But I, crusader of the kooky nail, did not get to try one of the latest crazes -- Minx -- until last night. I was visiting the salon and spa at Whittemore House, the new Grove Street space owned by Bumble and Bumble color alums Victoria Hunter and Larry Raspanti. I was about to opt for buff men's-style nails (even fanatics need a break), but then, manicurist Oksana Shushakova opened her drawer, revealing sheet after sheet of vaguely nail-shaped stickers -- Minx! There were pages of shiny metallic silver and gold, Black Watch tartan, exaggerated houndstooth and Seventies style floral.
For my first go-round, I opted for the signature silver. Oksana began by giving my nails a thorough clean and scrub, and then she placed the silver stickers on my nails, pulling and pulling until each piece was taut and began to take on the shape of the nail underneath. Long silver strips stuck out from each nail like candy wrappers, and all the hairdressers came by to marvel at my robotic digits. After the excess was trimmed, I sat my fingers beneath a heat lamp for a few minutes to set them. (The results are supposed to last at least 10 days for hands.) I think I blinded our Deputy Editor during a meeting this morning, but everyone else seems positively mesmerized, myself included.
Photos by Jean Y Kim
