Post-Christmas blues may have set in, but do you know what isn’t blue? Valentine’s Day nails.
Come February I’m often sick of the sight of my festive glittery nails – I’m looking at you lockdown 3 manicure – and I’m ready for something offering romantic and very V-day vibes.
And with the annual celebration of love just around the corner, there’s no better excuse to switch your NYE manicure for something pink and covered in love hearts.
In previous years, I’ve had the Emma Bridgewater hearts design recreated on my nails – but this year I was craving something a little brighter. What’s more is that I was even more excited for this set because it was my first one with new nail tech Chloe Birks, also known as Nail Art by Chlo.
Chloe’s studio is based inside St James House, in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, after she opened her salon during the pandemic in August 2020, offering brow lamination, lash extensions and nail services.
The small but beautifully decorated studio has a jungle theme with a neon ‘By Chlo’ sign making for the most Instagrammable backdrop. And speaking of Instagram, Chloe has over 40,000 followers across her three business accounts – and her appointments are snapped up like hotcakes.
I booked in for builder gel with complex nail art, which costs £35 (rising to £40 next month) which I’ll aim to have redone every five weeks.
For my Valentine’s nails, I never want anything to cheesy, but I do like them to have an obvious V-day theme. I send Chloe a selection of inspiration photos I’d had saved, including one by thehotblend, and others by nailchark, swaknails and polishedbylearnahstarbuck. They all had a similar ‘vibe’ with bold pink and reds, remaining romantic but also super cool.
After prepping with Navy tools, my mix and match set was created by Chlo using The Gel Bottle builder in a bottle and a selection of TGB pinks and reds. My pinkie and thumbs both feature a double French tip with a light and dark pink, with gold foil making it a triple Frenchie.
Meanwhile, my ring finger was half and half pink and red with a loveheart and a gold foil arrow shot through it. My middle finger had to be my favourite though, with a deep raspberry pink shade and an eyeball with a heart-shaped iris and gold foil sunburst. Finally, my index finger found itself covered in different shades on pink squiggles, tying in all the colours used in the set.
Chlo finished off the mani with some Navy cuticle oil, which is one of my favourites, before snapping a celebratory photo for the ‘gram.
So whether you’re staying at home and rewatching Gossip Girl in its entirety, heading out for date night, or hoping this manicure set could be the one that makes the engagement ring photo – feel free to use this nail art design to inspire your own Valentine’s manicure this February.
