NAIL BITES

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

Samantha Birkett-Leigh is the newest member of Global Team CND. To make the cut as one of the “esteemed group of education ambassadors”, Birkett- Leigh had to undergo evaluation of her nail skills, fashion creativity and presentation style. “When I attended boot camp in 2006, I didn’t dare to imagine I would ever reach this position.

I remember my very first CND class like it was yesterday. I can only hope that I will inspire others as much as I was inspired all those years ago. It’s a dream come true,” she commented.

Art attack

Session tech Cherrie Snow has announced the latest in her series of Fashion Nail Art Workshops. The next class will take place on September 1 in London, in association with Zoya. Attendees will learn a selection of freehand nail art designs featuring leaf motifs by following Snow’s live-screen demo. Techs will also receive a 12-piece Zoya kit worth £160, including 10 polishes, nail polish remover and cuticle gel, and a display box frame to showcase their work on nail tips.

Snow will also host a session on increasing social media engagement. Tickets can be booked at fashionnailartworkshop.com

5minutes with

Marie-Louise Coster , session tech and owner of All About Mi

I first started in the industry in 1993. I was late applying for college and almost missed out as all spaces were allocated, but my prospective tutor knew how badly I wanted it so made sure I got a place on the course.

I was selected for Nails:Mastered training back in 2016 and it motivated me to follow my dream into session work. I’ve worked hard to establish relationships with other session techs, agencies and photographers. One minute you can be optioned for a job, the next you’ve been released; it is hard work.

I recently did my first show as lead manicurist at Edward Crutchley. I was responsible for recruiting a team, liaising with the designer, creating the nail look and ensuring it was recreated by the team perfectly.

For the Edward Crutchley show, the brief was a clean, classic manicure. It sounds easy but often this is harder; when you have to create a healthy, natural nail there’s no hiding anything.

It’s sometimes difficult working with brands I don’t personally like. Some products aren’t great to work with in the heat, for example, and backstage can get quite hot. But if the show is sponsored by a specific brand then you just have to get on with it.

Making time for session work when I have my regular clients can be hard. I hate having to reschedule clients but I am very lucky that mine get just as excited as I do when a job comes in.

@AllAboutMiBristol | @mlcnailartist

NAILS FOR THE BOYS

London’s first pop-up male-only nail bar, Guys That Nail It, has opened in a pub in Peckham, in the south east of the city. Nail artist Jay Jay Revlon spied a gap in the market for a space for men to pamper themselves after saying he felt rejection from mainstream nail salons that were predominately occupied by women.

Revlon hopes his service will challenge the definition of masculinity and encourage more men to take better care of their nails. On his Instagram page, Revlon wrote: “Our intent is to make men feel comfortable enough to choose from cleaning, to polish, to gel extensions.

“Until now, nail treatments have been deemed as a womanly or feminine thing to do and we’re throwing that narrative out of the box and saying nail treatments are for everyone – I mean, we all have nails, don’t we?”

Treatments include 30-minute Sort My Handz Out and 75-minute Lord My Handz manicures, and 35-minute Sort My Feet Out and 50-minute Lord of the Luxe pedicures.

Poly products 101

Poly products are one of the most exciting innovations the nail industry has seen in years. Katie Barnes, Professional Beauty’s Nail Professional of the Year 2018 and owner of Katie Barnes Training Academy in Warwickshire, gives the lowdown on what they are, how they work and the common troubleshooting issues.

What are poly products?

“They are a hybrid between acrylic and gel, often known as poly products or acrygels. They’re popular because they offer the best of acrylic and the best of gel in one while taking out the elements that some technicians don’t like,” explains Barnes.

How do they work?

“The products use tri-polymer technology – they have the oligomers from gel and the polymers from lacquer and acrylic. To use, you simply squeeze the product out of the tube and then use the special tool that comes with it to cut it off – cut about half the size of the nail length you want to create,” says Barnes.

“Next, roll it onto the nail; then, using your brush, use a little bit of the liquid solution to mould it into shape. Cure for 30 seconds in an LED lamp or two minutes in a UV lamp and then file into shape.”

What are the common troubleshooting issues?

“The main problem I found when trialling the products is getting the ratio right with the liquid solution – use too much and it counteracts what it’s actually meant to do, causing more lifting and a poor adhesion of the product,” explains Barnes.

Watch Katie Barnes demo different poly products in our exclusive video at

professionalbeauty.co.uk/pbtv