FNGRBLSTR

I have a couple of nail sets in this show! Come out on Friday...

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:48:12 -0400

I have a couple of nail sets in this show! Come out on Friday for the opening. #CoatedExhibition (regram @thisisprima. Nails by @shellbeezy, earrings by @fortheloveofbling)

Coachella nails for Kim!

takingclaireofbusiness — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:19:36 -0400

Coachella nails for Kim!

Annie from xoVain with her new claws. Read about it:...

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:25:17 -0400

Annie from xoVain with her new claws. Read about it: www.xovain.com/nails/long-fake-and-pointy-my-week-with-wtf-nails

http://www.xovain.com/nails/long-fake-and-pointy-my-week-with-wtf-nails

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:21:28 -0400

http://www.xovain.com/nails/long-fake-and-pointy-my-week-with-wtf-nails:

I laced Annie from xoJane/xoVain with some crazy-ass talons. Read all about it!

That’s my nail polish skull and crossbones at the...

takingclaireofbusiness — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:38:39 -0400

That’s my nail polish skull and crossbones at the beginning, and me at 0:14! #GoldAllInMyEars

"Nail Art Celebrity on Nassau: Freckle"

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:22:05 -0400

"Nail Art Celebrity on Nassau: Freckle" :

Who, meeee??? OMG, thanks for the love Jen H. and Greenpointers :)

rianailz: Stop by and get your nails did ladies.. #nailart...

takingclaireofbusiness — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:06:13 -0400

rianailz:

Stop by and get your nails did ladies.. #nailart #rianailz #nailartaddict #supportyourlocalnailartist #unitealloriginals #adidasoriginals #unitenyc

https://twitter.com/adidasoriginals/status/312257163588403201 adidas and a team of NYC’s best nail artists led by Christina Rinaldi from Prima Creative bring you a #UniteAllOriginals event this weekend! Stop in and get your fingers blasted!!!!!! ♥ (I will be there for literally every shift so come say hi!!!)

Big event coming up this weekend! A party by Adidas to...

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:51:52 -0400

Big event coming up this weekend! A party by Adidas to #UniteAllOriginals and I’ll be on the nail team…

Googly nails with gold piercings! Eyes in the back of my head...

takingclaireofbusiness — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:27:20 -0500

Googly nails with gold piercings! Eyes in the back of my head (photo @applesv3289). Fallen soldier (photo @megskaff).

Pretty, funny TV lady Katie Cazorla of The Painted Nail and Nail...

takingclaireofbusiness — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:29:45 -0500

Pretty, funny TV lady Katie Cazorla of The Painted Nail and Nail Files fame and I at a Kiss Products event for the release of her new Nail Dress designs! / Rebecca from Nylon rocking the 90s butterfly steez, like Drew Barrymore dancing on Letterman’s desk / The Nail Dress options!

NYFW A/W 2013 Part II

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:13:00 -0500

Part II of a manicurist’s backstage experience during New York Fashion Week. (Read Part I here.)

Day 5: Sunday, February 10th.

Up early to go to DKNY! Probably the most hectic show yet, but I loved the designs. All red and leopard everything…have I mentioned those colors are my neutrals? Lead manicurist Gina Edwards* had a large team and worked with Essie. Again, the nail look was matte and nude, very elegant!

Day 6: Monday, February 11th.

Did I say DKNY was hectic? Reem Acra was intense! This was my first show at Lincoln Center under the actual “tents.” The legendary Pat McGrath was keying makeup. We did a few pedicures (and many manicures that ended up under gloves…). The colors were layered Bordeaux and Sole Mate by Essie. The gowns were incredible, like, Oscars/wedding/Met Costume Gala incredible. I saw Katherine Heigl backstage, she is a tall blonde goddess!

Day 7: Tuesday, Feb 12th.

Jenny Packham! After all the nudes and burgundies, I was so thrilled by this gorgous Sugarplum Fairy-dainty-Cinderella ice-skater simple clean glitter gradient/ombré/French look. It’s easy—a clean nail, Essie base coat and a dusting of Essie’s Set in Stone (I’ve actually been doing a similar look at the salon but hadn’t thought to do it over clear!)

Negative space/showing bare nail under a clear coat is a look to pay attention to! Also, it’s very forgiving, as glitter rarely chips, stays on, and can be used to camoflauge grown-out gel manicures or nicks and peeling. I didn’t see the clothes but I looked them up later and OMG.
We had fewer models, the vibe backstage was chill, and I walked out of the show feeling pretty stoked, with the home stretch in sight…

Day 8: Wednesday, Feb 13th.

The final day of my NYFW and the day of baby’s first lead! I’d been introduced to Titania Inglis by my friend, the jewelry designer Nettie Kent. Her collection is absolutely stunning and opulent. “A dark fairytale” featuring ethically sourced reindeer fur and totally wearable silhouettes…well, I’m actually going to write a seperate post about my process and the presentation, so stay tuned!

Final show of the week was Clover Canyon and it was super fun and lovely! RGB was the sponsor, and we used Factory, their incredible silver (goes on better than any other silver I’ve used, seriously.) and sprinkled a custom glitter blend that Gina made over the RGB topcoat. Textured, pretty, and fairylike to go with the Russian ballerina look of the collection. (Also, jeweled toe shoes, I mean.)

The Day After: Thursday, February 14th

My calendar for the next day literally said “CHILL HARD” so that’s exactly what I did. Boyf and I got BBQ and vegan milkshakes and had a lovely Valentine’s Day. See you in the Fall, Fashion Week!

Follow me on Instagram @fngrblstr, Twitter@ClaraBiznass, and Facebook facebook.com/fngrblstr)!

* I assisted celebrity manicurist Gina Edwards for all presentations except Titania Inglis.

NYFW A/W 2013 Part I

takingclaireofbusiness — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 01:05:51 -0500

Another Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week has come and gone. This season I said yes to nearly every show that came my way. Over the course of one week I assisted celebrity manicurist Gina Edwards of the Kate Ryan agency with nine shows, and designed the nail look for the Titania Inglis presentation. Last season I worked only one show (Betsey Johnson!) so I was prepared to have a crazy time—something between finals week and the battlefield.

Day One: Wednesday, February 6th.

Started my week at Whit by Whitney Pozgay, a sweet collection inspired by Marianne Faithfull and the 1960s.

The manicure was Nail Dress by Kiss in Teddy…

It was nice to ease into a crazy week with an easy-to-apply product that still looks stunning!

After Whit I headed uptown to MoMA for the Tanya Taylor show. Sponsored by Rococo, the look was burgundy tips with accent thumbs and ring-fingers in a creamy gittery white with burgundy, silver, and blue stripes.

(I know she’s wearing gloves here but ungggghhh at that pink fur.)

After this I ran to Williamsburg to play a show with my rap group, because, stay hustlin!

Day Two: Thursday, February 7th

Edun. Again, for Rococo. The nail look was a very clean and elegant cream/nude to go with the grunge-inspired clothing. Not the last in the neutral family I’d see this NYFW. We had the boy models’ hands to clean up as well. Defining moments from backstage included making eye contact with Anna Wintour (She seemed super pleasant! I didn’t turn to stone!) then spotting Bono (co-founder of the line) moments later.

Day Three: Friday, February 8th

(My hands! From the Julep Facebook page.)

Yigal Azrouël. I gotta admit, I don’t know much about fashion these days. Probably better this way. To me, most designer’s names look like someone pushed a bunch of Scrabble tiles together. Anyway, this collection was gorgeous and elegant, and despite a gnarly snowstorm outside, we were able to knock it out. The Julep team are lovely sweet ladies and the line is incredible! First time I’ve had the opportunity to play with the Julep products. The color was an elegant deep oxblood/raspberry shade, and the Freedom Polymer Topcoat is SO shiny and leaves a finish that looks like gel polish!Gina and I sloshed through the sleet to Helmut Lang, sponsored by Essie. Sand Tropez is one of my absolute favorite colors! Essie’s team are total sweethearts as well, and they provide a kit with exclusively Essie products for the manicurists to use backstage. We topped ST with Matte About You; hilariously the models coming from other shows were wearing an almost identical color (but not a matte finish.) One girl told me she’d done three shows that day and literally every nail look was nude! I spotted funny lady Coco Rocha backstage (Have you seen this photobomb piece? LOLZ).

Day Four: Saturday, February 9th.

I rested. JK, I went to work at my home base in Greenpoint, Freckle! I did some cute Valentine’s Day inspired manis and made these blackboard drawings. (3 words to remember: Zoya Pixie Dust.)

(Part II coming soon! Follow me on Instagram @fngrblstr, Twitter @ClaraBiznass, and Facebook facebook.com/fngrblstr)

Yeah…Trinidad James-inspired nails. #AllNailsEverything...

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:18:20 -0500

Yeah…Trinidad James-inspired nails. #AllNailsEverything #PoppedATipImSweatin #FingerFingerFinger #Gold #NailArt #NailSwag

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takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:44:22 -0500

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takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:28:05 -0500

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takingclaireofbusiness — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 01:08:24 -0500

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/the-year-2012-as-told-through-...

takingclaireofbusiness — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:58:41 -0500

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/the-year-2012-as-told-through-nail-art

Awww yeah. Featured on BuzzFeed’s 2012 in Nail Art!

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takingclaireofbusiness — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:52:07 -0500

Finally have enough free edge to do the “Louboutin”...

takingclaireofbusiness — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 21:52:25 -0500

Finally have enough free edge to do the “Louboutin” or underside manicure. OPI Teenage Dream with Gelish topcoat and some silver Essie color underneath!

“Timbos on my toes (fingers) and this is how it...

takingclaireofbusiness — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 11:45:20 -0500

“Timbos on my ~~toes~~ (fingers) and this is how it goes…”

Timberland-inspired nails. Would go nicely with these Coogi sweater nails!