you may have noticed that andrea is normally in charge of the tuesday talons posts – the reason is very simple. my nails are rather rubbish. i prep, file and polish them, eat lots of protein and wear marigolds when cleaning but none of this matters – literally a few hours after i have painted them they chip, crack and break.

i’ve tried gels nails and shellac and although these proved to have some serious staying power when they came off i was worried about the condition my nails were left in.

when i was presented with the opportunity to have a manicure by nail art queen sophy robson at the chanel boutique in covent garden for the fashion’s night out event, i didn’t have to be asked twice.

for those who don’t know, sophy is responsible for the epic designs displayed by the olympians and paralympians this summer, you can read about it here. in short, she is a bit of a genuis.

i certainly didn’t waste the opportunity to pick her brains about my mischievous nails and quiz her on her time at the olympic park. sophy is ridiculously modest, her work was seen on the hands of athletes clutching bronze, silver and gold medals and inspired beauty boffins around the globe. when i congratulated on her achievement she was so humble and said she was very proud to have been part of london 2012.

to celebrate the vogue fashion event chanel launched three new colours and i opted to hold onto a summer feel with the brightest shade, infidèle.

sophy, who was immaculately turned out in chanel, right down to her no.5 perfume bottle earrings, painted on a base coat and two coats of the pink varnish with just a few swoops of the brush.

given time was limited she told me she would treat me to a little sparkle in the form of a silver glitter outline at the base of a single nail on each hand, a key nail trend for the season.

after painting on the varnish sophy used a thin brush with glitter polish to line the edge of the nail right next to the cuticle. understated but fun. i loved it.

i grilled sophy about how to look after my nails and her top tips included moisturise, moisturise, moisturise (every single day) use a nail hardener (a sally hanson one is good value for money) and paint two very thin coats of varnish – no more thick dollops for me.

i also asked her about new designs she was working on – top secret of course but all very exciting and her enthusiasm creating unique nail art is pretty contagious, she is simply so passionate about her work.  check out the elaborate pink, white and gold design on her own nails in the pictures above!

the pictures of my chubby paws really don’t do sophy’s work justice - my nails have never looked so good!

thank you sophy, there’s still not a chip in sight.

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