Queenie Nguyen has been doing my nails FOREVER.
Since quarantine hit particularly. She’s the most effective, she has all of the celeb secrets and techniques, she works with everybody who’s anybody & is simply so MAJOR at nails.
Usually I’m going for a sq. form however these days Queenie has been convincing me to develop my nails somewhat longer. We’re getting there.
I’ve invited Queenie to the weblog right now to share all her suggestions & tips for nail care at dwelling. Like, we’re all nonetheless at dwelling a ton, so why not maintain your nails, proper?
On this submit you’ll be able to anticipate to listen to Queenie’s suggestions for making your manicure final, the #1 factor that’s most necessary in relation to caring in your fingers & nails, plus her favourite nail polish model.
With that, let’s welcome Queenie to The Skinny Confidential.
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♡ Introduce your self & inform the viewers your background in relation to nails. Give us all the small print, we would like your complete life story.
Queenie Nguyen: My title is Queenie Nguyen & I’m knowledgeable manicurist & artistic nail artist based mostly in Los Angeles, CA. I began doing nails after I was 17 years previous through which I attended Excessive Faculty in the course of the day & Cosmetology Faculty at evening, concurrently. My complete household works within the nail trade & one in all my aunts owns a nail salon in Los Angeles. I used to be fortunate to have the ability to have the extra information from household & a spot to look at & observe. I acquired my license after I was 17 & have labored as a nail tech ever since. I like watching how passionate my mother & my aunts are at nails & it impressed me to pursue the identical profession path.
After 10 years of working in a salon setting, I used to be prepared for extra so I began freelancing in 2018 & broadened my profession path into editorial tasks in addition to some purple carpet occasions. I discover it rewarding to have the ability to do what I like daily & to have the chance to satisfy & work with so many amazingly proficient folks within the magnificence trade.
Presently, nail artwork has turn into such an enormous pattern available in the market & individuals are obsessive about it. I completely get that however I delight myself in conserving my purchasers’ nails wholesome by not utilizing closely fumed merchandise with plenty of chemical compounds in addition to limiting an excessive amount of enhancement.
Due to that, I normally lean in the direction of extra minimal & trendy hand-painted nail artwork as an alternative of those who contain a ton of rhinestones & 3D gildings that may require heavy responsibility drilling to take away.
♡ Everyone seems to be in quarantine, what’s the primary very first thing it is best to do for his or her nails?
QN: Proper now, throughout quarantine is the proper time to take a break from all issues that you simply had been doing to your nails usually. I’m positive a number of us put on gel polish or some form of enhancements on our nails as a result of we normally declare that we by no means have time for a break, which might be true.
With everybody in quarantine now, this can be a nice time to take away your gel, trim your nails shorter to take away any damages & situation them.
♡ You mentioned buffing your nails isn’t that nice. Is there one thing else we ought to be doing?
QN: Shiny buffing remains to be a type of buffing so the extra you do it, the extra you’re slowly stripping away the highest floor of the nails. Motive being, it’s a must to roughen the floor of the nails earlier than you shiny buff them in order that they are often further shiny.
It won’t be dangerous occasionally, however I don’t advocate shiny buffing your nails too typically. Particularly proper after you take away your gel polish as a result of your nails are fairly gentle & brittle. It’s best to not add extra forceful actions on the nails. I extremely advocate giving your self a pure manicure, situation the pores and skin round your nails & deal with them with a nail straightener.
♡ How can we actually be utilizing this time at dwelling, in quarantine, to maintain our nails?
QN: I believe this can be a nice time to be taught to do your personal manicure so that you could finest keep your nails regularly. It takes time however it may be enjoyable in the event you dedicate time for self care. Don’t rush so that you could take the steps essential to present your self a correct manicure.
Nail remedy is very advisable & it may be within the types of cuticle oil, cuticle balm, hand cream, hand exfoliator, hand masks & nail strengthener. Use this time to situation your nails to advertise nail progress & nail well being.
♡ Inform us about press on nails?
QN: Press on nails are nice alternate options to nail enhancements throughout this time. They arrive in numerous lengths, shapes & designs so you may have a number of choices to select from.
Some could be requested for customized design by a selected artist however are inclined to price extra. They are often utilized utilizing sticky tabs which final about 2-Three days by means of washes or with nail glue which lasts as much as 7-10 days. As a result of these are brief time period short-term alternate options, they won’t injury your nails as a lot in comparison with precise nail extensions.
A few of my favourite press on nail manufacturers are: Static Nails, imPress, Salon Good.
♡ What nail traits do you see rising after quarantine?
QN: Minimal nail artwork: Minimalism has at all times been stylish within the nail neighborhood however it would proceed to turn into trendier after quarantine due to how straightforward it’s to attain by oneself. Many artists had been & are nonetheless educating easy nail artwork tutorials on social media as a result of lots of people are nonetheless nervous in regards to the thought of going again to the nail salons.
Common polish rather than gel: Common polish is simpler for removing so many will go for common polish submit quarantine.
Gradient manicure: So easy & could be simply achieved by anybody. Select 5 colours of the identical household & go from gentle to darkish.
Pure: With everybody being dwelling for thus lengthy, self care has turn into much more necessary & so apart from choosing extra pure merchandise, folks may also lean in the direction of extra non-toxic nail polishes.
French tip: A traditional nail pattern that made an enormous comeback final yr will proceed to be very stylish post-quarantine. With summer time across the nook, it’s an effective way to rock neon colours subtly with it being on simply the information of the nails.
♡ What’s your finest nail hack?
QN: You may mend a crack in your nail with a tiny lower out piece of a tea bag & nail glue. As soon as dry, you’ll be able to buff with a nail buffer to easy out the floor & VOILA! Nail repair!
♡ If somebody needs to present themselves a gel manicure what merchandise do they want & what steps ought to they take?
QN: I don’t normally advocate doing your personal gel manicure at dwelling as a result of gel will solely keep on longer than common polish with correct preparation. It’s actually laborious to prep each fingers at dwelling with one hand being the non-dominant.
Nevertheless, if essential, I’d advocate utilizing a very easy at-home gel system like Le Mini Macaron. Their package comes with every part wanted from eradicating wipes, to buffer, to nail polish & their one step mini LED lamp that may be plugged straight into your laptop computer with the USB it comes with.
Additionally they have a ton of nail tutorials on their web site displaying you the way you are able to do your personal gel manicure within the consolation of your personal dwelling or workplace.
The steps for an at-home gel manicure is similar to how you’ll give your self a traditional manicure. Reduce, form, cuticle prep ( this is essential so the gel can stick on the nail & not the cuticle so be sure to push again the cuticle utterly ), polish with gel polish & treatment within the LED lamp. As soon as executed with every part, you’ll be able to moisturize your fingers afterwards. Make certain the nails are totally dehydrated earlier than making use of the polish so depart all of the moisturizing merchandise to the tip of the manicure.
♡ How can a person maintain his nails in quarantine?
QN: Males normally have their nails brief in order that’s half the battle. Nevertheless, they have an inclination to chop their nails erratically so I’d extremely advocate conserving a nail file & buffer helpful in order that they’ll form their nails to keep away from sharp edges.
Additionally, plenty of males develop hangnails & ingrown nails as a result of their pores and skin may be very dry so I like to recommend utilizing cuticle oil & hand cream to moisturize. I believe the most effective time for males to moisturize is true after getting out of the bathe as a result of in any other case, they’ll neglect to do it.
♡ What ought to we NOT be doing to our nails in quarantine?
QN: Do NOT peel your gel or your acrylics off your self as this can trigger excessive injury to your nail floor.
For gel, take your time to soak them off your self with foil & cotton & watch for about 15 minutes for every part to return off your nails. For acrylics, they’re thicker so I recommend slicing them brief to take away the pretend suggestions & then soak them like gel however in sections. Which means you test for a number of minutes to push off the acrylic & re-soak for the remaining to return off. Don’t rush the method! You’re not forcing something to return off roughly.
♡ How can we protect our nail polish or gel?
QN: Nail preparation is a very powerful key to preserving nail polish, common or gel. You want a clear & dehydrated nail plate for the polish to stay on. Additionally, be very cautious to shine solely on the nail plate & keep away from touching the cuticle inflicting polish to chip.
My tip to take care of common polish is to reapply the shiny high coat each Three days to protect the polish.
Put on gloves once you do family chores in order that the polish doesn’t begin chipping on the tip inflicting the remainder of the nail to chip polish as effectively.
♡ What are your high 5 suggestions in relation to nails?
QN: My high 5 suggestions are:
+ Moisturize: I believe I can’t categorical sufficient how necessary it’s for us all to maintain our fingers & cuticles moisturized. That is the primary trick to advertise nail progress in addition to keep away from these painful & annoying hangnails.
+ Merchandise: It’s important that you simply put money into the merchandise that you simply use in your fingers & nails. This may vary from instruments to polishes. Do analysis into the merchandise in addition to the salons that you’re planning to go to in your providers so you can also make positive they carry the fitting merchandise in your wants.
+ Gel or Acrylic break: Take a break in between gel manicures or different forms of extensions in order that your nails could be conditioned & handled for hydration & pure progress.
+ Be constant: No nail miracle can occur in a single day. Be affected person with the method whether or not it’s a nail remedy at dwelling or a constant appointment along with your nail individual with a view to obtain the nail look that you really want.
+ Nail nutritional vitamins: Analysis & take nail nutritional vitamins like Biotin or collagen to assist keep the well being of your nails.
♡ What’s your favourite nail polish model & why?
QN: This can be a laborious query as I work with so many alternative manufacturers but when I’ve to decide on only one model then I should say Nails Inc. for normal polishes. I like that their polishes are extremely pigmented & final a really very long time. I particularly love their “Nail Pure” line which incorporates a variety of colours which can be vegan.
Some vegan polishes have a tendency to not final very lengthy due to the shortage of sure components like Formaldehyde, Toluene & Dibutyl Phthalate & many extra chemical compounds. They’re additionally recognized for his or her in style NailKale Superfood Base Coat & different rehab merchandise post-gel removing. Moreover, Nails Inc. can be a really stylish & style ahead line of polishes so shoppers will at all times get essentially the most distinctive colours for the gathering.
♡ How can we moisturize our heels & fingers so that they don’t get cracked & dry?
QN: I personally am an enormous fan of exfoliation. With out exfoliation, your moisturizer won’t take in to your pores and skin & hydrate it. I extremely advocate you exfoliate your fingers & toes at the least twice per week with a view to do away with the lifeless pores and skin, then whereas the pores are open, apply a skinny layer of physique oil & therapeutic massage it in your fingers & toes. I additionally combine a physique serum with physique cream to use on high of the physique oil for added hydration.
For the women who train loads, the callus will construct up beneath your toes naturally so I like to recommend conserving a pumice stone in your toilet & scrub the callus space on the day by day to melt it up earlier than moisturizing. Moreover, put money into an awesome sock masks which you can placed on earlier than mattress so as to add moisture to the underside of your toes.
I’d additionally use a hand cream that has SPF in it with a view to defend your fingers from the solar. My present favourite hand lotions which have SPF are Revive Fermitif Hand Renewal Cream ( SPF 15 ) & Supergoop Hand Cream with Sea Buckthorn ( SPF 40 ). Each of those hand lotions present nice moisture with out being too greasy.
♡ The place can everybody discover you? Pimp your self out.
QN: You could find my work on journal covers, style campaigns, purple carpet, editorial shoots, journal pattern articles & extra. Comply with me on Instagram @nailartbyqueenie & let’s proceed this enjoyable journey collectively!
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You should definitely try Queenie on Instagram @nailartbyqueenie. You’ll see all her fab work from Cosmopolitan & Vogue journal shoots, to sizzling celebs, Prada & Valentino.
Would like to know what you’re doing in your nails whilst you’re caught at dwelling? Are you going all out & making an attempt new issues or letting your nails breathe? Inform inform inform.
uryn x, lauryn
+ try what occurred after I tried child foot peel.
++ skincare 101: suggestions for organizing your toilet.
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