Hey guys, it's Mi-Anne, and this is Beauty With Mi.
Raise your hand if you've ever gotten a manicure...
I have!
I've gotten many, many, many over the years.
Everything from solid coats of color to more minimal, cool nail art designs.
There is a community of people here in New York that are getting very intense, extra,
glitzy, 3D nail art, with everything from gem stones to fabric to fur.
I have been seeing 3D nail art absolutely everywhere, from the runway at fashion week,
to Instagram, to on the streets of New York.
I have actually gotten 3D nail art before, and even though I really loved them, I still
wondered why anyone would put themselves through
3-plus hours of nail prep just to be inconvenienced by claws.
RAWR!
Well...
I decided to give it a go again, this time through my friend, Gia Kuan, she's an art
and fashion publicist here in New York, and she's been getting this type of nail art for
over a year.
I met up with Gia to get my nails done by her go-to artist, Mei Kawajiri.
She is an amazing, amazing nail artist.
She has over 100 thousand followers on Instagram, and she does nails for the biggest and best
fashion houses, from Tom Ford to Balenciaga to Philipp Plein.
Once we got to Mei's apartment, I decided to sit back while Mei and Gia worked on Gia's
nails for this month.
The nails, which often take anywhere from two to three hours to create, cost around
$200-300 to do.
Gia went for a two-toned manicure complete with real fabric on her nails and two giant
plastic bows on her ring fingers.
Is it heavy?
Not really, I mean – it is, but it's not...
Nothing I can't...
I mean I've had heavier.
Yeah, all the time.
Between this one and my Barbie nails, I'll
see how I get by with like, doing everyday things.
And then it was my turn!
Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous about getting nails that long.
But I figured, if I'm gonna get the nails, I should go big or go home, so I decided to
let Mei's imagination run wild, and I told her I just wanted two things: purple nails
and a little dangly thing like the ones that she had on her own nails.
She went to work, first by attaching plastic extensions to all of my fingers, cutting them,
and then filing and buffing them to get them smooth.
Then, she applied acrylic gel to create the shape.
Used a machine that like, buzzed and whirred to smooth out the base before going in with
a mixture of purple glitter and gel topcoat.
Then came the fun part.
Mei brought out the same machine that she used to buff my nails, but put in a thinner,
more narrow bit to create a hole in my right pinkie nail, and then attached my pretty little
pink rhinestone heart that reminds me of Sailor Moon.
But we weren't done there!
We decided to make these nails even more extra by adding Swarovski crystals
to every single nail.
Oooh!
I love them!
They look so good!
They match my hair!
Alright, so we have all nailed-up.
Mine look simple!
Simple?
This is simple!?
Yeah!
So, I want to know how you guys became friends.
I've admired Mei's Instagram for a long time, and we'd kind of followed each other.
We just always DM'ed each other.
We like, like, similar style.
We think the similar style is very cute.
Usually, you know, people give to me an idea like, "Okay, Sailor Moon," and then I just
paint Sailor Moon's face, but with Gia, it's different.
Like, "Oh, Sailor Moon," but it's not like, exactly...
It's inspired by.
Inspired!
Fifteen years ago, seventeen years ago, these big giant stones were very popular in Tokyo.
When I moved to New York – it's a little different style.
Finally, you know, fashion does nail culture.
You know, before, fashion show is just one layer of color and very clean and short.
The first brand I did was Balenciaga.
The stylist asked me to come to Paris because they wanted to do long nails and crystals.
Some people will look at these nails, and we've done a couple stories on Refinery29.com
about 3-D nails, and the comments are always kind of a mixed bag between like, "These are
so cool!" and "Why would anyone get them," right?
What would you say to those people that are like, hating on these nails?
I love them because I've always liked to accessorize.
Doing everyday, mundane things, but with a little bit of color and like, wittiness to it
makes it more fun.
Everyone's gonna talk to you.
"Let me see your hand," and then, "Where do you live?"
This is like, a conversation.
It is!
It's a conversation-starter!
It really is.
So, I've been living with these nails for a few days now, and I do feel differently
now than how I felt two years ago when I got them.
I think that talking to Mei and Gia after we got our nails done really opened my eyes
to how getting your nails done in this way can be a really expressive moment that allows
you to actually have little pieces of artwork on your fingers.
Doing things with them, though, are definitely not that easy.
They did tell me that I'd have to kind of adapt to having the nails.
And I kind of feel like, 50-50 split.
Some things are really fun to do with the nails, like typing on my phone because it
makes a cool, little clacking sound.
Petting my cat...
Mei told me that cats love these nails, and I do think she does.
My cat, Boo Boo, really likes to play with this little dangle.
So, it's like a built-in toy!
It's also really fun to just like, hold things – like cups.
I feel like...
It has...
It just makes every gesture I do so fun.
I find myself like, in public using my hands more just to see if people will like, talk
to me about my nails.
Uh, but somethings are really difficult to do with the nails.
Like opening pretty much anything.
Cans – forget about it.
Turning pages of books – hard.
Wiping your ass –
difficult, but not impossible.
Washing your hair – it's a little bit of a strenuous experience.
Eating things with your hands...
Yesterday I had a sandwich, and I fork-and-knifed it, because I was like, I just don't want to
have to like, hold this and then get grease in my nails.
I was just like – no.
I know that these nails are not for everybody.
They're probably like a love it or hate it kind of thing.
But, I think that speaking with Gia and Mei made me realize that something as trivial
or seemingly materialistic as getting your nails done and bedazzled can be a really great
way to form friendships, an amazing way to express yourself.
I've only had them for a couple days, like I said, but I've already talked to so many
people – like, random people on the street that will come up to me and
talk to me about my nails.
But, I'm starting to see why photos of these nails go viral.
Why people love to watch videos about them.
Why fashion designers are so drawn to them and want to put them on their runway.
They're such an interesting way to not only express yourself creatively,
but connect with a community.
So, that is it.
I hope that you guys enjoyed this video.
Please let me know in the comments below if you would ever get these nails.
But, I will see you guys next week.
Bye!
Thanks so much for watching guys.
Let me know what you would like to see next on Beauty With Mi in the comments down below,
and click here to subscribe to Refinery29.
Click here to watch another video,
and follow me on Instagram @mianne.chan for more beauty stuffs.
Bye!