Manicurist to the stars dishes on trends
Gina Edwards fell in love with nails at a young age.
“Growing up, my aunt used to wear Lee Press-On Nails. They were always red and I was always mesmerized by it,” she says. “I was so fascinated with long nails.”
Speaking from a media event for KISS Products Inc. in Vancouver, Edwards recalled begging her mom to buy her similar styles at the store.
“I would ask my mother to get me nails so I could do my own nails,” she says with a laugh. “I would do red — I would follow what my aunt wore.”
Nails, Edwards says, can tell a lot about a person.
“Nails are an extension of your personality,” she says. So, what do Edwards’ nails say about her?
“I like to wear stiletto nails, and sometimes I can get a little gaudy and obnoxious,” she says with a laugh. “But then there are days when I like to go classic. I can really be a chameleon.”
Not everyone, she notes, can be as experimental with their manicures.
“You wouldn’t have someone in corporate America wearing those nails,” she says of the long, pointed style. “My sister is a corporate litigation attorney and she would NEVER. The closest she came is she did the ImPRESS (press-on nails) with a glitter accent.
“She can’t go into court and be like, ‘Yes, Your Honour,’ or, ‘I object!’ with a blinged-out nail. No!” she adds with another laugh.
Edwards spoke animatedly about the origin of the fascination with fancy nails — tying it back to hip-hop, especially during the ’90s.
“Celebrities, high fashion, hiphop,” Edwards says when asked to pinpoint the inspiration point behind the mainstream return of long, faux nails. “It just brings me back to hip-hop, like Salt-N-Pepa. And it still rings true today. Look at Cardi B. She has crazy nails all the time.
“Of course, anyone can do it, it doesn’t matter what culture you’re from. But that whole vibe of that whole music era just brings me back.”
Fast forward more than a few years from her original fascination with fingernails, and Edwards’ aunt is still wearing those brightred talons — “She still wears red nails. And she does a coral.” — and Edwards, well, she’s still just as obsessed with that whole nail thing.
In fact, after high school, Edwards sent herself to nail school. She then moved to “The City” to find work — and it was there she caught her first big break. Making a chance call to a public relations contact she’d made while in New York City, she found her path quickly leaped from nail student to on-set manicurist. “I was in the right place at the right time,” she says. “My first day on the job was doing a BCBG ad. It was crazy! I kind of just went right into it.”
Now based on Long Island in New York, Edwards has become a go-to manicurist for both A-list celebrities (Mary J. Blige, Rita Ora, Lady Gaga and Bella Hadid are just a few of the famous fingers she’s worked on lately) and fashion designers, effectively turning her childhood fascination into a fullfledged career. To the surprise of many — her family included.
“It’s so funny because, some people in my family don’t understand the business of what I do. So they’re like, oh, you still do the nail thing? I thought that was a hobby,” she says with a laugh. “And I’m like, no, it’s not a hobby. It’s a career. “And it’s paying my bills.” But the incredulous attitude of close family has never come as a surprise to Edwards. Nail artists and manicurists, she says, have long been unsung heroes of the beauty industry.
“It’s funny to get that insight because, a lot of people who are out of the industry, and even some who are in the industry, share that perception” she says.
Undeterred, Edwards says she was drawn to the industry because of the creativity it afforded.
“I never looked at dollar signs. I looked at it creatively, meeting people and everything else just followed,” she says. “And I’ve had a lot of doors open for me and have had a lot of great opportunities. I’m just so grateful.”
One of those open “doors” led Edwards to her current role of brand ambassador for KISS Products Inc. The position sees her routinely backstage at international fashion weeks working on nail designs to complement each designer’s creations.
“When we work backstage, they give you a display of their fabrics and they kind of give you a feel for what their season or collection will be like. But it never works out that way,” she explains with a laugh of the fashion week process. “For example, one of the designers we worked for with KISS, gave us all these fabrics and I created all these nails beforehand for the test. I go to the test and it was completely different from what he wanted.”
So, what did Edwards do when she realized all her hard work being for naught? She started again.
“You do because that’s how you keep your professionalism,” she says. “And you panic sometimes and you want to throw yourself off a 10-storey building. But, you have to tell yourself, listen, this too shall pass. That’s what my mother always used to say: Whatever you’re going through — this too shall pass. Not the time that you want, but it will pass, and you will be OK. And, it does. 10 times out of 10, everything works out.”
When asked about her opinion of social media stars who are breaking into the nail and beauty world through likes and followers, Edwards pointed out the aforementioned professionalism and work ethic as the main thing that sets them apart.
“I see a lot of young people coming up — and they think they’re just going to get a whole bunch of followers and then they’re going to get paid,” she says. “I feel like a lot of these new and upcoming ‘influencers’ or artists haven’t necessarily walked the miles that you need to walk. So, when they get all the benefits, their attitude is horrible and their communication is horrible. When it comes down to it, they are going to have a short lifespan. “Anything that you do in life, the harder that you work, the more rewarding it is. And the more appreciative you are. That’s my biggest piece of advice to everyone — from the bottom to the top.”
PRO TIPS TO APPLY PRESS-ON NAILS
Need fresh nails in a hurry? Skip the finicky nail polish and opt instead for a chic, stick-on style.
We asked celebrity manicurist Gina Edwards to dish on her top tips for the perfect press-on nail application.
“The beauty of ImPRESS nails is it’s not permanent,” she says. “You can go outside your realm of comfort and try something fun, and, with the adhesive, you can take it off if you’re not happy and switch it out to another style.”
Here are her quick application tips.
1. Keep it clean. Make sure nails are free of any polish, oils or other debris.
2. Push it back. Use the included wooden stick to push back the cuticle of nails. Skipping this step is a surefire way to see nails lift off early.
3. Measure twice, fit once. Pick the proper-fitting nail for each finger (on both hands!) before you begin affixing them.
4. Hold it. Press and hold the nail in place for at least 10 seconds to ensure the full adhesive surface makes contact with the natural nail.
I feel like a lot of these new and upcoming ‘influencers’ or artists haven’t necessarily walked the miles that you need to walk.