Fashion Week nail trends

By Amber Katz

While some beauty statements are best left on the runway (mile-high crimped updos and florescent brows come to mind), replicating Fashion Week nail looks is the easiest and most cost-effective way to be on trend. Here, we examine some catwalk-inspired ways to decorate your digits.

Metallic Mania

Metallic nails are sexy in a futuristic way that borders on sci-fi. Want to Judy Jetson up your nails like the models did for the Baby Phat Spring/Summer 2010 collection? Last year's Minx manicures -- the metallic-colored, in-salon nail wraps -- are one way to achieve this look, but the service ranges from $30 to $55 per application. The solution? Drugstore nail polishes with the words chrome and foil in the names. These can yield a molten-metal effect.

Mannequin Nails

Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors are just two of the designers who opted for nude nails at their Spring/Summer 2010 fashion shows. Nude nail polish, in both sheer and opaque incarnations, has ousted light pink from its reign of ubiquity. To make your nails look longer and add a ladylike vibe, simply find the flesh-tone shade that best matches your skin.

Moon Manis

Half-moon manicures began with fashion designer Ruffian. For Spring/Summer 2009, the brand boasted a pointed pink and black iteration, then a maroon half-moon manicure for Fall 2009, and finally created a very wearable metallic gold/matte navy half-moon version for Fall 2010. To achieve this effect yourself, paint a coat of gold polish, let it dry and follow with a navy matte shade, leaving a small half-moon of the gold showing at the base of the nail bed.

Whimsical White

At both the Twinkle and L.A.M.B. Spring/Summer 2010 shows, it was all about the brilliant, snow-white tips. A white manicure looks very mod in a '60s throwback manner but is best implemented on squoval (that's square/oval) short nails for a decidedly modern feel.

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Amber Katz is the editor of Beauty Blogging Junkie, a hilarious pop culture-infused beauty blog that covers everything from eye shadow to hair spray to figure slimmers.