Before it even hit the shelves I was dithering about whether or not to get The WAH Nails Book Of Nail Art. When it did eventually go on sale last month and I previewed a few pages on Amazon I decided that I definitely didn't need it – if I was as confident in all aspects of my life as I am in my ability to translate any design onto a nail, I'd basically be 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy right now – and then a couple of days ago I went ahead and ordered it anyway.
I mightn't need it but my inner fangirl definitely, desperately wanted a copy.
The book contains how tos for 25 of WAH's most popular designs like leopard print, camouflage, roses, and bows, with each one spread across two pages with step-by-step text instructions accompanied by an illustrated visual guide as well as a WAH employee or client modelling the finished look.
The boss of WAH Nails is also this book's author, and in an interview with Twin Magazine earlier this month Sharmadean Reid revealed that the idea behind the book was to give young girls around the world the opportunity to get a little bit of London in their lives in a publication that felt like a Smash Hits! annual.
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I reckon she's achieved that, because while the book is super cool – there is no doubt in my mind that Will.I.Am would work up a rhyme around “dope” to describe it – the feeling that it was probably aimed at someone significantly younger than 30-year-old me was palpable throughout.
The average age of the WAH girls featured is 23, it's riddled with bubble hearts and unicorns, and there are colour-in-yourself nails together with a page of stickers at the back of the book. It's a cute touch (and hey, I never met a unicorn I didn't like) and the stickers gave me a rush of lovely nostalgia, which almost entirely wiped out the feelings of ancient-ness that had been creeping up on me.
Don't let the kitschy design – and it is kitschy rather than kiddy – or the target audience put you off, though. While WAH fangirls like myself will love it right off the bat and this book may have maximum appeal for girls from tweens to early 20s, it's also going to be a very good buy for anyone who'd like a reference tome to help them expand their nail art repertoire.
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The WAH Nails Book Of Nail Art is published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP £9.99/€12.59
