my locks at the same time – she’s a whizz with the curling tongs. After a whole afternoon of treatments and chat, I left feeling perky and looking glam.

Prices: Luxury manicure and pedcure from £30; standard treatments from £17; shellac from £20; packages available. New clients 50% off first treatment. Choose a ‘colour of the week’ for your shellac and you could get 10% off of your treatment.

Location: Quernmore Road, N4

vintagenails.co.uk

Blow Ltd

What's the buzz?

Billing themselves as London’s number one fast-beauty bar, they offer a glam plethora of hair, nails and make-up styles which you can combine as you wish or have as stand-alone treatments. There are three choices for nails (manicures only): nude, on-trend and party. Nude offers this season’s choice of pale colours, like Essie’s popular Ballet Slippers, whilst Party is a unique glitter-topped style. I chose on-trend with the colour as Vinylux bright pink, a vibrant coral-pink that’s very SS14.

It’s just a shape and paint on offer here (well, it is fast beauty) but Laura, my fantastic make-up artist, was happy to file my nails from long to short. I was delighted with the results and no faffing around waiting for the nails to dry thanks to the magic product they put on top of the varnish to set it. This is a great treatment for a quick top-up between full manicures - my nails looked neat, fashionable and beautiful.

Prices: From £15

Location: 8 Slingsby Place, WC2

blowltd.com

Cowshed

What's the buzz? The Primrose Hill branch of the Cowshed beauty emporium, owned by the same people who brought you Soho House, is Cowshed by name but not by nature. Luxury and pampering are definitely the aim here. The moment I entered I relaxed thanks to the dim lighting, super-welcoming staff and gorgeous Cowshed scented candles everywhere. There’s also a small cafe where well-heeled locals meet friends for cake and gossip.

I had the Cowshed Manicure, a 45-minute treatment including a cuticle tidy, exfoliation and a wonderful hand and arm massage using sandalwood products. Polish to finish, of course, with a range of Essie colours to choose from - my very knowledgeable beautician Louise advised Tangerine as the go-to colour for this season painted on a squoval shaped nail.

All of this is marvellous, but the real star of the treatment is the massive, comfy chair I was sat in throughout. There was a TV just for me as well, but I didn’t watch it. I fell asleep in the chair and woke up with lovely nails. Yes, it’s expensive, but you’re paying for the whole experience, and my hands and nails looked really refreshed and smart afterwards.

Prices: £42 (also polish change £15, speedy mani £28)

Location: Primrose Hill, NW1

cowshedonline.com

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