The festive period is a time to dress up and get sparkly and, when it comes to styling, you know that both your and your clients' nails will form a big focal point at this time of year. In fact the party season is the perfect time for a bit of creative nail art to add glitter, jewels and sparkle for nails that really make a statement. Here's our essential guide on how to decorate nails for any dressy occasion.

Base Colour

When choosing the base coat remember to keep the overall look in mind and consider what kind of embellishment you are going to bring to each nail. For example, strong base colours will look too dominant if you decide to adorn your nails with 3D stickers, over the top, but they will look beautiful teamed with rhinestones.

Traditionally the colour for Christmas is red and what better way to jump on this than with deep red berry nails or sparkling fresh red brights? Check out the base colours from the Salon System Gellux Profile Gel Polish range which includes tones of red as well as glitter options like:

Devil Red

Of course, for something more sophisticated that will last through until New Year's Eve, you can invest in a deep, almost Cadbury's purple colour such as Midnight Mystery, which is considered one of the most on-trend colours for the festive season:

Midnight Mystery

Embellishment

Rhinestones are an essential part of a festive look and you can find them in many shapes and colours. Seek out something festive like stars, snowflakes or snow flowers. In terms of colour your options are great but try to keep them complementary to the base colour and remember that for festive occasions silver will always look amazing.

A fun alternative to Rhinestones are nail wraps which require no base coat at all. Nail wraps are one of the hottest trends in nail art and make creating fashionable, eye-catching nails a breeze. Trendy Nail Wraps come in a myriad of fabulous designs that clients will love to wear and nail technicians will love to apply. They're made from high-performance vinyl film and the popular Get Nailed format is designed for full coverage of either toes or fingers without the need to use gel or acrylic. Seek out the, thoroughly festive, Greased Lightening or Dark Knight which both offer shimmery metallic silver on a black glittery base:

One tool made for the steady handed nail tech. is the Nail Art Pen which is available in several great colours and will allow your own design to be captured with a free hand. Get creative with dotting, striping and writing or use the integrated brush as a striper:

Most of all enjoy bringing a little bit of festive fun to your nails!

All products are available from our website www.coolblades.co.uk as we are stockists of beauty supplies, as well as salon supplies.