Spring is the perfect time of year to paint everything pastel, including your fingernails and toenails!
We all know what pastel colors look like, softer, muted shades of our favorite colors, such as pink, green, yellow, purple, orange and blue. What makes a pastel color lighter than its original color? A true pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.
Pastel colors are quite lovely, and even more so when our nails are painted pastel pretty!
Pastel Fun Fact: Pastels have been used by artists since the Renaissance, and gained considerable popularity in the 18th century, when a number of notable artists made pastel their primary medium. An artwork made using pastels is called simply, a ‘pastel’.
With the season of spring here, and then all through the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, pastel nail art is fashionable, fun and festive! Why not splurge at a professional salon and get your nails done, enjoying the relaxing, splendid manicure and pedicure treatment? All fashion divas need to spoil themselves once in awhile; it keeps glamour girls in a mood to smile.
Spring forward with pretty pastel nail art.
How to Treat Yourself to a Do It Yourself (DIY) Manicure:
- Remove any old or chipped nail polish. For natural nails, use a nonacetone nail polish remover.
- File the nails into your desired shape.
- Soak your fingers in warm soapy water for a couple of minutes to soften the cuticles.
- Rub cuticle cream into the cuticles of the nails.
- Wipe the nails with a damp cloth to ensure that you remove any oils or residue left from the cuticle cream. Pat the nails dry.
- Apply a clear nail polish base coat to the bare nails and let them dry.
- Stroke your nails with the fingernail polish color or colors of your choice. Generally, a nail needs three brush strokes of polish: one stroke down the center of the nail, one stroke on the left and right side of the nail.
- Once dry, apply a topcoat of clear nail polish. This will provide a lustrous shine and help seal the color, eliminating chips and divots.
- If desired, display your creativity by decorating away! You can add jewels, glitter, decals, various shades of nail polish, etc. to add glitz, glamour and pizzazz to your nails and hands!
Ah, your pleasing, pretty pastel nail art looks truly grand! What a lovely hand!
Pastel Fun Fact: Pastel sticks or pastel crayons consist of pure powdered pigment combined with a binder. The exact composition and characteristics of an individual pastel stick depends on the type of pastel and the type and amount of binder used. Pastels also vary by individual manufacturers. Dry pastels have historically used binders such as gum arabic and gum tragacanth. Methyl cellulose was introduced as a binder in the 20th century. Often a chalk or gypsum component is present.
No matter how pastels are made, there is no denying that when your nails are decorated in beautiful shades of pastels, your hands and feet will look stunning and well, truly swell!
Dry Pastels Can Be Subdivided as Follows:
- Hard Pastels
- Oil Pastels
- Pan Pastels
- Pastel Pencils
- Soft Pastels
- Water Soluble Pastels
In order to create hard and soft pastels, pigments are ground into a paste with water and a gum binder and then rolled or pressed into sticks. The name “pastel” comes from Medieval Latin ‘pastellum’, meaning woad paste. The French word ‘pastel’ first appeared in 1662.
There are times that with gorgeous, festive, marvelous nail art, only pastel polish will do! Select the perfect pastel colors for you.
Pastel Nail Art: A great place for a true fashion diva to start.
Pretty, pleasing, knock-out pastel nail art!
Nancy Mangano is an American fashion journalist, screenwriter and author of the Natalie North murder mystery book series. Visit Nancy on her global online fashion/style/beauty magazine Nancy Marie Mangano Style at https://nancymariemangano.com, her Facebook page Nancy Mangano at https://www.facebook.com/nancymmangano/ Twitter @https://twitter.com/nancymangano and her author website http://nancymangano.com
