At holiday time, you always see a rush on nail services. But the funny thing about this season is that clients’ needs are all over the place! Your long-lasting options will be popular; a manicure that lasts for two weeks is a must for many clients who are too busy for the weekly appointment or who may have a 10-day trip planned.

“Soak-off nail polish is a huge trend,” says Tony Cuccio, CEO of Star Nail International. “Women who can’t afford to do it every two weeks will still come in for holiday.”

At the same time, you’ll see some nail clients more frequently during the holidays. A sparkly, high-fashion nail, ideal for a holiday party, may need a change back to matte for the office. For New Year’s Eve, clients may come back for something special that they haven’t been wearing all week.

“This winter, nails will continue down the innovative path of customization of designs,” predicts Melissa Hoogendoorn, senior marketing executive at Venique. “Mix it up! Apply polish as the base color, and then add the embellishments of stickers and decals, or use stripers for intricate designs and patterns. For take-home use, encourage consumers to mix ’n’ match— create and customize their own look pairing two polishes.”

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI executive VP and artistic director, says that in the nail art category nail techs will be smart to focus on elegance.

“It’s not Santa Claus on the nail anymore,” she observes. “Apply a Swarovski crystal or some other very sophisticated nail art so that clients love looking at their nails. A single accent finger is on trend, as are textures of all sorts. At OPI, we’re showing our textured nail color Liquid Sand in gold, which continues to be interesting to the consumer.”

With their colorful displays and special holiday collections, nail brands always help salons sell nail services as well as merchandise retail bottles. For example, the limited edition Royal Life Holiday 2013 Collection from Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer, inspired by the royals’ “decadent lifestyle,” presents a regal range of gemstone tones in rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

The China Glaze Happy Holi- Glaze collection includes festively packaged gift sets of lacquer minis. China Glaze also invites on-the-go clients to dip into a bucket stuffed with mini bottles of iridescent Colour Travel Topcoat.

“Tis the season for celebration, so don’t expect anything less when it comes to this season’s manicures,” says Brook Johnson, China Glaze associate brand manager. “With pops of bright colors providing a twist-on-traditional shimmer and shine, creating cheer on the nail has never been more popular.”

RED POINTS THE WAY

And glitter lights the path! Berry makes merry, but this year reds are dominating, say nail watchers.

“Red is classic,” observes Danny Haile, founder and CEO of Gelish soak-off gel polish, which this season is launching the Winter Reds Holiday 2013 Collection. “It flatters every skin tone and is perfect for all holiday occasions. The hues in our holiday collection are exactly what you’ll need to get into the holiday spirit.”

Red gets the head start on holiday from trending all fall, adds Weiss-Fischmann. “Red is still big for holiday, especially tone-on-tone reds,” she notes. “And the tonality is deeper, with rich shades like deep burgundy.”

Red’s holiday buddy—green—shows up this season, too. “Greens were so hot in the summer,” says Cuccio. “Some clients who loved their summer greens will want to carry that through for holiday.”

One way to do it is to accent a red nail with an emerald jewel or holly-green glitter topcoat—or get the one-step look with China Glaze’s This Is Tree-Mendous shade. Stocking up on glitter and glittery polishes is a wise move this season! You’ll find you’re going through bottles of options like Morgan Taylor’s Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds Oh My multi-jewel-toned glitter.

“Some women wear glitter only at this time of the year,” Cuccio continues. “You may never expect to hear certain clients ask for silver glitter, but they will for holiday. Bling is in.”

And gold is as big as silver. “A little black dress, a red lip and gold glitter nails—it’s classic,” says Irene Chao, public relations specialist for the Gelish and Morgan Taylor brands at Hand & Nail Harmony. “Clients love the glitter because they don’t have to spend a lot on a sparkly bracelet or ring to dress up their hands. They get a mani, and they’re set.”

SHADY ALTERNATIVES
For clients declining to go red, the season’s palette is rich and carries some surprises. Gelish offers 130 long-lasting shades ranging from magnetic-sensitive frosts to dazzling sparkles, neons and pure saturated colors.

“Clients also can choose from among Morgan Taylor’s pigmented pinks, daring greens, blues and purples and moody midnight hues to define their digits’ destiny,” says Chao. That moody midnight blue is one of two updated dark shades this season.

“When people get up close, they realize it’s not black,” Chao says. “It’s an interesting twist.”

The other “new black” is gray. “Metallic and smoky shades give a timeless, classic look,” says Hoogendoorn. “Suggest that clients pair their nails with their lipstick for sultry elegance.”

Help clients who will be traveling to warmer climes to get into the mood by suggesting a fun getaway pedicure in bright orange or coral neon, Chao advises. “It’s not only the younger girls who are open to brighter hues,” she says. “All women see the trends and want to try out the eye-catching colors. The age-appropriate barrier is breaking down.”