Makeup artist taylor babaian made up our model with simple yet. chic makeup, and hairstylist Will Carrillo gave a modern twist to a geisha-style . | behind the Nail pros by Stephanie Yaggy The Making of Our Cover: Japanese Gardens ur inspiration for this month’s cover sprang from the sophistication and delicate beauty found in Japanese gardens. Australian nail tech Viv Simmonds sent me Ophotos of her 3-D acrylic work, which was simply amazing. Even more amaz- ing, Simmonds was going to be in Los Angeles when we were planning our shoot! With little more communication than a few emails back and forth, Simmonds toiled away to create stunning nails. Because her designs were so time-intensive, she built the nail tips at home and carefully carried them with her on the plane. She inlaid sculpted flowers in acrylic nails, built an extremely detailed bridge and created a bonsai tree—complete with tiny individually sculpted leaves! In our studio, she built cherry blossoms and attached the tips to our model. Makeup artist Taylor Babaian made up our model with simple yet chic makeup, and hairstylist Will Carrillo gave a modern twist to a geisha-style hairdo with a crimping iron and subtle highlights. Photographer Richard Radstone made sure to get close to the nails to show off Simmonds’ artistry, resulting in a powerful image. Nail Artist Viv Simmonds hails from Victoria, Australia. She is a salon owner, educator, competition champion and excels in 3-D nail art. Creating the Cover Nails Extend the nail using clear or natural acrylic. Bring the free Apply clear acrylic over the entire nail to encase the design. 1edge out to a 45-degree angle and create a jagged edge that 5File and buff to a high shine. Complete the nails by adding comes to a peak at one end. Apply a thin coat of red acrylic over more black acrylic over the black tipped area to give a raised, the entire nail. matte finish. Using black acrylic, form the branches on the nails. Keep To make cherry blossoms: use small beads of white acrylic. 2the product thin and use the tip of your brush to cut the 6Thin out each one and curve it before it sets. Place a small .
