Nailae technology prints pictures on your fingernails

If you're bored with your regular manicure, how about printing your Instagrams on your nails? Spa chain Sense of Touch has brought in Nailae technology, which prints out any pattern or photo of your choice on top of your manicure. You can use a single finger, or all 10 digits but, unfortunately, your feet aren't invited to this party.

The treatment starts with a bottom coat, two coats of white polish, and a finishing layer. Each finger gets wrapped in blue tape to prevent any ink getting on your skin, and is strapped to a magnet that helps you keep still while the printing happens, a process which takes about 10 seconds. You select an image, and then using the touch screen, apply filters like those on Instagram, before resizing it to fit your finger.

Unless you're a hand model, choose less busy images. I was excited to try the crazy eclectic jungle print, but with my stubby, tiny canvas of a nail, a lot of the details were cut off. The photo of the New York skyline looked crystal clear on the screen, but came out like a pointillist rendition of Manhattan. But the pop art images, with their bold lines and colours, looked fantastic.

You must keep extremely still while the printer sprays your nail and hold it at a completely horizontal angle. Also, try to turn in your thumb and pinky finger which naturally rotate outwards so that the image isn't distorted. How long it lasts depends on what kind of polish you use.

Nailae has a big novelty factor and ranks up there as one of the most fun manicures I've had. But it's quite a long process. If you're trying this, schedule double the time needed for a regular manicure. I'm not convinced the result is better than nail stickers, or a really good manicurist who knows how to paint a few designs, but it will come in handy if you are really set on creating a custom image. With the party season ahead, this manicure is a sure-fire conversation starter.