3D art, chrome effects, and mushrooms? Yes, these are the experimental nail trends on deck for 2021 — at least Violetta Kurilenko, the artist behind @yeswhatnails, thinks so. The Barcelona-based nail artist is known for her intricate and colorful designs, as well as her own line of signature nail art stickers and wraps. So when it comes to telling what’s next for nails, we’re taking her word for it. We chatted with Violetta about how she finds design inspiration in unexpected places, her favorite looks, and her best at-home mani tips.
TS
How did you become a nail artist?
VK
When I was a teenager I loved creating things with hands: making DIY clothes and bead jewelry, painting my own nails and my mom’s. It didn’t even cross my mind that I could actually make it into a career. When I was 20 my friend showed me ONNU NAIL’s account on Instagram — they do such beautiful things on nails. I immediately thought: “This is it, I want to do this.” And it all started there. I looked at more nail art, did my own nails and posted them on Instagram, attended courses, did nails on my classmates in university and then quit university to pursue my dream.
TS
Where do you get inspiration for your designs?
VK
Inspiration comes from anywhere: nature, movies, art, architecture, photography. What’s important is being able to see it and apply it to what you are creating; being able to create a concept too. The mind isn’t always able to actually use what you have seen. Makeup and fashion definitely influence my work. What’s happening in fashion or makeup is going to be reflected in nails, like textures, colors, and concepts. It’s all connected. Right now I’m trying to reinvent my work a little bit, so I am researching different fields that I haven’t been looking at before with as much detail, like nature. I am going through tons of photos of mushrooms right now — very fun and mind blowing! Each design that I create is very special to me, but the complicated projects that I do inspired by art are my favorite. Those require so much attention and then when the client sees the final result it is so satisfying to see their reaction.
TS
What is your current favorite nail trend?
VK
To be totally honest, I don’t know what is trendy or not anymore. Anything could be a trend. Also, trends are not always something new. For example, the cat eye effect has been circling around for the last 10 years, and then it blew up on Instagram again from last year until now. I hope we start to see more 3D shapes, chrome effects —something that has a “wow” effect and makes you say “I’ve never seen that before.”
TS
You make such cute nail art stickers and nail art wraps! Any tips for using them and getting them to last as long as possible?
VK
The best way to use them is with semi-permanent polish — that way they last around 2-3 weeks. If you are doing them at home, it’s best to apply them on a clean nail surface or a very well-dried regular nail polish, cover it with two coats of base coat, and then finish with a top coat.
“What’s happening in fashion or makeup is going to be reflected in nails. It’s all connected.”
TS
How do you usually do your own nails?
VK
After doing so many designs on people, many times I have either nothing on my nails or a very basic color, like beige, black, bright red. Totally depends on the mood! Right now I have a crocodile skin pattern on my nails, but that doesn’t happen a lot. During quarantine I worked a lot with normal polish because many people were at home and wanted to repeat looks. I also did some experiments during my stay at home.
TS
Tell us about your day-to-day beauty routine.
VK
My day-to-day beauty routine is quite simple. After I shower in the morning, I put on Yadah Eye Patches and drink coffee. I love starting the day with those and a good facial massage. Next I get dressed, apply a hydrating cream, and do my makeup. In the morning I like to apply less things; I like that I feel lighter. At night I take 10 minutes to meditate while cleaning my face with Korean goodies that Anastasia Koz (co-founder of KOSS) recommends to me. Personally, I put a lot of thought into the things I buy — I like to use up my cosmetics before I buy a new one.
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