Journal

Itching or redness around your nails hours or days after a gel manicure can be a sign of allergy. This guide explains why it develops, what to do if your skin reacts and how to prevent it.

Builder gel or hard gel? How the two structure gels differ in strength, flexibility and removal, where soft gel and rubber base fit in, and which one to choose.

Most nail lamps sold today are dual UV/LED. Find out how they differ from UV and LED lamps, what to check before you buy, how long to cure gel polish and why nails sometimes burn.

The base coat makes gel grip your nail; the top coat seals in the colour and adds shine. Which type of each to choose, how to apply them and how to fix a top coat that turns dull or sticky.

Red for passion, pink for tenderness, a tiny heart for a wink: twelve romantic manicures for the fourteenth of February, chic rather than sugary.

A colour that seems to rise from the nail and a line as clean as a retouched photo: the Russian manicure explained step by step, with the rules for doing it safely.

A veil of soft, translucent white that makes every hand look cared for. How to choose your milky shade, get a streak-free finish and wear it in a modern way.

Milky white with grey veins, rose quartz pink, green jade, black and gold: how to paint marble nails with gel polish, and 10 marble designs to recreate at home.

The right red depends on its undertone and yours. Learn how to choose it, then pick from 15 red nail designs, from glossy cherry red and red French tips to a ruby cat eye.

Short nails are not a compromise. Fifteen elegant ideas, the shapes that lengthen the fingers and the colours that look best on short nails.

A dehydrator cleanses the nail and a primer helps gel grip it. Find out which goes first, how acid-free primer differs from acid primer and whether your nails need primer at all.

From a sheer pink that hides regrowth to neon over a white base: 15 pink nail designs with the steps to recreate them, and the right pink for your skin tone.

Milky white, chocolate brown, the velvet cat eye and soft almond shapes: the nail trends for 2027, and how to wear them.

Your undertone matters as much as how light or deep your skin is. Find yours in a minute, then choose the nudes, reds, blues and greens that suit you, from fair to deep skin.

Buffed with a paste and a powder, bare nails can shine without any polish. Learn how a Japanese manicure works, how to do it safely at home and when a Russian or gel manicure suits you better.

Before the colour, there is the shape. The seven classic nail shapes, from round to stiletto, which hands and lifestyles they suit, and how to file them perfectly.

Rubber base smooths ridges, flexes with weak nails and can be worn alone for sheer, natural nails. How to apply it without flooding the cuticles, how long it lasts and how to remove it safely.

Lacquered red, velvet, fir green, liquid gold or frosted white: fifteen chic Christmas manicures to shine from the first party to New Year's Eve.