Entries categorized as ‘Nails’
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 · 14 Comments
During Fashion Week, I read this article on Glamour.com about the “Blackberry Bling” manicure trend. Basically it’s the trend of having your Thumb be an “accent” colour or design, since it’ll stand out as you’re tapping away on your Blackberry device.
So naturally, I had to give this Nail Trend a whirl at my next Sakura visit.
Honestly I had NO idea what I wanted, but was just happy that I could get in with Megumi (after my last “solid colour only” nightmare).
I peeped this design as inspiration, but wanted it to be black (of course!):
→ NOTE: There are 2 Sakura Nail & Spa locations: UES & LES. Each location has different “accessories”. The UES has 3D Acryllic Art. The LES has nail stickers and Silver & Gold foil tape.
Megumi got started with a Biogel base + Black Calgel reverse french. Then she took the strip of gold tape and laid it across the lower portion of my nail:
After she laid down all the strips, she went back with embroidery scissors to cut off the excess from the sides. Like these:
Then came the bling! I put some on my ring finger and…on my Blackberry Bling finger!
Here’s the finished look!!
I think I took it a LITTLE too far with the “bling” on my thumb, but that’s the fun part about beauty — it’s whimsical and temporary!! It’s a great reason to have a creative with it!
Sakura Nail & Spa — Lower East Side
35 East 1st Street, New York -212.387.9161
Categories: Nails
Tagged: blackberry bling, Blackberry Manicure, CalGel, Japanese Nail Art, nail tape, Sakura Nail Spa
Monday, March 8, 2010 · 1 Comment
A few weeks back: it was the end of NYFW, and I’d had my Stripe Nail Design on for 3 weeks. My nails started to resemble talons, so I desperately wanted a fresh set.
But I called Sakura WAY too late to get an appointment. It was completely and utterly my own fault — I should know by now that you need to call at least a week in advance (if not earlier) to get an appointment for nail art.
The ONLY way I could get in that weekend was if I got — gasp! – a SINGLE COLOR.
But I was desperate. I told myself it would be good for me. Take it back to the old school, HP. So I took the appointment…
I had something specific in mind: a pinky/brown nude color. So I asked them to mix 2 of the Calgel colors to get something close to what I wanted.
But of course, once I was there, I HAD to get SOMEthing special…
Luckily, Hitomi was able to squeeze me in to help. I wanted black ovals on my cuticles, so she used Black Acryllic Paint to draw them in.
Here’s the finished product!
Categories: Nails
Tagged: black moons, CalGel, Sakura Nail Spa
Thursday, February 25, 2010 · 4 Comments
[May the Nail gods forgive me for my lateness.]
Lani was amazing enough to send me her nail pics weeks ago, but because of the madness of Fashion Week and work, I didn’t get around to posting it until now. But I promise you, it’s worth the wait!!
Lani and her friend Irene went to Sakura prepared. They visited Kinokuniya (a bookstore that carries Japanese mags galore) and peeped some designs from Nail Venus Mag prior to their appointment, so they already knew what they wanted.
(Irene & Lani)
What I love about these designs is that they took inspiration from the Nail Venus mags, flipped it, and made it their own!!
IRENE’S DESIGN:
- “Irene had beautiful, long natural nails going in, so she did white, silver, black and silver glitter tips on all fingers except her ring fingers.
- “On those she had a white Calgel base, with the white, silver, black & silver glitter design over the whole nail. Plus some rhinestones thrown on there for extra sparklies! Her artist was Carmen, and she did amazing, intricate work – and it took almost 3 hours!”
LANI’S DESIGN:
“I used a design that had pink Calgel base with black hearts painted on the ring and thumb fingers, and a rhinestone at the base of the all the other nails.”
- “I decided to change it up and make my index, middle and pinkie fingers black Calgel with the rhinestone at the base. My artist (whose name I sadly can’t remember) found it was easier to work with tiny black holograms instead of trying to paint the hearts by hand, so that’s what we did! We ended up with 3 layers of a peachy pink Calgel on the thumb and ring finger (#64 I think) with two little black hologram hearts. The rest of the fingers had 3 layers of black Calgel, with the large rhinestones at the bottoms of them.”
Both your nails look SO fly!!! Thank you so much for sharing your designs and inspirations!!!
Sakura – UES
1709 Second Ave
New York, NY 10128
(212) 722-1334
Categories: Nails
Tagged: CalGel, Japanese Nail Art, Nail Venus, Sakura Nail Spa
Thursday, February 4, 2010 · 16 Comments
Last Sunday, I went to see my Nail Art Homegirl, Megumi at Sakura Nail & Spa – UES.
I usually get my nails done around the 1st and 15th of each month (hello…payday!). But this time, the 15th falls RIGHT in the middle of NYFW. So this design had to be cute enough to cut it for the 1st half of Fashion Week…
Although I had a lot of fun with the red nails, I felt like they looked a little off when I was wearing Pink lipstick or Burgundy, or they didn’t match my outfits. So I knew I wanted to go back to a black & white design.
I had seen this design a few visits ago…and I’ve been stuck on it:
I could tell by the thought bubbles going off in Megumi’s head…that this was not a simple design. But she took it on! First, she did a base coat of Biogel.
I’ve found that since I’ve been rocking a much longer nail length, I really prefer Biogel as a base. My nail designs seem to hold up longer without any lifting. So she did 2 coats of Black Calgel on the ring finger + 2 coats of bright white Calgel:
Then she took some black acryllic paint with the UBER thin line brush.
She did these lines to serve as guides:
Once the guides were set in place, Megumi painstakingly filled in the gaps with 2 coats of Black Calgel. This took a long time but she did SUCH an incredible job:
Then, she added rhinestone designs to both the ring fingers. I asked for a heart on one hand, and a star on the other. Note: un-beknownst to me…rhinestone stars are actually quite difficult to create free-form. So Megumi had to draw an outline first with silver glitter liner and then fill in with the rhinestones.
After the rhinestones, she added a mix of black, gold and silver holograms for the finishing touch….
Here are the finished looks!
I have to say, it’s one of my favorite designs!!! 
thanks Megumi!
Sakura – UES
1709 Second Ave
New York, NY 10128
(212) 722-1334
Categories: Nails
Tagged: Black & White, CalGel, Japanese Nail Art, Sakura Nail Spa
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 · 3 Comments
The last time I was at Sakura, the gals told me they got a bunch of new nail stickers in — one of them was LACE! I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, but I was curious as to how they would look.
Luckily, Eleazaida was daring enough to try them! Homegirl’s nails look chic and edgy. And the great thing is, her nails weren’t super long, and yet the design worked well with her nail shape & length!
Eleazaida visited Sakura UES for her appointment, and it just so happened she visited my new Nail Steady, Megumi!
Here’s her nail experience:
“Normally I get my nails did at Sakura downtown but I was coming from my house in Harlem…
I knew I wanted black and white and decided to do all black and the ring finger white, and remembering that the uptown location does 3d art (I’m a regular at Sakura Downtown with Hitomi-almost felt like I was cheating on her today) so I decided to go for some 3d art and saw cute bows in Nail Up and was set on the design.
Megumi mixed black pigment with clear calgel to make a BLACK black and used white calgel.
She did Biogel as my base because I told her I was having some issues with lifting. She said that some people’s nails react that way to the Calgel and often do better with Biogel as a base. (That’s usually what I get done too!)
She actually used a black powder to make the bow using a techinique very similar to how they do acryllics. I was going to do some black stones but them Megumi remembered she had the lace trim and well the rest is history.
I’ve been doing Calgel since the summer and I can tell you it’s worth every penny. My nails grow too long and I have to trim them and they are so strong.”
Here’s Eleazaida’s final look!
Much much thanks to my girl, El for sharing her nail design and her experience at Sakura!! (follow her on Twitter — @eleazaida)
Don’t forget to get yo OWN nails did for New York Fashion Week with the SeoulDiva Discount at Sakura!
Sakura Nail & Spa – UES
1709 2 Avenue, New York –
Categories: Nails
Tagged: CalGel, Japanese Nail Art, Lace Nails, NYC, Sakura Nail Spa
Monday, January 25, 2010 · 5 Comments
It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again, but New York Fashion Week is definitely upon us once again.
I’m SO thrilled to announce that Sakura Nail & Spa of NYC has agreed to offer another NYFW discount to all my SeoulDiva readers!
FROM FRIDAY, FEB. 5TH — FRIDAY FEB. 19TH, SEOULDIVA READERS CAN GET A 20% DISCOUNT AT BOTH SAKURA NAIL & SPA LOCATIONS BY MENTIONING “SEOULDIVA” AT CHECKOUT!
Y’all know I’m a year-round Calgel addict, and a HUGE fan of the crazy nail art designs that Sakura does…but Fashion Week is a PARTICULARLY great time to get your nails did:
- Last season’s Fashion Week Nail Design lasted a whopping 26 days without chipping or lifting.
- Having your hair & makeup be on point when mingling backstage is a hassle. NOT having to worry about your nails looking fly = Priceless.
Call now to make your appointment at either the UES or the LES location!
Sakura Nail & Spa — Upper East Side
1709 2 Avenue, New York -212.722.1334
Sakura Nail & Spa — Lower East Side
35 East 1st Street, New York -212.387.9161
Categories: Nails
Tagged: CalGel, Japanese Nail Art, NYC, NYFW, Sakura Nail Spa
Thursday, January 21, 2010 · 23 Comments
Last Friday, before heading off to a MAC PRO to PRO event, I went to get my nails did at Sakura Lower East Side with my homegirl Megumi.
(P.S. After going on a few nail dates with Megumi, I think we may have to go steady. She gets my crazy whims and I LOVE the way she does my nail shape!)
I knew I wanted to dip my toe into some color after realizing I predominantly lean towards Black designs. So what better color than a bright, obnoxious Red? (Kinda like MAC Lady Danger Lipstick)
After some perusal through the Japanese Nail Magazines, I came across this one:
Unfortunately, Sakura didn’t have any star studs, but I thought I could improvise and keep it simple and bright.
I wanted more of an orange/red — luckily, Sakura LES just got in a new Calgel shade…aptly named “Red”.
First, Megumi filed them to a pointy shape. The more I frequent Sakura, the POINTIER my nail shape seems to get…and I LOVE IT! I find that the pointier shape makes my fingers appear longer, too.
←Never did I think my nails would be so long! Thanks, Calgel!
Megumi began by doing the Red Calgel base — of course, with the clear moons!
Then we chose 3 random fingers, and Megumi placed a combination of small gold beads + small yellow rhinestones in lines, but mixed them a random placement:
We were going to then add some additional craziness to the other nails…but at the last minute, I decided to keep them plain. It made the “studded” nails seem far more impactful.
Here’s the finished look:
Thoughts?
SAKURA NAIL & SPA — LES
35 East 1st Street, New York
(212) 387-9161
Categories: Nails
Tagged: Japanese Nail Art, Red Nail Design, Sakura Nail Spa
Thursday, January 7, 2010 · 3 Comments
In light of New Year’s Eve, I made an appointment to get my nails did for the festivities. I’m trying to grow out my nails to the much-popular talon length that many of the celebs sport.
(Dunno, but I have the strange desire to have really long, pointy, plastic-red nails!!)
Keeping mind, however, that the celebs probably aren’t tapping away at a keyboard all day…LOL.
So I went to see Megumi at Sakura Lower East Side on New Year’s Eve Day, without knowing what I was going to get done. So I flipped & found something that caught my eye from the Winter 2010 Issue of Nail Venus Magazine:
They were aptly named “Party Nails”!
The only adjustment I wanted to make to the design was for the black nails to have a clear cuticle (since my nails seem to grow so quickly).
Megumi started with the base colors: Black and then Silver Glitter for the accent nail:
Then, Megumi created the colors for the “party squigglies” by mixing Pigment + Glitter with Clear Calgel. The reason she needed the Pigment with the Glitter was to make sure there was enough color that it would show up against the black.
Then she got to work:
←silver first
←then green
←then purple!
Then Megumi added a Black Calgel Swirl to the Silver accent nail and added rhinestones for some added (ahem) bling!
Here’s the final nail look:
Thanks to Megumi and the crew at Sakura Lower East Side for all your help!
SAKURA NAIL & SPA — LES
35 East 1st Street, New York
(212) 387-9161
Categories: Nails
Tagged: Japanese Nail Art, Nail Venus Magazine, New Years Eve, Sakura Nail Spa
Saturday, January 2, 2010 · 1 Comment
After being a constant mouthpiece for the Cult of Calgel, one of the best things is to meet other nail fanatics and see their amazing designs.
Meet Pheon!
She’s a nurse, which means she has to undergo several hand-washings a day, as well as use her hands for some tough tasks. Because of her profession, she’s never really been able to grow them too long, so Calgel was a great option.
Here’s her experience at Sakura Lower East Side:
“Takako was my nail tech…super sweet and polite. I asked for a light grey/whitish gradation. She put a 2 or 3 tiny drops of black into the white calgel color to get the greyish tone and then just went at it, tapping and tapping away.
“I would have preferred it to be a little darker grey (almost but not quite to the point of the color of dirty snow), but I’m still happy with the outcome…My nails are short and stubby too, but somehow the gradation effect makes them look longer. I’ve never been able to grow my nails too long because of my nursing job, but I hope I have enough nail the next time I go to get a crazier design.
“Overall, I really enjoyed my experience. I loved the little details — the hot cups of green tea, helping you with your coat, the little rolled up brown towels wrapped with a ribbon that goes under your wrists, everyone’s super adorable Japanese politeness….those little things made me fall instantly in love with the salon. Thanks again for introducing me to them.”
Thanks, Pheon!!! For sharing your super cute design with us!!
If you’d like to share your Calgel Nail designs, please email me at seouldiva@gmail.com!
SAKURA NAIL & SPA — LES
35 East 1st Street, New York
(212) 387-9161
Categories: Nails
Tagged: CalGel, gradation, Sakura Nail Spa
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 · 19 Comments
After seeing many of the nail stylists at Sakura with 3D Nail Art, and after being a Calgel Cult Member for 1 solid year…I decided it was finally time to dip my toe into 3D Nail Art.
Some info about 3D:
- The base of any 3D design is white. Apparently not, as pointed out by the OPI stylist — Lola — who commented below. However, I will say that for the designs they do at Sakura, they DO use white acryllic powder as a base. They mold the design first (like a sculpture) and then they paint over it.
- According to my nail stylist, Acryllic 3D Nail Art is very durable (which is one of my big concerns…I hate stuff popping/falling off my nails)
I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted: something light and classic on my fingers, with one accent design on each ring finger. My nail stylist for the day was Megumi.
We started by doing a bright White Calgel gradation, about ¾ of the way down the nail. The ring finger, we kept all-black.
Now the fun 3D part. Basically, they use this powder for the 3D Art. (I guess it’s kinda like the powder they use when they do Acryllic Tips in regular salons?)
They take a brush, dip it in a solution, then pick up a little powder with the wet tip. Essentially it’s very much like adding water to powder to create clay: moldable and movable until it hardens and dries, so there is definitely play time with the acryllic. But not too much, maybe 1 minute or so.
I asked her to do a Skull & Crossbones on my right hand, and a rose on my left hand. The skull was a little hard to capture on camera, but I got a good play-by-play of the rose.
← skull minus the eyes!
←Megumi at work
→ 
→ 
→
→ 
→ 
→
The two 3D Art nails, side-by-side:
Then for the final look, I asked Megumi to add some Pearls to the white gradation, just for a lil sumpn’ sumpn’!
←Thanks Megumi!!
Sakura Nail Spa – UES
1709 Second Ave
New York, NY 10128
(212) 722-1334
Categories: Nails
Tagged: 3D Nail Art, CalGel Gradation, Japanese Nail Art, Sakura Nail Spa
