Nail art is going three dimensional. Customers now want texture, along with colorful designs. We went to see what customers are getting at the nail salon.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Nail art is going three-dimensional. People who embrace colorful designs now also want texture. NPR’s Ana Perez went to a salon to find out how it’s done.
(SOUNDBITE OF NAILS BEING FILED)
ANA PEREZ, BYLINE: For Courtney Davis, the Nailsaloon in Washington, D.C., is her art studio…
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: She does cute designs.
PEREZ: …A place where she can experiment with different techniques, colors and even create her own masterpieces.
COURTNEY DAVIS: I definitely love being able to express myself through my nails – you know, receiving compliments is great, but just really having that chance to be creative.
PEREZ: And these nails are really something else. They come alive. You can truly feel them.
SYDNEY GORMAN: The base is a cat-eye silver, and then a white French tip. But then we’re doing a 3D on top, like a water droplet.
PEREZ: Customer Sydney Gorman says going 3D takes her nails to the next level.
GORMAN: I also attended a Megan Thee Stallion concert a couple months ago, so I had a 3D snake design over one set of nails and then flames on the other.
PEREZ: Snakes were the theme of Megan’s most recent album. And just as with all forms of art, tools and methods for nail art are constantly evolving. To create eye-popping 3D designs, Nailsaloon owner Andrea Vieira says her technicians use magnets to move the polish to create dimension and texture.
ANDREA VIEIRA: And it pulls the color. So I think people like the element of surprise, where, from a distance, you see a nail. But then, when you get a little bit closer, you really realize that it’s something else.
PEREZ: Marnae Orton has been with Nailsaloon since they opened in 2014.
MARNAE ORTON: Trying to decide which one I want to put on you.
PEREZ: She says 3D nail art has been popular for about a year, but it’s really picked up recently at the salon. She’s booked out months in advance. Orton says this is what drives her. There’s always something new in nail art.
ORTON: Because I’m never stagnant of – in what I’m doing. Like, there’s always some new type of design to learn, and I just – I love that about it.
PEREZ: They’re not cheap, though – 3D accents can cost up to $90. But if you don’t like them, it’s only temporary.
(LAUGHTER)
PEREZ: Ana Perez, NPR News.
Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
No Comment! Be the first one.