The current craze with women
Fashion
By Taru Bahl

YOU had heard of body art. Remember the Stardust cover featuring actress Pooja Bhatt in a painted body suit which created a furore? You had batted more than an eyelid when you saw women on the American beaches wearing along with their skimpy bikinis at least a dozen ornaments pierced not through the ears and nose but through every conceivable vantage point.

Here midriffs were exposed not so much to show well-toned flat tummies but a series of navel ornaments.

There were gold ringlets pierced through lips, eyebrows, wrists, breasts and the belly button. And now, the latest to hit the fashion brigade is nail art. Simply put— it is ornamentation of the nails. Remember not to gape as you take in your companion’s three-inch nails at a party, as she animatedly talks, wringing her hands in gay abandon, showing purple painted nails with gold rings dangling and shimmering with copper tones.

Far from looking ‘Draculish’ and demonic, long decorated nails are the latest craze to hit the Paris ramp. Credit for bringing this ‘art form’ to India goes to Neera Aggarwal, vice-president of Indo Cosmesi Pvt Ltd, whose ambitious plans include opening up half-a-dozen ‘nail salons’ across the country before the year 2000. Beauty parlours have caught on with the trend and are already offering special ‘nail treatments’ and nail ornamentation options to their clients who want to pamper their talons with more than just the regular monthly manicure.

What makes Neera‘s nail art different is the quality of her ingredients and accessories. She is a qualified nail technician who not only beautifies the nails but also treats them, which most beauty parlours in spite of elaborate hand massages don’t.

So the quick two- minute nail makeover regimen where one dabs a bit of nail polish remover before cutting and filing the nails and following it up with a fresh coat of nail polish is now passe. What is in is nail sculpting, gelling, texturising and even piercing.

For those who are wary of doing fancy things to their nails or who have brittle nails can go in for artificial nails or implants. These can be changed on a daily basis to suit one’s outfit. Artificial nails, which come in acrylic, gel, fibreglass or silk can camouflage nail deformities.

Nail accessories include pierced danglers, tiny pieces of glittering diamonds, 22 carat gold, Swaroski crystal and a tiny emerald or pearl or bead studded on the surface to add to the dressy look. On the surface of the nails, referred to as ‘canvas,’ floral designs, jewel motifs, geometrical stripes and tattoos in colours like deep blue, purple, magenta, gold and copper are created.

Neera has been in the beauty business for nearly a decade. After completing her course in cosmetology from G.M Collins, France, she set up a chain of beauty institutes and clinics all over West Asia under the name of Sheeba Beauty World. When she saw swanky ‘nail studios’ in Paris and New York, the fashion capitals of the world, she was bitten by the nail bug. According to her, well-heeled women spend a lot of time on themselves abroad. They lay equal emphasis on being both fit and groomed. So, even a seemingly frivolous thing like nails are given an elaborate makeover. And since the classic dress style involves very simple and straight cuts with minimum of fuss and accessories, it makes sense to go in for ‘dressy’ hair styles, nails, footwear and bags.

Nail art requires technique and finesse. The technician has to study the persona, body type and even facial expressions of the client before finalising the nail art treatment.

According to Neera, a set of false nails can last up to a year. You only have to regularly file your real nails so that they don’t do a peek-a-boo. She spends considerable time treating fungal infections, discolouration and hematoma which is a nail disorder where the nail takes a bluish-black tinge before getting pushed out from the nail bed.

As the official representative of two international nail art companies in India, Neera is trying to set up franchises for nail studios across the country because she is convinced that the modern woman today is open to new ideas, wants to make her own fashion statement and is willing to spend both time and money on keeping herself abreast with the latest in the international fashion arena.