Nail art Instagram accounts to follow

Propelling off of my previous post on the coolest nail art blogs, plus the post that compiled some of the best fashion Instagram accounts to follow comes a list of nail art Instagrammers whose constantly updated stream of vivid photos will.blow.your.mind...or at least inspire you to grab some polish and get all Van Gogh on your own nails.

Nail art is hot and cool...yada, yada, yada. But why tell this when instead, I can show? For instance, simply type in 'NOTD' as a tag in an Instagram search and up will pop over 52,000 pictures of users who have captured their 'Nail Of The Day' manicures and posted them for the world to see. And so, without further ado, here is the breakdown of those making waves in the nail art scene (meaning that they are doing really, really cool things).


Nail art Instagrammers

• @ig_nail_art - This user posts an assortment of custom manicure pictures that have been collected from various YouTube tutorials, blogs and other Instagram users (whom she acknowledges in her comments). Because this account tracks other people's nails, it provides links that will allow you to follow other nail fanatics. 

A few of the photos:

• @misunis - Eunice paints nail sets and sells them via her etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop.misunis, but she also paints her own nails and uploads snapshots of the finished product each day. Good stuff. 

A few of the photos:

Speaking of her etsy shop, my favorite of her designs include this tribal pattern and these scrumptious-looking pastel cupcakes!

• @pixiedustz - Not only does she upload daily pics of her nail designs, girl posts step-by-step tutorial pictures to go along with each manicure so that viewers can recreate them on their own nails. Not only is she creative, but the fact that she's willing to break down seemingly elaborate designs makes me like this account that much more. Because I like nice people, you see.

 A few of the photos:

• @thary_xoxo - Hailing from Toronto, Thary S. uploads several different manicures a few times a day, most of which she enters into Instagram nail contests (as you can see when a small piece of paper with a hashtag is held up next to a manicure), which I'll bet she usually wins. Not only do I give her credit for having an amazing work ethic (two manicures per day? Respect.) but each look is very unique. 

A few of the photos:

• @icandynails - The crazy-cool designs on this account come straight from iCandy Nails, a salon based in Fresno, CA. Like many 10-fingered masterpieces, these are well-rendered and colorful, but the artists take it a step further by applying three-dimensional acrylic shapes onto extreme nail shapes such as the "duck feet" and the "stiletto".

A few of the photos:

@bedizzle - B peppers her Instagram account with pop culture designs, from the Olympics to Barbie and Ken, and also with unique patterns, but her claim to fame has got to be the precision with which each nail design is created. Fingernails are not big canvases, but you wouldn't know that from the intricate designs that are flawlessly executed.  Overall, a good stop to get a bit of everything.

A few of the photos:

Fall 2012 Couture influenced nail art

Now that nail art is seen as an acceptable and fashionable form of artistic expression (it seems to have almost completely stripped itself of its formerly tacky connotations: crazy aunts, ghetto mamis, guidettes, white trash vixens, etcetera), it seems as though everything has potential to inspire a 10-finger masterpiece, from sunsets to Disney movies to Andy Warhol's artwork, and there is no shortage of people ready and willing to create tiny works of art, using their hands (and feet) as their tableaus.

From Flickr, to blogs, to YouTube uploads, the internet is a goldmine that showcases the talented individuals that are taking nail art to an elevated platform.
My favorite nail blog is The Daily Nail, as my mind is blown every single time I read a new post. The blogger decided to, in October 2010, dedicate every day to a new manicure. This reminds me of Julie Powell's culinary journey a la "Julie and Julia". The author (and amazing artist) is inspired by a range of interests that translate into some very, very cool manicures. From movies to books, songs, food, characters, culture, etcetera, every bit of pop culture is represented.  My favorites manicures of hers include sixties-inspired  "In the 'Mod'", the Smurfs "Blast from the Past", Dr. Seuss "Dr. Seussical" - plus many more.

Should you now have the itch to do some more nail art exploring, here are a few links to get you started on your search:

1. Hey, Nice Nails!

2. Pretty in Polish

3. Chalkboard Nails

4. Cute Polish 

5. Pixie Polish


Everyone draws inspiration from somewhere for nail art. My inspiration comes from the Fall 2012 couture shows. With hundreds of glorious, custom-made pieces brimming with ornate, one-of-a-kind details, the treasure trove of outfits from couture week would give me more than enough fodder to do a few manicures. Following are some of the looks that are begging to be recreated via nail art. (Gown photos c/o nymag.com)


1. Christian Dior's electric green ballgown

Possibly using Rescue Beauty Lounge's Abi nail polish?

2. Valentino's royal purple Baroque dress

Possibly using Essence's Purple Magic polish?

3. Armani Prive's glittering pastel gradiant gown

Possibly using Essie's shades of Lilacism, Bangle Jangle and Cascade Cool?

4. Zuhair Murad's vibrantly hued, three-dimensional blossoms

Possibly using Nails Inc.'s polishes in St. James, Portobello  and Floral Street?

5. Alexandre Vauthier's metallic hardware

Possibly using Deborah Lippmann's Boom Boom Pow and Like a Virgin polishes?

In this Issue No. 10 - Nail design

Simply type in #nailpolish as tag search on Instagram and you will see more than 280,000 pictures of people's uploaded nail art and polish stashes. Look around in the blogosphere and you'll find tons of written instructions and video tutorials shared by people who are getting increasingly creative with their nail designs, almost to a point where nail technicians are no longer needed. From water marbling to using dotting tools to spot-on movie character recreations, nail art is becoming increasingly more sophisticated as jaw-droppingly amazing designs are conceptualized and carried out every single day. This ain't your mama's nail polish any more. Nail art has come into its own as an alternative form of artistic expression that is gaining serious respect.

Personal websites such as All Lacquered Up, Vampy Varnish and The Daily Nail are just a few examples that document the amazing things that can be done with polish. In much the same way that personal style blogs really took off, nail bloggers are attracting corporate sponsors, PR pros and advertisers to their sites due to the large amount of traffic from viewers.

Though inspiration can be found everywhere for ideas on nail art, I liked InStyle's August 2011 spread on "10 New Style Statements" which featured a dark maroon and gold nail combo. Even though the style statement that goes along with the picture is about the new trend of long nails, I simply liked the color combo and the fresh approach to a slightly off-kilter french manicure.

 

The version I carried out was a bit different than that seen above, but the inspiration is still there.. I did the reverse french manicure using a dark maroon for the base and a shimmery gold for the crescent of the nail, and I really loved how it turned out.