00:05Hey guys, it's Mee-Anne and this is Beauty With Me.
00:08Raise your hand if you've ever gotten a manicure.
00:10I have!
00:11I've gotten many, many, many over the years.
00:14Everything from solid coats of color to more minimal, cool nail art designs.
00:19There is a community of people here in New York that are getting very intense,
00:24extra glitzy 3D nail art with everything from gemstones
00:28to fabric to fur.
00:31I have been seeing 3D nail art absolutely everywhere
00:34from the runway at Fashion Week to Instagram to on the streets in New York.
00:38I've actually gotten 3D nail art before and even though I really loved them,
00:43I still wondered why anyone would put themselves through three plus hours of nail prep
00:49just to be inconvenienced by claws.
00:51Well, I decided to give it a go again.
00:54This time through my friend Gia Kwan.
00:56She's an art and fashion publicist here in New York and she's been getting this type of nail art
01:01for over a year.
01:03I met up with Gia to get my nails done by her go-to artist, Mae Kawajiri.
01:07She is an amazing, amazing nail artist.
01:10She has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and she does nails for the biggest and best fashion houses
01:15from Tom Ford to Balenciaga to Philip Klein.
01:18Once we got to Mae's apartment, I decided to sit back while Mae and Gia worked on Gia's nails for
01:24this month.
01:25The nails, which often take anywhere from two to three hours to create, cost around $200 to $300 to do.
01:32Gia went for a two-toned manicure complete with real fabric on her nails and two giant plastic bows on
01:39her ring fingers.
01:49Is it heavy?
01:50Not really.
01:51I mean, it is, but it's not.
01:53It's not.
01:53I mean, I've had heavier.
01:55Yeah, all the time.
01:56Between this one and my Barbie nails, I'll see how I get by with, like, doing everyday things.
02:05And then it was my turn.
02:06Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous about getting nails that long.
02:11But I figured if I'm gonna get the nails, I should go big or go home.
02:14So I decided to let Mae's imagination run wild and I told her I just wanted two things.
02:20Purple nails and a little dangly thing like the ones that she had on her own nails.
02:26She went to work first by attaching plastic extensions to all of my fingers, cutting them, and then filing and
02:32buffing them to get them smooth.
02:34Then she applied acrylic gel to create this shape.
02:38Used a machine that, like, buzzed and whirred to smooth out the base before going in with a mixture of
02:46purple glitter and gel top coat.
02:48Then came the fun part.
02:50Mae brought out the same machine that she used to buff my nails, but put in a thinner, more narrow
02:55bit to create a hole in my right pinky nail.
02:59And then attached my pretty little pink rhinestone heart that reminds me of Sailor Moon.
03:05But we weren't done there.
03:06We decided to make these nails even more extra by adding Swarovski crystals to every single nail.
03:18I love them. They look so good. They match my hair.
03:30Alright, so we have all nailed up.
03:33Mine looks simple.
03:36This is simple? This is simple.
03:38Yeah.
03:38So I want to know how you guys became friends.
03:42I think I've admired Mae's Instagram for a long time and we kind of followed each other.
03:46Yeah.
03:46We just always DM'd each other.
03:49We like, like, similar style.
03:51Yeah.
03:51We think it's a similar style. It's very cute.
03:53Usually, you know, people give it to me idea, like, okay, Sailor Moon.
03:57And then I just paint Sailor Moon's face.
04:00But with Gia, it's different. Like, oh, Sailor Moon.
04:04But it's not, like, exactly inspired.
04:06It's inspired by it.
04:0715 years ago, 17 years ago, this big giant stone was very popular in Tokyo.
04:13When I moved to New York, it's a little different style.
04:17Finally, you know, fashion picked those nail culture.
04:20You know, before, fashion show is just one regular color and very clean and short.
04:26The first brand I did was Balenciaga.
04:31The stylist asked me to come to Paris because they wanted to do long nail and crystal.
04:37Some people will look at these nails, and we've done a couple stories on Refinery29.com about 3D nails.
04:43And the comments are always kind of a mixed bag between, like, these are so cool and, like, why would
04:46anyone get them, right?
04:47What would you say to those people that are, like, hating on these nails?
04:51I love them because I've always liked to accessorize.
04:54Doing everyday mundane things, but with a little bit of color and, like, wittiness to it, it makes it more
05:01fun.
05:01Everyone's gonna talk to you.
05:03Let me see your hand, and where do you live? This is, like, a conversation.
05:07It is. It's a conversation starter. Yeah, it really is.
05:11So I've been living with these nails for a few days now, and I do feel differently now than how
05:17I felt two years ago when I got them.
05:19I think that talking to May and Gia after we got our nails done really opened my eyes to how
05:23getting your nails done in this way can be a really expressive moment that allows you to actually have little
05:31pieces of artwork on your fingers.
05:33Doing things with them, though, are definitely not that easy.
05:37They did tell me that I'd have to kind of adapt to having the nails, and I kind of feel,
05:41like, 50-50 split.
05:43Some things are really fun to do with the nails, like typing on my phone because it makes a cool
05:47little clacking sound.
05:50Petting my cat. May told me that cats love these nails, and I do think she does.
05:54My cat, Boo Boo, really likes to play with this little dangle. It's like a built-in toy.
05:59It's also really fun to just, like, hold things like cups.
06:04I feel like...
06:06It has...
06:08It just makes every gesture I do so fun.
06:11I find myself, like, in public using my hands more just to see if people will, like, talk to me
06:16about my nails.
06:17But some things are really difficult to do with the nails, like opening pretty much anything.
06:25Cans. Forget about it. Turning pages of books. Hard.
06:29Wiping your ass. Difficult.
06:32But not impossible.
06:34Washing your hair. It's a little bit of a strenuous experience.
06:38Eating things with your hands.
06:41Yesterday I had a sandwich, and I fork and knifed it because I was like,
06:44I just don't want to have to hold this and then get grease in my nails.
06:48I was just like, no.
06:49I know that these nails are not for everybody.
06:51They're probably, like, a love it or hate it kind of thing.
06:54But I think that speaking with Jia and Mei made me realize that something as trivial or seemingly materialistic
07:00as getting your nails done and bedazzled can be a really great way to form friendships,
07:05an amazing way to express yourself.
07:07I've only had them for a couple days, like I said, but I've already talked to so many people,
07:12like, random people on the street that will come up to me and talk to me about my nails.
07:15But I'm starting to see why photos of these nails go viral,
07:20why people love to watch videos about them,
07:22why fashion designers are so drawn to them and want to put them on their runway.
07:26They're such an interesting way to not only express yourself creatively,
07:31but connect with the community.
07:35So that is it. I hope that you guys enjoyed this video.
07:38But I will see you guys next week. Bye.
