YOU Beauty: Olympics Nails in Number

Above all else the Olympics are a game of numbers. There’s the medals table, the 7 minute and 21.3 second rowing race that won Helen Glover and Heather Stanning our first GB Gold in front of 25,000 spectators, the 24 gears on Silver medal winner Lizzie Armitstead’s bike and the five-strong team of gymnasts that won us our first gymnastics Bronze in 100 years.

And from within the walls of P&G’s three Olympic salons in The Olympic Village, International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre, there’s been some number-clinching nail art going on courtesy of catwalk talon supremo, Sophy Robson and a team of technicians. Rebecca Adlington was seen clutching her Bronze with her tips emblazoned by the Union Jack, archer Amy Oliver and vollyeball player Zara Dampney have both been whisked in for the same treatment. Meanwhile Dana Hussein has been spotted sporting her native Iraqi flag and 15 year-old Lithuanian swimmer wiped away tears of joy with yes, you guessed it – some serious nail art. So here’s our guide to Olympic nails in numbers.

207  – The number of flag nail designs Robson created for the Games.

15 – The number of nail technicians working at full speed in the Olympic salons.

171 – The approximate number of manis performed each day.

30-90 – Number of minutes it takes to perform each mani, depending on the intricacy of the flag’s design and the length of the nail.

200 and counting - Number of nail polish bottles used so far.

510  – Total number of hours the salons will be offering manicures for during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

13 – Number of stripes on the American flag  - the most requested design, along with the Union Jack. Spanish, Chinese and French athletes are jostling for position when it comes to the next most popular flag nails.

225 – Number of Max Factor Colour Effects Mini Nail Polish shades being used to create Olympic nails. Ruby Tuesday Red and Candy Blue are the most used colours, £3.99 each (www.superdrug.com). 

Bella Blissett