To help London women get HIV testing on their radar and celebrate the start of Carnival weekend, a must-attend pop-up nail bar is opening in the heart of Peckham on Thursday 21 August. Created by the London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP) 2025, as part of the Do It London campaign, in partnership with Zults, the salon will offer free carnival-inspired express manis, paired with confidential HIV advice and access to testing.
The ‘Tips & Tests’ nail bar is taking over Peckham Palms, a Black-owned, female first business hub. Tips & Tests will offer FREE manicure appointments, with a choice of three fun and striking nail designs to make nails pop at Notting Hill Carnival. Each design has been expertly created by nail artist to the stars Shea Osei, whose eye-catching looks captivated fans when her designs adorned Cynthia Erivo’s nails in movie blockbuster Wicked.
The styles are perfect for a (hopefully!) sunshine-filled festival weekend, with vibrant block colours to choose from and an accent nail selection including colourful camo, playful stripes and leopard prints.
All nail techs at the salon are equipped to have informal chats about HIV testing, and during each manicure guests will be able to sign up for a free HIV test kit. The pop up is delivered in partnership with Zults, a free app that helps people communicate their STI results with partners and potential partners. Like Do It London, Zults is focused on removing barriers and making sexual health conversations more open, straightforward and stigma-free.
The pop-up is opening in response to recent research from LHPP that found a quarter (25 percent) of women in London think getting their nails done is important for their physical or mental wellbeing, but just four percent feel the same about regularly testing for HIV. Nearly a third (31 percent) of women in London have had their nails done in the past 12 months (rising to 38 percent of Black respondents), but just four percent have taken an HIV test.
Do It London is calling on the capital to get involved and work together to prevent HIV. With collective action, it is possible to end new transmissions in London by 2030, through simple actions like regularly taking a quick, free and confidential test – whether at a health clinic, a GP, via an outreach team, or even delivered to home.
For London to make progress towards its zero-HIV targets, transmission and new diagnoses will have to come down amongst all demographic groups. This is not the current trend. There are also stark ethnic health inequalities: in particular, a rise in cases in London amongst people of Black African ethnicity*.
Londoners who want to get their nails prepped for Carnival and learn more about HIV testing can either book a free appointment online or turn up on the day.
· WHAT: Do it London: Tips & Tests – a free nail bar pop-up, with confidential HIV testing info
· WHERE: Peckham Palms, 1-14 Bournemouth Cl, London SE15 4PB
· WHEN: Thursday 21 August 2025, 3pm-9pm
· HOW: Bag a FREE appointment here. Walk-ins also available, on a first come first served basis
Shea Osei, nail tech, said:
“As a nail artist, I get to spend a lot of time up close with my clients – we end up having real world chats about life. We almost become pals, so chatting about something as important as HIV testing just comes easily. I loved bringing the Do It London story to life in my designs – it was so fun celebrating the culture of Notting Hill Carnival and the important message of HIV testing.”
Marc Thompson, Lead Commissioner of the London HIV Prevention Programme commented:
“Approximately a third of people living with HIV in the UK are women, and women account for a quarter of new HIV diagnoses, but they are living in an information vacuum when it comes to HIV information and education. Obviously getting your nails done isn’t exclusive to women, but we wanted to talk to them about HIV in an environment they know, feel comfortable and at ease, and we hope our pop-up will give them new information and empower them to take charge of their health.”
* Getting to zero by 2030: HIV in London – Health Committee, April 2025
