The secret of instant sex appeal is at your fingertips

STReTCHINg across the bar for my glass of chilled chablis, I nearly fall off my stool as the barman gives me a flirtatious wink.

It’s years since an attractive man under pensionable age has given me a second look, let alone a genuine, all-out sexy wink.

at 56, I’d resigned myself to being invisible to the opposite sex. But — as I’m discovering — there is one way to get attention and, I’m astonished to find, the secret is literally at my fingertips.

Because I am sporting half-inch long nails, filed to a point and painted in a glossy shade of deep red — and men have turned into putty in my hands.

Normally, I paint my nails only for special occasions such as the office Christmas party. and I’m so slovenly and slack that the same lacquer’s been known to linger well into January.

But when I read a report that suggested women over 50 should concentrate on their nails to distract from their faces, I was intrigued. apparently, if you want to give yourself instant sex appeal, forget about the face creams and lavish time and care on your nails instead.

This trick was demonstrated with aplomb by Nicole Scherzinger recently when celebrating boyfriend Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 win. Uncharacteristically dressed down in Hamilton’s racing team’s colours, one flash of her showstopper, two-tone nails (as she gasped theatrically in excitement) reminded everyone who the other star of the show was.

To put the theory to the test, I enlisted the help of London-based nail expert Nina Lewis, who has worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Leona Lewis and Sophie ellis-Bextor.

She filed my short, blunt nails, before gently scuffing the surface of each and glueing on a set of false nails made from a plastic resin. Ninety minutes later, after buffing and oiling the nails, they looked as though they really belonged to me, and it was time to start experimenting with some very different looks . . .

THE STILETTO

Named for their shape that looks like the pointed heel of a shoe. To create the look (main picture above right), Nina used an emery board to file my nails into a daggersharp point, oiled them as a protection and then painted them with two coats of Chanel’s Vertigo polish, a dark shade of red.

‘Be very careful,’ Nina warned me. ‘ These nails can do serious damage.’

I could see exactly what she meant. With sharpened nails a staggering half-an-inch long, it was like having a lethal weapon on the end of each finger — when I tried to scratch my itchy nose, I actually broke the skin.

You’d have thought such a young image might look odd on an older hand. But actually the nails were very flattering and made my fingers look super elegant.

danger aside, I was surprised by how the nails instantly transformed how I felt. although I was wearing exactly the same outfit of a cream blouse and skinny jeans, I instantly felt more glamorous and powerful.

Sashaying i nto a bar i n my hometown of Winchester, Hants, I was oozing confidence. even so, the much younger barman’s instant reaction, was a shock.

and he wasn’t the only one. as I toyed with my glass, I noticed several heads turn towards me.

The nails had worked their magic. But while they definitely diverted attention from my face, they proved impossible to live with for more than a few hours.

They were so long I couldn’t even pick up a crisp from the bowl on the bar.

and any sense of allure evaporated when I went to the loo during the evening and couldn’t even manage to zip up my jeans.

VERDICT: Instant sex appeal but 12 hours was enough.

THE LOUBOUTIN

SADLY, I can’t afford the £500 or so for a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, but the next best thing could be Louboutin nails. earlier this year, the cult shoe designer launched a range of nail polishes, including one in Rouge, the same shade of scarlet as his shoes’ signature soles.

Keeping my nails the same length and oval shape, Nina uses Christian Louboutin’s Kohl Black on the outside and Rouge underneath, mimicking his iconic pump.

my girlfriends are instantly complimentary. one is so smitten she even wants to stroke my nails. ‘gorgeous,’ she murmurs.

I’m not convinced. The black nails make me feel like morticia from the addams Family, and the deathly shade seems to make my hands look paler and older. Plus, the red underside is apparently a real turn-off.

‘You look as though you’ve got blood on your nails,’ says my boyfriend, Richard, 56, recoiling.

VERDICT: I feel as if I’ve stepped out of the morgue.

MODERN FRENCH

TRadITIoNaLLY, a French manicure is pale pink nail with white painted tips, but stars including Nicole Scherzinger are subverting it with darker tips that start further down the nail. To give me the look, Nina files my nails to a slightly shorter, quarterinch oval. She then applies opi Bubble Bath, a pale pink shade, halfway up the nail, in an exaggerated moon shape, and then paints the rest of the nail in Chanel Le Vernis Black Satin.

The nails are still inconveniently long. I can only use my iPhone by tapping with a knuckle, so even sending a simple message to my daughter takes five minutes and seven attempts.

But i t will be worth it if it instantly knocks years off me and sends my sex appeal soaring.

I decide to gauge Richard’s reaction. In the two years we have been together, he has never seen me with long nails. He does, however, like nicely painted nails and is appreciative when I have had a manicure.

He tells me they’re ‘ very sexy’. But do they make me look more attractive, I ask? ‘definitely,’ he says in a disconcertingly positive way that makes me think I’m going to have to spend a lot more of my time in the local nail bar.

VERDICT: alluring and

sophisticated.

FLAPPER GIRL

NINa squares off my nails then paints the lower half with misa’s Spaced out, a grey shade, and the top with It’s Up To You by opi, a midnight blue colour. This bangup-to- date look is inspired by daring Twenties flappers — who loved this mannish style. I love the colours, which are definitely eye- catching. But the squared ends are ugly. my hands don’t look elegant and my blunt nails aren’t sexy. I’ve never felt less feminine.

‘They make your hands look big,’ says Richard. I think what he means is ‘ugly’.

on the plus side, it’s the easiest of all the looks because I’m not in danger of poking an eye out.

VERDICT: effortless — but zero sex

appeal.

AND THE ONE I WON’T BE TRYING...

BeFoRe Nina even starts, I’m sceptical about this one. after giving me a modern French manicure using opi Bubble Bath, and Nars Purple Rain, she uses a sharp mini skewer to pierce tiny holes in four of the false nails and threads a tiny gold charm through each.

The charms look so cheap they could have come out of a cracker. ‘mum, you’re too old for Claire’s accessories,’ guffaws my daughter. Richard is blunt. ‘You’ve got to hide them before we go out,’ he begs.

VERDICT: I’m at least 40 years too old for this look.