Artist In Residency: Harriet Westmoreland’s Rose Quartz At-Home Manicure
Welcome to Artist in Residency, our series that brings the industry's most innovative artists to Rose Inc. for a month of creativity and inspiration. Each week, you'll discover an original look—and the story behind it—created by an artist we love.
One of Harriet Westmoreland’s earliest memories started around the time she was 4 years old. “My Grandmother had a little French manicure nail kit and every Saturday morning I would watch her do it on herself,” she recalls, noting that she studied this ritual well into her teen years. Years later, Westmoreland reimagined the classic look in her mind—a fine line of color that hugged her nail’s short, square edge—but couldn’t find a nail tech who could bring it to life exactly the way she wanted, so she set out to create it herself. “In the beginning it would take me hours to do the French,” she recalls. “I couldn't get it right for such a long time, but here we are!”
Soon enough the self-taught artist was getting requests from friends and then eventually, strangers. With two young sons at home, turning her passion into a flexible profession made a lot of sense. Fast forward a few years and the Yorkshire-based artist has worked her way from salons to London-based private clients and has big aspirations for her own product line. Her work, best described as modern, minimal, and meticulous, is sophistication for the Instagram era.
For these reasons and more, Rose Inc. is delighted to welcome Westmoreland as our very first nail artist in residency.
Her Residency Inspiration:
A blink-and-you-miss-it nail moment, this understated manicure is perfectly representative of Westmoreland's style: understated and elegant. But just because it has an airy feeling, doesn’t make this rose quartz manicure any easier than Westmoreland’s sharp micro-French. “This is the most difficult look,” she warns. Luckily, with a little practice, it’s possible to DIY at home.
The sheer peachy colors go with any skin-tone…
Behind This Look:
Westmoreland used gels—Bio Sculpture Gel in Rose and French Créme—but suggests polish for easier application. Her strategy was simple: Small swipes of white sandwiched between layers of sheer pink to create a marbled effect like the popular gemstone.
Beginning with two sheer shades of pink, apply one coat of your first shade after following Westmoreland’s nail prep protocol from her first week in residency. She recommends the Dior Diorlisse Abricot polish range: “The sheer peachy colors go with any skin-tone and it’s a hardening base, so you get the gel effect,” she says. “It self-levels and dries smotherly—it's a great base.” Alternating brushes to maintain an organic feeling—try a nail art brush kit—is how Westmoreland then dragged small wipes of white polish between alternating layers of pink. “A tiny sponge would work as well,” she offers. “Sponge onto dry polish then do another layer of color over top.” Finish with a top coat—and don’t forget that this kind of thing takes time. “It's just patience,” Westmoreland says.
Photographed by Hanna Hillier. Written by Lexy Lebsack.
