How to nail spring’s top trends and get talons like French manicure-lover J-Lo

Back in Dublin, at Noir Hand & Foot Spa on South William Street, already owner Ieva Ruskyte is seeing some of the year’s top trends, such as the elegant French manicure with a shimmering twist sported by Jennifer Lopez at the Golden Globes earlier this month, take off.

“French will always be in fashion,” says the nail technician. “For example, yesterday I had two girls who had French. It could be any [colour]: it could be beige, it could be slight pink, it could be nude. I like French with some shimmer and then the white tip, so it’s classic but a bit of fun.”

Dubbed ‘rich girl’ nails, America Ferrera and Margot Robbie are two more of the stars spotted with neat, nude nails on the red carpet recently.

If you prefer to go bold, like our cover girl Emma Stone who showed off deep cherry mocha-coloured nails while lifting a gong for Poor Things, there are plenty of options too.

“What is always going to be popular is nude,” continues Ieva, who predicts glazed doughnut nails (also known as ‘Bieber nails’ after fan Hayley Bieber) – whereby a glittery powder is applied over nude polish – will also be big in 2024.

“Short, rounded oval, square on the corners are the most popular shapes. At the moment, we’re also seeing a lot of grey, navy, dark brown and dark green, which look amazing on short, manicured nails.”

As well as the gentle, professional removal of gel manicures (no picking, ladies!), Ieva says there’s a very easy way for clients to care for their nails at home in between treatments.

“Cuticle oil and hand cream,” she states simply. “At night, not during the day, because during the day you apply hand cream, then you go wash your hands and it’s gone. Put it on your bedside table, and just use it before you go to bed.”

Meanwhile, if you’re not already on the BIAB buzz, get on it, she advises.

“Builder In A Bottle is one of the best things ever invented,” enthuses Ieva of the product, sometimes called ‘strong base’ or ‘protein base’ by salons. “It’s stronger than Shellac but not as strong as gel, it’s kind of in between.

“When we remove Shellac, we remove it with acetone and remove it completely, so it dehydrates the nail and after a while the nail gets a bit weaker. With BIAB, we file it off and we leave a thin layer, and then do again fresh, therefore we do not touch the nail and your nails get stronger.

“It’s a myth that you need to give your nails a ‘break’ in between manicures – your nails do not breathe, they don’t have lungs. If it’s applied and removed properly, they’re fine.”

See noirhandandfootspa.com.