As a beauty editor who has her fingertips on the pulse of the latest nail trends, I have a confession to make: I find my own nail upkeep tricky. Whenever I sit down in the chair with a nail technician, I can see their eyes widen at my ragged cuticles and thin nails that are crying out for cuticle oil after picking off my gel nails (I know it's wrong, but I almost do it subconsciously). The saying goes "Nails are jewels, not tools," but you can best believe I'm ripping open my post with my nails and generally ignoring most of my nail tech's advice when it comes to growing long, strong nails. Whoops. I also don't have the patience for painting my nails at home. I'm impatient and inevitably end up smudging 20 minutes' worth of work and ultimately having to start from scratch again.
Despite that, I have dreams of my nails looking healthy and strong. And while I don't have the time nor funds to commit to regular nail appointments or sit down to paint my nails at home to then only smudge them, I've found a quick and easy way to make my nails look their healthiest as I (try) to grow them long. The answer? Blush nails.
Dior's Nail Glow polish is like blusher for your nails, lending a healthy sheer pink glow.
I had been seeing Dior's covetable Nail Glow doing the rounds on my feed and loved the sheer yet bright wash of pink that it gives to the nail bed. It's almost like a cream blusher for your nails, helping to impart a healthy flush to the nail beds. The blush nail trend (or blushing nails we're coining it at Who What Wear) has kept cropping up on my IG, so I took it as a sign to give it a go myself.
The blush nail trend imparts a healthy flush of colour to the nail plate.
I picked up a bottle of Nails Inc Glowing Out Nail Illuminator (£9)—a bit of a dupe for Dior's Nail Glow—and I've never looked back. It's now my go-to when I want my nails to look neat without having to spend ages applying polish. The sheer pink tint gives my nails a healthy flush in one coat and dried down so quickly that I don't need to worry about smudging them. It's also sheer enough that when it does eventually chip it's not as noticeable as an opaque polish—which is great if you're low-maintenance like me. That being said, you can level up the brightness of the polish with a couple of coats, which gives you a vibrant yet sheer hint of colour.
Beauty Editor Eleanor Vousden wearing Nails Inc Glowing Out Nail Illuminator.
Shop nail blush polishes:
The original sheer pink polish gives your nails an instant wash of healthy shine.
I've been wearing this on repeat for low-maintenance manicures.
Essie's version is also a nail strengthener, helping to grow your nails long and strong.
A sheer pink polish is also the perfect way to disguise any nail discolouration.
Want an even more subtle result? This neutral pink gives just a hint of pink.
This 7-in-1 treatment helps to restore brittle nails back to good health with a helping of a bright pink tint.
If you have a Mylee gel lamp, this builder gel is a great option for a subtle wash of colour that also strengthens and protects your nails if you're trying to grow them longer.
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