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- [00:00]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Brooke Devard
Hello, this is Brooke Devard and you're listening to the Naked Beauty Podcast, a podcast where we talk all things beauty, self care, skin care, makeup. And today's episode is all about nails and nail art. I've noticed a lot of new listeners in the naked beauty community, so welcome. Make sure you're subscribed for new episodes every single Monday. Today is a deep dive. We're not talking to one person, but getting multiple points of view on the state of nails. As I record this, I have a mani pedi appointment right after nails are top of mind. It feels like in the last few years, nail art, adding length to your nails, they've all become something that's very mainstream. It's become a global trend. I can remember in the early 90s and the 2000s, airbrush nails, acrylic sets, these were things that you primarily saw on black women. But today's nails really go beyond the nail art I grew up with. And expressing yourself with nails in general has really become a global phenomenon. One of the best manicures I got in my life was in Tokyo and.
- [01:04]
Unknown Host
They really took their time.
- [01:05]
Brooke Devard
It was like a two hour nail appointment. Such intricate artwork, but there was such a love and passion for what they were doing. In today's 2025 nail landscape, we have different shapes. Almond coffin, stiletto, square, oval, squoval. We have different types of nail polish. You can get regular polish. I don't even know who gets regular polish anymore, but even the regular polish has been upgraded. We now have five free nail polish that's free of any toxic chemicals. There is, of course, gel polish. There is cat eye polish where you use a magnet to create designs. There is dip polish, there is shellac. I mean, there are so many types of polishes. Chrome polish. You can add charms, 3D elements. Pretty much anything you can think of has been done on nails. If I go on TikTok right now, I'm going to see videos about builder gel nails, where to get a Russian manicure. I mean, there is no end in sight to the nail obsession. The global popularity of nail art is what drove one of the guests you'll hear from today, Tempe Denton Hurst, to write a coffee table book about nail art called Fresh Sets. Now, this book arrived to my home and Mavi was immediately hooked. He was obsessed. He flipped through every single page and it's a beautiful coffee table book where each page is different. Nail art from around the world. He was fascinated by nail art that had candles on it, nail art with gems, nail art that had neon and glow in the dark elements and his interest in this book makes a lot of sense. Nail art is art. I'm so glad that Tempe created this coffee table book to capture this moment in beauty history. So we wanted to create our own episode exploring nails as a topic. First you'll hear from the author herself, Tempe Dentonhurst. If you don't know her writing, she's an incredible author. She wrote an incredible book that came out in 2023 called Homebodies and she's also a staff writer at New York Magazine's the Strategist. She knows so much about beauty. I was so excited to chat with her about this book. Tempe and I got a chance to talk more about her book, fresh sets and some of the history behind the nails that we know and love today.
- [03:00]
Unknown Sponsor
Today's episode of Naked Beauty is brought to you by Los Angeles Tourism. Now I moved to LA from New York City, one of the best cities in the world, over two years ago and I cannot tell you all how much I love la. And there is so much to love, starting with the food and drink options here. I love eating healthy and I'm sorry if it sounds stereotypical or cliche, but I so appreciate Erewhon. I appreciate Goop Kitchen. But then the divers diversity of food in LA is incredible. The most amazing Thai food, the best tacos I've ever had, gorgeous high end Italian restaurants. LA truly has such a vibrant food community. And don't forget about arts and culture. Did you know that Los Angeles has more museums and theaters than New York does? I love spending my afternoons at the LACMA or special date nights at the Broad Museum where they do their after hours showings. And if Hollywood and Hollywood history is your thing, you can't forget about the iconic tours of the famous lots here in la, of the Paramount Studios lot. You could spend a full week here and still barely scratch the surface. LA just has so much to offer. Find more ways to love Los angeles@discover la.com we love LA.
- [04:09]
Unknown Host
Let's get back to the episode. Welcome to Naked Beauty. I am so excited for this conversation. All about nails and nail art and the history of nails.
- [04:18]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I'm so excited. I like I'm such a Naked Beauty fan and have been a Naked Beauty fan for many, many moons at this point and so I'm really, really thrilled to be finally on the other side of the listening process.
- [04:32]
Unknown Host
Well, it's an absolute honor. I want to get into all of the nail artists that you interviewed for this book. And what I love about this book is it's nail art around the world. So you're talking to people in Mexico, you're talking to people in Paris and Berlin. What was the process for. For sourcing all of the nail artists that you interviewed and captured their beautiful nail art for this book?
- [04:53]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [04:54]
Tempe Denton Hurst
So it was a collaborative process, kind of like any other book. And so it was a mix of my editor, Allie, and I both like looking at things, sending back and forth. A lot of Instagram, a lot of nail artists have platforms of some kind. And then also when I was interviewing people, I would ask, who inspires you? And so I was kind of cross polish, like a little cross pollination, daisy chain action. What I found really interesting is that there's people who are nail artists who are, like, coming up with their original designs, and then there are people who are not necessarily not nail artists, but it's less about innovation and trying new styles and creating styles of their own, and more like, can you copy this? Can I bring this picture into you? And you make it look like the photo? And so, you know, there are a lot of people in the space who are technically very proficient, but weren't necessarily making their own work. So I would look at someone and be like, oh, wow, her lines are really crisp. This looks amazing. And then you would see it would be like, inspo from tag this other creator. So I would kind of try to find the original creator to speak to people who were not just technically really proficient, but also creating things and people who just had a very specific or interesting process for thinking about nails.
- [06:02]
Unknown Host
Yes. And that, I think, also speaks to how important it is to tag your nail artists, because that helps people in your city find great artists.
- [06:11]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Absolutely.
- [06:13]
Unknown Host
Now I want to talk about Mary E. Cobb going back to the very beginning. So the modern manicure parlor originated in 1877 in Paris, and the first American nail salon was founded in 1878. When Mary E. Cobb opened Mrs. Cobb's Manicure Parlor in New York City, she charged just $1.25 per nail service. Within a decade, her salon became popular, and she attracted customers from all over, from socialites to showgirls. Her focus was beautifying the hands, which was not dissimilar to today's standard salon. I kind of love that the first nail salon was in New York City because it does feel like such a quintessentially New York beauty service.
- [06:49]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Mm, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think what I found really interesting about that is kind of like the. There's nothing new under the sun of it all, she was, you know, an entrepreneur and had this just insane clientele. I think beautification rituals have been, have like long been part of the way that we move through the world. And even before that we see in, you know, earlier cultures where there's like henna and you know, a lot of different ways that people have beautified their hands throughout history. So, yeah, nails have always been part of, I think, a part of the body that people have wanted to adorn.
- [07:25]
Sylvie McMillan
Yes.
- [07:26]
Unknown Host
I'm so curious about, you know, there's this idea that longer nails are feminine or they're associated with femininity. Is that something that's just been around since the dawn of time? Have long nails always been prized?
- [07:38]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I mean, they've had different, I guess, signifiers over time. Like we've seen long nails in like ancient Chinese cultures and like men wore really long nails at a point. But I think thinking of it and how we would conceive of it in the modern context, they've always been, if not a signifier of femininity, at the very minimum a signifier of wealth. So back in the day, like it was the domain of wealthy women to have long nails and to do extension, extensions. And then long nails kind of became associated with like lower class or, you know, eventually being kind of termed ghetto or whatever. It was like long nails, loud nails, like, you know, the controversy around Flo Jo, all of that stuff that really came later as nails became democratized and became cheaper. Because back in the day it was really expensive to get a manicure. It was just really cost prohibitive and also wasn't practical to have long nails. Long nails signified that you didn't necessarily have to work with your hands and you weren't. You were able to kind of maintain these high maintenance manicures and move around in the world that way. But then as things evolved and nails became cheaper and pretty much anyone could get them done, then it swung the other way and now we see it swinging back. Like, I think, you know, I remember back when I was a beauty editor in 2017 or like six. Yeah, 2017, and Kylie Jenner started wearing acrylics and everyone was kind of freaking out.
- [08:57]
Unknown Host
I think black aesthetics have always been the inspiration for so much of beauty culture. The way that Vietnamese American have been such a dominant force in the industry is really interesting. Could you share more about that and what you learned in your research for the book?
- [09:13]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, thousands of Vietnamese refugees, like, fled to the US and then a lot of them were put in these camps. And then the actress and philanthropist Tippi Hedren, she, like, took an interest in the plight of Vietnamese women and was visiting the camps, and she brought her manicurist, Dusty Coots, with her. And so she essentially was like, I'm going to teach these people a trade, and taught a lot of women, like, how to do manicures. And that ended up really revolutionizing the entire industry and had a lot to do with bringing the price of a manicure down and bringing the price of acrylics down. Like, that was a really big shift in, like, who could access nails and who had the opportunity to do these kind of intricate sets or just, like, getting manicures at all.
- [09:59]
Unknown Host
It's interesting that, that these Vietnamese immigrants played such a role in making manicures much more accessible, because even today, 20, if I go to Ventura Boulevard, a lot of the nail salons are still Vietnamese.
- [10:13]
Tempe Denton Hurst
No, I think that it's. It really became like a really big. A dominant profession. I mean, honestly, like, one of the people that I interviewed in the book, she's Vietnamese, and she started doing nails, and her mom is Vietnamese as well. And so it's really become a family business and, like, a legacy and part of the. Like, part of the story of Vietnamese American women in this country. And so I think that that was really interesting.
- [10:38]
Unknown Host
Speaking about the global nature of nail art, you got to interface with nail artists from all over the world. What trends did you see from one country to another? Like, how different is what's going on with nails in Latin America? How different is that from what was happening in Europe, what's happening in Asia, what's happening here in the US I.
- [10:57]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Think that it really has become kind of a global community. And so it feels like a little bit of a feedback loop. And right now, I think generally, a lot of people are really interested pulling in natural elements, pulling in art, pulling in a lot of different references. I think one of the unifying things that I learned was that a lot of artists are just taking cues from their environment, whatever that might look like. So they're going to look at, you know, I love this flower, or I love this movie, or I love this thing. And I think kind of similar to the way that artists in other mediums, or maybe like a fashion designer would put together a collection and say, I was very inspired by water for this. Nail artists are kind of taking a similar approach. There are certain elements that have become more of this kind of, like, homogenized esthetic, a little Bit like there's lots of chrome or airbrushing. Like, certain techniques become popular, I think, across the board. And because of social media, everybody can follow one another.
- [11:51]
Unknown Host
Which artists were you the most impressed with? Like, whose story and approach really stuck with you?
- [11:56]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I really love Crow Vargas. She's from Miami, and she has this very, like, nostalgia, hyper kind of. I don't want to call it hyper femme, but she's, like, doing the duck nails. It's very glittery and pastels and appliques, and it feels like something right out of a 2000s nail shop. I liked what she said about her inspiration really being the nail salons of her youth, and I just thought that there was something really, really cool about that. It feels like she's constantly paying homage, which I really, really loved. And I think it was just like, even though she's pulling from a different time frame, I see her also putting her own spin on things, which I really, really loved. So she's one of the standout people for me. I also really love Leslie Aranyaga, and she's from California. She's really focused on elevating Latino culture and thinking about Latino culture through her nail art. And I just really, really love that. Like, it is kind of that similar. It feels nostalgic, but isn't. And my last artist I wanted to talk about was but these hands work. And that's Jalen out of New York. And what I love about his stuff is that he does. He only does, like, two long nails, and then does the rest of his. It's like. Then the rest of his nails are short. And I think the. It's so dominated right now by longer nails that it's interesting to see, like, cool things happening on short nails one and two. I think it reminds me of the whole lesbian manicure thing, which is leaving two nails short and then the rest of them long. And I don't know that Jalen is a lesbian or anything, but I just think it's kind of queer in its presentation. And I really, really like that. It feels. Yeah, it just kind of feels like its own statement. It's another way to play with form and shape that's simple but has, like, a really big impact. So I like that a lot.
- [13:46]
Unknown Host
I was really excited to see Jalen in this book. One, because I feel like I've seen them around, like, maybe at Soho House in Brooklyn or, like, I don't know, like, I've seen them around town, and I did not know that they even had this background in nail art. And I Agree with you. This idea that all of your nails have to be the same shape or the same length, these are just things that we have come to assume. But when you and the possibilities, this like, kaleidoscope of what nails can be, which is what I think this coffee table book really illustrates. It's such a, like, mind expanding way of looking at nails. As you know, I went through this book with Mavi and he won. He loved just looking at all of the different manicures. He's really fascinated by it.
- [14:27]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I love that.
- [14:28]
Unknown Host
And he loves the birthday candle nails. We also had a very interesting thing happen here at home. It was during his winter break. I was getting my nails done at home.
- [14:38]
Unknown Sponsor
Alyssa came to me.
- [14:39]
Unknown Host
She's a wonderful manicurist. And my son was like, I want to get my nails painted. And my husband's knee jerk reaction was like, oh, girls get their nails painted. And I said, wait, wait, wait, hold up, back up.
- [14:51]
Unknown Sponsor
Let's.
- [14:52]
Unknown Host
Let's rewind. Anyone can get their nails painted. I don't know if you're allowed to do it during school, but because it's your winter break, like, sure, you can do it. And he wanted, he got, he said, I want to get my pinky blue and like this nail and this nail green. So he got three nails painted. But it was so interesting to me how like, he didn't immediately go to getting all five fingers painted. He didn't immediately think, okay, they're all the same color. Like he had this idea where he wanted his two favorite colors, blue and green. And he knew the different fingers that he wanted them on. And he liked looking at his hand for that, like one little week that he had had his nails painted. And it was just like, wow.
- [15:28]
Brooke Devard
Yeah.
- [15:28]
Unknown Host
Like there's so many things that one we, we gender that we assume about how our nails should be painted that are just socialized.
- [15:35]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Absolutely. I totally agree. I think nails as a gender concept is also shifting a lot. I've noticed a lot of male, male quote unquote manicures. And just there are a lot of men in the nail space who are using it as a canvas and like using it as an art form. And then also I'm noticing people like couples matching, which is really fun. Like me and my wife, we match nails all the time. And she started her nails done maybe two, three years ago. And she's more like masculine of center, mask presenting. And so it was, it was really interesting for like that kind of her engaging in that beauty ritual. But it's been interesting to watch Men who are straight also engage in the beauty practice as well.
- [16:12]
Unknown Host
I think when you think about men and nail polish, I think about Tyler the creator, who is just, I have learned also just in looking at the beauty fragrance space, how influential Tyler the creator is for young men. Like I didn't realize what, what power he holds. Like he has one of the top selling fragrances and all of these, like young guys are like going into these fragrance shops to buy Tyler the creator's fragrances. The fact that he wears nail polish I think has made it kind of, it's normalized it. Harry Styles has his nail polish line pleasing. So there's a lot happening there. So what for you do nails represent for your self presentation? Like, why are nails important to you in how you show up in the world?
- [16:56]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Yeah, having acrylics in general one, I feel like I'm part of this beauty tradition. One of my favorite parts of working on this book was being able to go back and just like look at all the cool black nail art and like looking at a Flo Jo. One of my favorite things is that like little Kim started a controversy over her nails where she like had the cut up dollar bills in her nails to the point that the treasury like issued, issued a statement saying you're not supposed to cut up money. Like that was illegal.
- [17:23]
Unknown Host
Wow.
- [17:24]
Tempe Denton Hurst
This is like back in the early 2000s, like, you know, she had the streets talking at that time. But yeah, I don't know. I think one being part of this lineage of black and brown women who have been wearing their nails like this, I feel, I feel like I'm celebrating my heritage in one way or another. And also I just think it makes my hands look nice. I was very self conscious about my hands in a previous life. I've been wearing longer nails for probably, I don't know, eight years consistently at this point. And I just love, I love the way my hands look. I love to talk with my hands. I love a fresh set. I love to, you know, when I get my nails done, it's very. And what was said and lots of hand movements. I'm showing everybody, you know, it's cute.
- [18:02]
Unknown Host
There's something about looking down at your nails when they're exactly the way you want them to look and like the set is fresh. That just makes your day better.
- [18:11]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I totally agree.
- [18:13]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [18:13]
Tempe Denton Hurst
If my nails are not done, nothing is right.
- [18:15]
Unknown Host
Yes. Well, where can everyone get this incredible book?
- [18:19]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Yeah, you can get it anywhere. Books are sold fresh sets. It will be out April 8th and you can grab it on you know, bookshop. You can grab it at Barnes and Nobles. It'll be at Amazon, and if it's not at your local bookstore, you can always ask them to order it. And they will put in an order so it can be delivered or picked up by you.
- [18:36]
Unknown Host
That's brilliant. And when do you feel most beautiful?
- [18:41]
Tempe Denton Hurst
I can give you my dream scenario. I got a peel three weeks ago, so my skin is at its peak. I look beautiful. I don't have to, like, hide from the world, you know, Like, I'm glowing. It's summer. I'm tan. Tan is key here. My eyebrows are done, my nails are done, my lashes are done, but I have on no makeup, just lip gloss, you know, like, and my hair is slick in a bun. Low bun. The eyebrows are brushed up. They look fluffy. Like, and then I just feel like a bad. I'm like. And what? Because it's giving natural.
- [19:20]
Unknown Host
Yes.
- [19:21]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Giving naked beauty. You know what I'm saying?
- [19:24]
Unknown Host
Giving naked beauty. I love that. I love that. Yes. Tempe, thank you so much for joining me on Naked Beauty. I'm. I cherish this book, Fresh Sets. It's like the best coffee table book if you just want something to flip through. I feel like everyone just, like, needs this book on their coffee table. It's so good.
- [19:44]
Brooke Devard
Now, as Temby mentioned, she talked to nail artists from all over the world for this project. And the artistry that's displayed in the book reminded me of a conversation I had with Sylvie McMillan, who's an incredibly talented nail artist from the UK. She had such great insights about what her work means to her and how she approaches her craft. Let's revisit that conversation.
- [20:05]
Sylvie McMillan
Could you just give the audience, like, a brief overview of how you would describe yourself?
- [20:09]
Unknown Guest
Okay, so I'm a session nail technician who. I do private clients too, but I am always working mobile, so, I mean, they're going to a private client's house to do their nails, or I'm doing nails for photography or fashion Runway. All sorts.
- [20:24]
Unknown Sponsor
Yes.
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Unknown Guest
So just sort of either hyper creative nails or at home sort of sessions with private clients. Yeah.
- [20:32]
Sylvie McMillan
And you're being very humble. But your work, I mean, you've done Fashion Week. You've done some, like, a lot of amazing editorial work. Where has your work been?
- [20:41]
Unknown Guest
All over. So I guess some of the sort of regular sort of jobs I do. So I do all of the sort of Runway for asai, all of the nails for his shows, which is always super fun because it's always something so different each time. And he's really. He really knows, like, the impact that have, like, hands have on. On a look. And, you know, nails can be just as important as jewelry, so it's kind of. It's exciting to work with people like that magazines, Dazed, Vogue, all of those.
- [21:11]
Unknown Sponsor
Casual Vogue.
- [21:12]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, yeah. Also it's like. Yeah.
- [21:16]
Sylvie McMillan
I thought you were going to describe yourself actually as an artist, not a nail technician. Because I see what you do. I see, like, you're an artist and nails are your canvas.
- [21:25]
Unknown Guest
No, it's true. Like, I think, like, the whole hand or foot is a canvas. You know, manicure, like, translates as care of the hand. So it's like, really fun to just like, beautify all of it, which I really love. And I guess, like, yeah, artists, but then I'm always working to a brief, so in a sense I'm like, maybe more of a designer in that way because, like, you know, if it's for. I want, like the look of the whole outfit on the model to look right. And it's not just for me, like, nail art should. It should complement everything. So, yeah, I guess it's always working within brief. So artists, sometimes, I guess if it's just on me by myself, like playing around at home, but then, you know, it changes all the time depending on.
- [22:05]
Sylvie McMillan
Who you're working with.
- [22:06]
Unknown Guest
I love nails and I think I love the impact beauty industry has on, like, you know, because it can make people feel so good. You know, it can really make people feel so good about themselves and. And nails is a very intimate thing. And, you know, I just also kind of felt like there weren't the kinds of nails I wanted to see out there either. So you kind of think, like, well, maybe other people would want to see some, like, interesting nails. And, you know, if I've got this skill set already where I can do really good precision painting, I'm really good at sculpting and, like, sand, all of these things that are needed for nails. I really just need to learn the anatomy, the hygiene, all of the stuff that's really important in nails, and I'll be able to sort of cross them over a bit better.
- [22:45]
Sylvie McMillan
And growing up, were you always interested in nails? Like, can you remember early days?
- [22:51]
Unknown Guest
Like, yeah, I think my mum's friend bought me, like, a hello Kitty nail kit, which I was pretty obsessed with. But I think, like. Like, maybe I didn't get into beauty early on enough because I think in my household I was kind of always encouraged to, like, really try. How do I describe it? Like, maybe, like, try, like rougher things, you know, like encouraged to do things like chopping wood or.
- [23:17]
Tempe Denton Hurst
Yeah.
- [23:17]
Unknown Guest
I have an older brother. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And my mom's like a sheep farmer. My dad's like a engineer. So it was always kind of that, like. Yeah, you're learning how to like make things, but it was like never for beauty. It was always for like sort of. Yeah. Design or art or whatever, which obviously I loved. But like, I kind of of maybe discounted the idea of working in beauty also. Because you don't know the level that you can get to in beauty.
- [23:39]
Sylvie McMillan
Right. And how to break in.
- [23:41]
Unknown Guest
Yeah. If you're only seeing people just like going to college and then working in a salon, it maybe might not be so exciting to you.
- [23:47]
Sylvie McMillan
Right.
- [23:47]
Unknown Guest
Which obviously it's like an amazing job to work in a salon if you find the right one. That's like not to know just to anyone working in a salon. I think it's important.
- [23:54]
Unknown Host
The wa.
- [23:55]
Sylvie McMillan
Nails, which I know is closing, you know, it's just like such an iconic London institution that created and like such.
- [24:02]
Unknown Guest
A great community for girls to be in. I think like, that's why nails is so much like, is so wonderful for that you sit opposite someone, you hold their hand, you pay attention to them. It's like, it's the, it's why it's called beauty therapy. It's so good at bringing people together. Yeah.
- [24:16]
Sylvie McMillan
Did you consider yourself beautiful growing up?
- [24:21]
Unknown Guest
You know, I think maybe I always dipped in and out of like versions of like, you know, insecurity, then big headedness and, you know, the whole thing that you go through when you're a teenager, you try it all out, don't you? But yeah, I mean, I was always interested in beauty. Like. Yeah, I was just trying stuff out myself.
- [24:38]
Sylvie McMillan
How did you access it? Because now kids have the Internet so they're able to access it so much more. Like, was it magazines for growing up?
- [24:46]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [24:47]
Unknown Guest
Yeah. Like just like even, you know, just. Yeah. Buying so many copies of Vogue, like so many, so many.
- [24:54]
Sylvie McMillan
Wallpapering your room.
- [24:55]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, exactly. And I always found the beauty sheets in those, like, really incredible. You know, I thought like the ideas for makeup were amazing. Yeah. Really, really cool.
- [25:04]
Sylvie McMillan
Irving Penn had some incredible. Incredible. The editor.
- [25:08]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, yeah. Gorgeous.
- [25:10]
Sylvie McMillan
And you mentioned earlier how hands can make the look. Can you say more about that?
- [25:15]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, for sure. Like I, I mean, like someone said to me a while ago, like, oh, why aren't you doing makeup? You know, that's, you know, you can earn way more money doing makeup and you'd be really Good at it. And I'm like. But I actually prefer hands. Like, I think hands are far more emotive than our faces are really interesting because, you know, we can train our faces to be like really, you know, to look calm and to keep give eye contact and you know, to just seem super chill. But when you see someone move their hands in a certain way, it's so telling, you know, you. That you can't stop your hands from sweating, you can't stop yourself shaking or fidgeting, you know, they're so telling and you know, it's. You see it when people are elated, they move their hands in a certain way. And when people are stressed, they move their hands in a certain way when they're sad. You know, there's all these like different sort of funny characteristics in hands that I think are so interesting and. Yeah, for fashion. And I think it ruins the illusion of the character you're trying to create when the hands are wrong in the look.
- [26:15]
Sylvie McMillan
What would be an example of hands being wrong in the look?
- [26:18]
Unknown Guest
Well, you know, I've seen it before. Like I've actually in mags where you've got this model and she's so beautifully made up. She's got all the most amazing jewelry on that every. The look is so, so complete. And then she's got dirty, bitten nails.
- [26:33]
Unknown Host
Right.
- [26:33]
Unknown Guest
And you're like, u. Or that's just like completely. Just shattered every illusion I had of what she's meant to be, you know. So. Yeah, I think like hands can make such a vast difference and then that's not to say that every hand needs a long, elaborate nail on it. It doesn't, but it needs the right kind of nail on it for sure. Yeah.
- [26:50]
Sylvie McMillan
And what are the basics of hand and foot care?
- [26:54]
Unknown Guest
I would say, like everything else on your body is to eat really well. That'll be the best thing for your nail strength for sure.
- [27:02]
Sylvie McMillan
Do you believe in biotin and all of these nail supplements?
- [27:05]
Unknown Guest
Well, I think some of the supplements do actually work. I have some clients who take biotin. I don't know, maybe they've had. They just have like amazingly thick, fabulous like.
- [27:14]
Yeah.
- [27:15]
Strong nails anyway. But I have some people have found it makes a difference.
- [27:19]
Sylvie McMillan
The thing that's tricky about biotin is it makes your skin break out often when you first start taking it.
- [27:25]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [27:25]
Sylvie McMillan
What are the kind of trends in nail shape and what do each of them communicate?
- [27:29]
Unknown Guest
What do they think? Like, what do they communicate? I think that's like a really hard answer, isn't it?
- [27:34]
Brooke Devard
It is.
- [27:34]
Sylvie McMillan
A hard thing to answer, but for me, at least in my mind, where my mind goes. But I want to hear where. When I see like a nice oval shaped nail, it feels very ladylike and kind of prim and proper and like a really square. Feels kind of like younger and trendier and like. Do you associate different nail shapes with.
- [27:50]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, yeah, definitely different nail shapes with different styles. But I think, you know, I. For like an oval shape, I don't like a short oval.
- [28:02]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [28:02]
Unknown Guest
You've got to be a long. You can. I think that is an ugly shape. Like, I love. I love quite a short square now or I love like a very, very long square. I just don't like. So, you know, some of these, depending on like the shape at the end, it looks nice. Also depending on the length of it, I don't know. So the trends thing, I find like quite hard to answer too because, like, what would be a trend for a woman from the Bronx won't be a trend for yummy mummy in Fulham here. It's like such a. It's such a hard. I get asked the trains thing quite often. I actually just don't know how to answer it because I can't say what someone else might want.
- [28:39]
Unknown Sponsor
Right.
- [28:40]
Unknown Guest
Also, I just don't know if I actually follow enough. I unfollowed like a gazillion nail technicians a little while ago on Instagram because.
- [28:47]
Sylvie McMillan
I was just like, you didn't want it clouding your.
- [28:49]
Hannah
Yeah.
- [28:49]
Unknown Guest
Like, I mean, if I want to create something fresh, then why am I looking at what people are doing? You know, I think it's good to look outside of what you do to get inspiration. Like always look at cars because they have the best colors. Like, ooh, yeah. If I'm in an Uber and like going through like West London. Look at all that. A Lamborghini, like, they have the best finishes. Like, I saw this Lamborghini that had like, it was like a bright grass green metallic but matte finish. And I was like, okay, I've got to like replicate that in nail polish somehow. Figure out a way. Yeah. But yeah, so cars are big inspo for sure.
- [29:24]
Sylvie McMillan
You do acrylic nails as well, which.
- [29:26]
Unknown Host
Is like a whole art form.
- [29:27]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [29:28]
Sylvie McMillan
And I did acrylics once in Thailand and it was such a disaster because, well, one, I just went to some random place.
- [29:34]
Unknown Host
It was just.
- [29:34]
Sylvie McMillan
So have you been to Thailand?
- [29:35]
Unknown Guest
I haven't, no.
- [29:36]
Unknown Host
Okay.
- [29:36]
Sylvie McMillan
Beauty treatments there are incredibly inexpensive. But I got these super long. I think they call them coffin nails this term. I just couldn't even use my hands and I'm like, wow. I don't. It's amazing to me that people operate in the world with acrylic nails this long.
- [29:52]
Unknown Guest
You get so used to it, though.
- [29:54]
Sylvie McMillan
I think they look sick.
- [29:55]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [29:56]
Sylvie McMillan
I don't think they're for me and my personal style, but I think they're just so cool.
- [29:59]
Unknown Guest
They're so much fun. I actually, you know what? When I have, like acrylics on for a long amount of time, it takes me so long to get used to having them off. Way longer than it does to having them on.
- [30:08]
Brooke Devard
Interesting.
- [30:08]
Unknown Guest
Because you just become so accustomed to this, like, extra layer length on your body, you know? And like, people are, oh, how do you do anything with long nails? It's like, well, you just. You just use your hands differently. I might use more tools rather than picking things up with my fingers or, you know, there's always like a way around it, I think. Yeah. I love having long nails so much.
- [30:27]
Sylvie McMillan
So question for you on this whole trend of like the long acrylic nails for so long. It was so popular within the black community.
- [30:33]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [30:34]
Sylvie McMillan
And it was this thing where there were all of these nail shops or women would get super long else so long to the point that they curled over.
- [30:39]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [30:40]
Sylvie McMillan
And adding interesting things like adding dollar bills and adding piercings and adding really extravagant over the top things to their nails. And then more and more editorial publications like a Vogue, would kind of do the trend and it was seen as like high fashion. Whereas on black women, in a lot of the communities where this trend came from, it's considered ghetto. As a white nail tech, how do you kind of toe the line between, like, cultural appropriation or. Or making sure that if you are doing styles like this, that they're connected back to the originators of the trend?
- [31:12]
Unknown Guest
Yeah. I think it's like with every time. Every time someone asks me to do a long nail or I get like an email being like, oh, we want you for this editorial. We want, like ridiculously long nails. And I'm thinking, like, why? But why though? Yeah, like with every other choice you make about what you're putting on your model. Why? Yes, because like, that model might not necessarily, like, need long nails to complete this look. If you're doing it for shock, I'm not interested. I think that's boring. I think people can wear. People can wear what they want to wear and people can have the style of nail that they want, but they have to have it for the right reasons and they have to respect all the people that have had it done before them. You know what I mean?
- [31:53]
Sylvie McMillan
Have you ever felt like you've been in a situation where it was clear they were going for a hood?
- [31:57]
Unknown Guest
Yeah, I mean, I literally, a while ago, I had this gay guy, he was like, I want some ratchet ghetto nails by you. And I was like, like, I was like, I don't even know. Like, it's never going to happen.
- [32:12]
Sylvie McMillan
Audacity to recover. I know.
- [32:15]
Unknown Guest
I was just like, that's. I was just thinking in my head. I was like, well, you know, he's like, luckily he's not sat down at my nail desk asking me for this. But it's just like, at least I've just met him out and I can just walk away from this psycho scenario. But it's like, you know, I just think, God, no, you really just. You would not honor that. Look at all. You would just not honor it. And I think so many, you know, so many women have spent so much money and so much creative energy and so much time and training to do the nails, too. It's just, you got to be always be respectful of the industry you're working in and always know the history and, yes. The implications of. Of what it has. What it means to have the wrong nail on the wrong person.
- [32:59]
Sylvie McMillan
Yes. Yes, I'm happy to hear you say that. Yeah, you say that. I could talk to you about nails for literally hours for people that are. Are reluctant to dip their toe in, like, the nail waters if they want to try something new. Like, what are some lightweight ways that they can get? Like, just try things. Like, is it like, oh, maybe try a neon nail first? Or maybe try, like, a design on one nail? Like, what are baby steps?
- [33:20]
Unknown Guest
Baby steps. I think try a color you would never normally wear.
- [33:24]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [33:24]
Unknown Guest
And actually, because before I was doing nails, I always wore this one color clambake by Essie. It's like the nicest, best red ever. It's so good. It's actually just, hands down, the best red ever. But now I wear colors that I actually just don't think will suit me, really. And I just to try it, and then I end up loving them. Like this blue on my toes.
- [33:46]
Unknown Host
I love it.
- [33:46]
Unknown Guest
I always thought that, like, my skin was just way too pink to ever have, like, a bright blue on it, but I just. It makes me happy. So I think, like, just try colors that you. You wouldn't normally wear. I think it's such a fun thing to do. And it's not. It's not permanent. It's not A tattoo, just take it straight off if you hate it.
- [34:06]
Unknown Host
True.
- [34:06]
Unknown Guest
But you might realize that actually that green or that yellow goes with all of your clothes so much better than the red or nude does.
- [34:13]
Sylvie McMillan
I'm gonna get my. Literally after we record.
- [34:15]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [34:16]
Sylvie McMillan
I'm just like, oh, what color am I gonna get?
- [34:18]
Unknown Host
Yeah.
- [34:18]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [34:24]
Brooke Devard
If you're not familiar with Sylvie's work, head on over to her Instagram to check it out. It's really next level. The thing is, nails are a creative endeavor and a relationship. You have to trust the person who's doing your nails to make your vision come to life. One of the things that I've done for both of my births, when Mavi was born, I did a blue manicure like, every single month for, like, I think the first six months of his life. I did an evil eye manicure that I had. I. When I went. When I went into the hospital to give birth, I did my blue manicure with a little evil eye. And then for Jeff Jade, I did a manicure that looked just like the Jade stone. I worked with Sherry from LCR Nails, who is my longtime collaborator here in la, to create a beautiful nail art design that looked just like Jade for the birth of my baby girl, Jade, of course. But it was a special manicure. Like, these are meaningful moments in people's lives, and the way your hands look for big moments is a big deal. So I wanted to tap some members of the naked Beauty community to speak more on their relationship to their name, nails, and the women who do them. Let's hear from them.
- [35:25]
Sarah Blewett
Hi, my name is Hannah and I have been listening to the Naked Beauty podcast since about 2018. Yes. Like, back when the COVID art, the image was like, still the Josephine inspired graphic. So I'm a long time supporter and lover of all things naked beauty. I am a nail girly through and through. I jokingly tell people all the time, which, like, it's not even a joke, but, like, if you see me in my nails or not done, like, that is an sos that is a cry for help. So I am. I'm pretty much like on a routine schedule in terms of getting my nails done. I go every like 2 to 3 ish weeks. And I have been going to my nail tech for about seven to eight years. So we are practically family at this point, locked in. And I think that really helps, like, the fact that we have so much history together. I think it really obviously helps in terms of, like, her doing my nails. Like, she always, always executes 10 out of 10. And that's because we pretty much built up a rapport at this point. So that's truly a pleasure. I. When it comes to inspiration for my nails, I truly find inspiration in just about any and everything. Like, literally, I always kind of have my eye out for, you know, really cute color combinations or really interesting patterns or shapes and textures. Textures are a big thing now. I feel like my nails so like I'm always looking see, like, oh, can I recreate this on a nail? Or like, how can we make this come to life? Another thing I've been doing very recently, which I've thoroughly been enjoying is kind of playing around using procreate to map out different like colors, shapes and things like that. I'm a very visual person, so it helps me to kind of see everything on a screen all together before it's like actually being painted on my nails. Another fun place I really do, like, outside of like things like Instagram and Pinterest and kind of like leaning on the nail enthusiast community. Another thing I really like to do, I subscribe to Arch Digest. So like, when I feel myself like drawing blanks or I'm just not getting excited about anything, maybe I'm seeing like on socials or online. I literally will just flip through pages of Arch Digest now just like, kind of just like, okay. Or any color combination speaking to me, any patterns, texture speaking to, to me. Because like, in my mind, my logic is if it looks good from an interior design standpoint and like on furniture or in a living space, it's going to look good on my nails. So that's always a really fun, like, exercise for me. But overall, I think like, having my nails done makes me feel beautiful because to me, my nails are an extension of myself and like an accessory. I look at my nails as an accessory the same way I would look to, you know, bags or jewelry or whatever the case may be like. It's an extension of how I choose to express myself. I feel like the first thing, you know, you look at when you interact with a person is like their hands, their nails. And I feel like it really kind of tells a story and you can learn so much about a person based off those sort of things. So it really just relates back to like self expression. And the really cool thing about nails for me is that like you can constantly change them, like they're not this fixed thing. So I just, I appreciate getting my nails done. I appreciate, you know, being able to delve into different nail arts and different trends and things like that.
- [38:44]
Hannah
Hi, my name is Sarah Blewett and I currently live in Philly. Originally, I'm from small town Wisconsin, but I moved to Philadelphia in 2019, and I've been listening to the Naked Beauty podcast cast since 2022. And I've loved listening and learning along with the rest of the community and especially since the rebrand. I started seeing Courtney at Usora Nails in the summer of 2024, so not too long ago, and it's been a wonderful experience. I found her account on Instagram after I followed a local fashion designer and I noticed her nails immediately, daily. And I zoomed in and clicked on the mentions and saw Courtney's account and immediately fell in love. I think she had a couple of thousand followers at that point, but I could tell from the quality of work that she was a star. She does it out of her home, and I think that's something that's really personal and intimate, but also really unique to the experience and what I was hoping for. And establishing a relationship with a nail tech and essentially an artist. I always treat the nails that I have as art and an extension and expression of myself, just as I do with, you know, fashion and hair and beauty. And I feel like for me, nails are no different. And going into her home and immediately seeing all of the miniature sets of these beautiful scenes, whether it's calico critters or sunny angels, it's such a fun, playful vibe. And she always has little, little cute treats, some different artwork from local artists and people, and a free trade section. So you can bring in something like a book and trade it for something else. And yeah, I just watch tv, watch some Gilmore Girls, catch up on a latest Netflix show, and we talk about life, talk about work, pretty much everything. And it just feels like a great time for me to decompress press. So the process usually looks like either finding Inspo from Courtney's Inspo highlights on her Instagram, or sometimes she'll link her Pinterest and I'll look at all the fun stuff that she has in mind. And that's actually how I first started seeing her, because she had an opening with her session or her bookings, and it was this fun, hot pink bubble type of set where it almost looked like some sort of, sort of amoeba or creature with some like, hot pink, hot orange, and like bumps essentially all over the nails. And it was so dope. And I was hooked ever since then. In my latest appointment, I got Gel X and she did an amazing job with some Inspo that I found from Inner Bloom Nails. It's an account on Instagram Graham, who does fabulous custom sets and has somewhat of a similar style to Courtney's. It's not the most ornate set I've ever gotten from Courtney, but I really just love the simplicity of it. It's fun. I've gotten so many compliments on it and she always kills the design and has such a great eye for detail. I really enjoy the artistry. I think it's rare to find somebody who gets your creative visions and having a collaborative process where you can see a vision come to life and just the utmost quality and care that she puts into her nail sets is amazing. And I think it's so important to support small business owners, especially as they're leaving jobs to start their ventures or switching careers. It's so important to find the right people again to build those relationships, but also support people who are super talented.
- [42:34]
Brooke Devard
As we talked about at the top of the episode, there is a long history of people adorning their nails and as the technology evolves, the art evolves. This was such a fun deep dive into all things nails. Tempe's book is available April 8th. I will link to it in the show notes and I highly recommend this book if you are a nail girl looking for more inspiration or if you have a curious toddler at home that likes to look at different types of art. Thank you all so so much for listening. I will be back next week with a brand new interview.
- [43:20]
Unknown Guest
I never thought I would be this obsessed with the toilet, but here we are. We installed the Kohler Veil Smart Smart Toilet right before I gave birth and for any postpartum moms listening, you know how those first few weeks can be. This toilet honestly made my recovery so much more comfortable. In the middle of the night when you stumble into the bathroom, you don't want to turn on harsh lights that wake you up. The Vail nightlight glows this soft blue light, the seat automatically lifts and it's beautifully warm. You just sit down and do your thing and then the magic happens. The Vail Smart Toilet has this little remote with customizable cleansing features that wash you and even gently dry you with warm air. You literally don't need toilet paper. It sounds silly, but this toilet completely.
- [44:05]
Unknown Host
Upgraded my day to day life.
- [44:07]
Unknown Guest
It's luxury, but in the most functional, practical way. And honestly, it's no surprise that Kohler partnered with Laura Kim, someone who knows great design, as the co creative director of Oscar de la Renta and Mons. I love that Kohler partnered with someone like Laura to show how design can transform even the most unexpected objects, like a toilet. Discover the Kohler Vail Smart Toilet and go behind the scenes of their Laura kim collaboration@kohler.com.
- [44:35]
Unknown Advertiser
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