Summer ends on September 22, and while we aren’t ready to say goodbye to summer just yet, we can’t wait for all the joy that fall brings. And that includes our fingertips. We are starting to add fall staples to our carts, so it’s only right that we apply that same energy to our nail game.
We had to hit up our good sis, Melissa Samuel, the owner of FinesseYourClaws, to really understand the assignment for the upcoming season. The London native has always had a passion for art and started nail artistry over a decade ago. After moving to New York, Melissa was inspired by the culture, street style, and fashion. Like the artist she is, she cultivated her own nail style, matching different prints, textures and hardware.
From campaigns with Moschino, Brandon Blackwood, MCM, and more, she’s proven to be THAT nail girl. She also has a celebrity clientele that includes SZA, Justine Skye, and Lil Yachty.
“The thing I love most about being a nail artist is getting to create every day. Whether a client provides inspiration or not, I design nails for them, inspired by them,” Melissa tells xoNecole. “Each set is unique and different, one of one. I'm fortunate to have an eclectic group of clients that allow me to push the envelope daily, it's my passion and I love it!”
Craving some nail inspo for fall? Keep scrolling!
Get Ready for Fall With These Nail Trends:
1. Prints
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“Fall nails are often inspired by Fashion Week, where prints are prevalent. Think tweed, plaid, monochrome," Melissa explains.
2. Texture
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“3D nails add dimension to a blank canvas; as color becomes more muted, the texture still gives it a stylish edge.”
3. Chrome
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“Metallic nails will definitely be trending for fall, fashion is having a futuristic wave. Think Balenciaga and Schiaparelli, silver and gold finishes.”
4. Hardware
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“Gems and jewels make great accent nails, and adornments with prints really pop," Melissa says. "They can be bigger if you're flashy or smaller for a more elegant look.”
5. Matte Nails
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
Melissa says that matte nails are "always chic and a great way to mute bright colors. By removing the gloss, it really makes bold prints pop.”
6. Coffin Nails
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“Coffin nails are also very chic," Melissa tells us. "The tapered tip stops them from being obnoxious even if they're long and over the top. This shape elongates the fingers, making them more elegant.”
7. Square Nails
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
“The square shape is popular, whether long or short. It provides more of a canvas for art and makes a bold statement. This is for the 'it' girls, very NYC!”
For anyone struggling with nail art ideas, Melissa’s advice is simple: Don't overthink it. “Do what feels natural and authentic for you. Even if you start with a dot on each nail and work your way up from there. Art is open to interpretation and a form of your own expression. Have fun with it!”
As a nail artist herself, Melissa is inspired by everything and everyone. She loves texture, water, prints, murals, food, and couture. The list is endless. “It's important for me to think outside the box, to keep my art fresh and feel inspired.” Because she’s always liked to stand out and be different, she believes it’s best to ignore the styles that trend on social media. Ultimately, Melissa’s mantra is, “Become the trendsetter. Start your own wave!”
Courtesy of Melissa Samuel
If you want to recreate some of Melissa's famed manicures at home, the boss babe just released a line of press-on nails on Aug. 26. You can snag a few sets from FinesseYourClaws.com.
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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“I’m in constant discovery and learning about myself, about life, about love, about communicating, and I just say discovery is my current era, and to me, the possibilities are endless of what my capacities are,” the “Motivation” singer told xoNecole during an exclusive interview.
A part of that discovery is acknowledging all of the different looks she’s trademarked over the years, whether it’s her classic short red cut or the blonde she’s been known to lean toward recently. She attests a lot of her iconic looks to her bonus mother, Tina Knowles.
“I’m really grateful to Mama T for that because since she owned and worked in a hair salon, she would say, ‘Well, let’s try this. Let’s cut it off. Let’s grow it back. Oh, it’s just hair,’ you know what I mean?” the 43-year-old recalled.
“I’m definitely in that spirit when it comes to hair and glam and just seeing what pops and what doesn’t. I think that there are no rules.”
“For a long time, brown girls were told you can’t do this, you can’t do this, and you shouldn’t do this. It won’t look good on your complexion. That’s not our story. That does not belong to us at all.
"Our possibilities are endless. If anything, we make the trends and we make it look good. We make gem tones look wonderful because of the brown skin that pops off of the gem tone. We make it look wonderful.”
As the mother of two boys, Noah and Titan, Rowland still aims to create tradition through a good meal. She notes how she manages to balance maintaining quality time with her family as a woman who wears many hats.
“One thing that we’re trying to stay on top of right now is one-on-one quality time,” she shared. “I like to do that with my boys. They both get their own afternoon or day with me, so we have these little dates. Noah and I were sitting at this ice cream spot in LA the last time, and we just sat there and talked. It also made me sad because I was like Oh my God, this three-year-old is growing up so fast. I can’t believe he’s even three, and we’re sitting up here and having this whole conversation.”
“One thing that we’re trying to stay on top of right now is one-on-one quality time. I like to do that with my boys. They both get their own afternoon or day with me, so we have these little dates.”
Rowland added, “Then, with Titan, he likes a sushi spot that we go to for hand rolls, and so, we definitely bond over food and over certain outings that we might have. I just like for them to be one-on-one so that we can create our memories together, and they feel seen by me, their mother, and we just enjoy each other’s time. We laugh, and that means a lot to me.”
She is also very intentional in stressing the importance of giving back, something that was instilled in her at a young age by her mother that Rowland is ensuring her sons get a taste of.
“For Christmas, we like to be home, but we also like to give back,” said Rowland.
“Around Christmastime, I want my kids to understand how important it is to give back. So this year, I think we will pile it on because both of them will understand now even more.
"The three-year-old might miss it, but the nine-year-old is definitely starting to catch on. My mom poured that into me about the spirit of giving, and I want my kids to have that same tradition that my mom gave me.”
Today, she continues to give back by pouring into a locally owned eatery that made her, even having a meal named in her honor in a new partnership centered around spreading the love when it comes to patronizing local restaurants nationwide.
This Is It! is one of her childhood favorite Black-owned restaurants in her home city of Houston. During the earlier DC days, she recalled bonding with her bandmates-turned-family members over a delicious plate of soul food at This Is It!, a fourth-generation, family-owned establishment known for its comfort dishes.
Courtesy
“I love the idea that a huge corporation like Pepsi wants to make sure that in their budget, they’re giving back to communities that have supported them for many years,” she said.
Rowland added, "This Is It! is a place that grew me up and helped me to keep my feet on the ground. This always brings back such fond memories for me.”
In honor of Rowland’s favorite This Is It! meal being named after her, which includes pepper steak with rice and gravy, green beans, peach cobbler, and an ice-cold Pepsi, the “Like This” crooner discussed her recipe for a good time.
“I would say good food,” she laughed. “Not that I need it, but a good Espresso Martini or a French white wine. Sometimes, I might lack energy, so I need a Pepsi to pick me right back up.”
“What else? Good energy. You need good energy. Like, good people with good energy who know how to have a good time. Who aren’t going to look around and see what the other person is doing," Rowland added.
"Because just when people are so good in their body and self-aware and self-assured, they are the funnest people to hang out with because they don’t give a crap about what’s happening around them. They just want to have a good time. I like those people.”
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