Post date: Aug 07, 2012 5:41:39 PM
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL (AUGUST 06, 2012) (REUTERS) - All eyes and cameras were on models' fingers as they strolled down the runways of the second edition of Brazil's Nails Fashion Week on Monday (August 06).
Brazil puts on its second Nails Fashion Week as fingers "walk" down the catwalk to showcase the latest nail varnish trends.
The mini catwalk was especially designed to showcase the latest trends of nail varnish, a top-selling fashion accessory in many parts of the globe.
Celebrities, nail artists and nail polish lovers flocked to the event, which is the first of its kind.
The bright-coloured bottles drew grasps from many women who have made Brazil the world's biggest nail polish consumers.
Organisers expect nearly 5,000 people to visit the two-day fair, which cost some 1.8 million U.S. dollars.
According to the event's head organiser Adrianne Elias, the industry grew so much over the past years that they decided to promote a fashion event for nail colour alone.
"Brazil is the world's biggest nail varnish consumer in terms of volume, and is only behind the United States in terms of profits. So Brazilian women have strongly embraced nail polish fashion and this is why we have so many new releases, so many innovations and so many new collections," she said.
The event also offered its visitors the chance to get a manicure for free with the latest colour trends.
After watching the parades by nail varnish companies, including U.S. firm OPI, the visitors were able to get a morale boost.
Alice Meirelles, a 25-year-old business student who runs a nail polish blog, said many Brazilians were more into nail colour than clothes.
"Nail varnish is a part of everything today because we change our nail colour like we change clothes. I buy more nail varnish than I buy clothes nowadays," she said.
But nail polish is still a small sub-sector of the global beauty industry compared to other make-up items such as lipstick, but it is on its way to becoming almost as big a business, analysts say.
In fact, nail bars in Brazil have become hugely popular among all classes over the past decade. Prices vary between 5 and 35 dollars, but could cost more for fancy nail designs that go beyond the simple polish.
Hair dresser, Malu Silva, said she had no doubt that new nail polish trends would become a hit.
"We were just saying that nail polish was one of the top-selling cosmetics last year. So I think this is an interesting industry and I think this fashion trend will stick," she said.
The nails fashion week organisers already have bigger plans for next year as more companies are looking to grab a larger slice of the nail polish market.