BLOG: The beauty trend that costs as much as your morning coffee.

By NICKY CHAMP

Remember when nail art was considered tacky? When you’d only ever see it on a plastic hand model in nail salons?

A couple of years ago, you would never have thought to paint your nails with palm trees, bow ties or wanted colourful patterns anywhere near your fingertips. But didn’t that change in 2012?

Celebs like Beyonce and Lady Gaga were early adoptors of the nail art trend, followed by the Hollywood A-List set and soon after you couldn’t walk down the street without seeing it.

According to fashion trade journal Women’s Wear Daily, the nail polish industry raked in a staggering $768 million from the U.S. alone in 2012 (up 32% from the year before). Breaking that statistic down means that women on average have 25 bottles of nail polish stashed away at home.

25 bottles? Sure, I’d probably have about the same amount about nail polish strewn around the house.

Um, not so much.

My nail polish number is … now, let me just preface this by saying I have worked on Mamamia’s beauty content in some form or other for the past three and a half years. In other words I’ve tried a lot of nail polish in my time, occasionally some with travel home with me, many I have impulse bought at the chemist, Sportsgirl and…

Oh, alright then. My number is 53 and I am checking myself into the nail polish equivalent of Betty Ford.  Wait, maybe Gwinganna, I really feel that this is the type of addiction that can only be cured with daily yoga and organic food.

How on earth could I be in possession of more than fifty nail polishes? Any why do I have eight bottles of really similarly coloured neon orange? I suddenly felt like Carrie Bradshaw in the episode of Sex and the City when she comes to the realisation she has spend over $40,000 on Manolo Blahniks. Except my figure is closer to $800. How. Can. That. Be?

If you haven’t reached my level of nail polish obsession (or maybe you have) and are keen to know about the nail colour trends of 2013, read on.

METALLICS

I’m just going to put it out there, you are never too old for glitter. And besides why should 11-year-olds have all the fun? Glitter fingertips, metallic shimmer patterns and two-tone shimmery nails are all majorly trending for 2013. Go for the chunky style of glitter polishes over finer ones and for extra bling, layer it over a flat metallic polish, like these Hello Darling ones. I’m eye-ing off the Rose Gold to become #54 in my collection.

Shop the trend: Hello Darling Set of 5 Metallics nail polish.

DARK REDS

Dark red – it’s is the new black. Usually the dark burgundy’s and oxblood’s of the nail polish world are confined to the cooler months, but this season it has been reinvented as a ‘fresh’ colour for summer. Usually, I can’t be swayed from the classic and original dark red that is Chanel Rouge Noir, but this Butter polish in Rosie Lee has made a cheater out of me. Apply the La Moss glitter over the top in a thin line on the middle of the nail for an up-to-the-minute look.

Shop the trend: Butter London Duo Of Rosie Lee And La Moss.

BLUES

Shop the trend: OPI Can’t find my Czechbook.

TWO-TONE TIPS

Shop the trend: Metallic Moon Nail Wraps $16.

C’mon spill (or at least don’t make me feel alone in my nail polish hoarding), how many bottles of nail polish do you own?