“CHECK” out the Checkerboard Nails!
4 Aug
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on which black & white nail design I should get next. I was really feelin’ the Checkerboard design that Maria designed, but was unsure if I could pull it off on all 10 fingers.
But once I got to Sakura this past Saturday, and was surrounded by all the funky nail art, I was like, “Why the hell not?!” Like I always say, GO FIERCE OR GO HOME!
Before we get into the design, this was my first appointment with Maria. She’s been at Sakura for a while, and I wanted to share a few interesting tidbits about her:
- Maria started out as a pastry chef – her favorite part was the decorative aspect. She switched to doing nail art because she was still able to have a creative outlet!
- She does fantastic flat & 3D art.
- She has a special place in her heart for Black & White nail designs.
For the Checkerboard, Maria started with the Clear Calgel base coat, then 2 coats of the very opaque White Calgel:
Then using black acryllic paint with a very long, thin, wispy brush, she carefully drew a grid on the white parts of the nail by tapping and dragging the brush across:
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Then Maria went back with the same Black Acryllic paint, this time with the shorter, pointed, tight-bristled brush. She very delicately filled in the squares…
These are the nails, “sans bling”.
Of course, you know me…I can’t NOT have any bling on my nails. It’s just not the same without it! But I told Maria that I wanted to rock this design for 4-6 weeks, which involves at least 1 fill-in. But having never done a fill-in, Maria gave me the 411 on it:
- When you go for a Fill-In, they file down the entire nail to make it smooth, then they fill-in the Calgel where the nail has grown, close to the cuticle
- Because they file down the entire nail, a design with rhinestones is not conducive for fill-ins
- Holograms are easily work-able because they file off, but can be easily reapplied with the top layer.
So, holograms it was! Maria did a row of small, silver holograms at the cuticle line. Here’s the finished look!!
Maria did such a fantastic job!! She does my friend Keri’s nails (@xoreds13) and she’s very meticulous and passionate about her work. Maria’s also looking forward to going to Japan in September, where she’ll visit Suki and stock up on hot Nail Accessories!!
Call and make an appointment for Sakura today! And tell ‘em SeoulDiva sent ya! 
1709 2nd Ave (btwn 88th & 89th)
New York, NY 212.722.1334
Tags: black & white nails, calgel fill-in, Japanese Nail Art, Maria, sakura, Sakura Nail Spa
i’m loving it – and your “alternative bling” lol
OOO That looks great!!! Very cute and so you. I wish we had a place like Sakura here in DC. On second thought this gives me a reason to come to new york. lol
The checkerboard design w/ holograms looks really good on you. I did a design with holograms before but it was on regular nail polish not Calgel and it looked great too. Hologram rocks. I have gradation on my nail right now. Probably keep it for a month before I change it to something else.
Your nails look great! I love Maria, she is really talented and genuinely enjoys making our nails look fantastic and unique. Let us know how the fill-in goes. I’ve been getting a new set every month and it’s getting kinda pricey, so this might be a more affordable option. Crazy nails are addictive.
Hey ladies! thanks so much for the great comments!!! If you ever want to send me pictures of your nails, I’d love to feature them as Guest Looks!!
Hey there! I stumbled upon your blog while I was doing research on Sakura Nails! The designs you and the artists design are stunning! I was going to do a post on Sakura and wanted to link back to some of your designs if you don’t mind! I will remove the link if you’d like – just let me know! Sakura did not disappoint! I only wish it was closer so I could go more often.
Hey Taryn!! Of course you can link back! Let me know when you do a post, we can do some link love together!
Thanks so much for reading!!
I love heather!!! thank you so much for stopping by Sakura. everyone always looks forward to seeing your nail at the end. and for your fill-in you can totally put stones afterwards….
everyone loves black n white!!! peace, love, and nails!
maria
Those are amazing! I can’t believe that she drew them in herself. BTW, you have gotten me very interested in Calgel. I just spent a little while watching some Youtube vids and reading up on it – I think I’m going to try to find a place here in Calgary that does it and see what it’s like….
DEF let me know if you find any places up there! A lot of places do CalGel, but I love my lil Sakura place b/c they do nail art.