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At the Brighton show I was fortunate enough to watch Tom Holcomb at work.  I could only take quick peeks every 3 hours or so because I was (supposed to be) working!  For those of you who don’t know, Tom Holcombe is a world champion nail technician many times over.  He uses EZ Flow acrylics and the coloured acrylics for nail art.  His smile lines are to die for, he sculpts moons where there were none, his c curves are real c’s and he uses the coloured acrylics to produce award winning nail art.  I’ve had a tube of coloured acrylics that I’ve had for some time and never used so I was very glad to hear he was doing a seminar on the Thursday after the show at the New York Nail Company in London, I had a 100 questions about the coloured acrylics and how to use them.  I signed up, paid my money and went…..

Armed with my camera (pics on the back page) I turned up at the NYNC HQ in South Molton Street.  I had no idea what to expect but knew what I wanted to know by the end of the day.  There were about 10 other techs in the class, all different levels of skill and achievement.   We all waited in anticipation for him to arrive, he did, we all waited patiently but twitching for him to open his box and lay out the products, he did, by the time he’d sculpted a nail we were all on the floor!!  Tom did some sculpted nails and they were the most beautiful you’ve ever seen.  The smile lines were so deep the nail looked 10 times more slender and long that any sculpted nail I’ve seen.  After that he went through white French tips and overlay.  At every stage Kevin, his partner, talked us through the application while Tom worked.  Then it was our turn!  Back to our learning days we had to sculpt nails on each other.  I felt like I was back at school doing my first set of nails!  We all giggled at our smile lines, mine were more like grimaces!  We all battled with a different application technique than that we were used to, but at the end of the session the results were worth it.   After lunch Tom went through the silk overlay process.  I used to do fibreglass nails before I changed to acrylics but this could easily take me back to it.  A lot of the application was the same as I knew but there were hidden secrets that meant at the end of the day you wouldn’t know this wasn’t an acrylic nail.  The arch of the nail was built up, a c curve was put into the tip, there was no trace of mesh on the nail, it was unbelievable.   Then it was time for the coloured sculptured nails. I’d seen pics of Tom’s work and sat down with my nail trainer and tube of acrylics but could never get the effect, so I gave up.  Tom did 2 nails, one on me and one on another girl in the group.  The results were amazing, the technique is something quite hard to explain, basically do a thin sculpted nail, apply the nail art with the colours and seal it all with a clear acrylic.  I now have a tiny fish tank in my nail!!  Now having seen the products and the tech in action I went straight home and gave my sister a blue nail with white swirls, it’s working for me!!  My nail trainer now sports the most colourful nails you’ve ever seen!  Not quite on to real models yet, a full set is taking me about 10 hours!!

If you ever get a chance to attend one of Toms’ classes do.  You won’t regret it.  The best thing is that Tom is very open to questions, he will answer and show you anything.  Every one in the class was hanging on every word he said.   Tom and Kevin are a real double act and work so well together.  Both are so willing to pass on tips for competing.  Don’t be shy or you’ll miss out!  By the end of the day we were all chatting away like old buddies, comparing clients ways, comparing application techniques etc.

So, the moral of the story is…. Continue your education, even if you think you have a perfect system in place. New products and applications are always emerging.  EZ Flow is a beautiful system and lovely to apply.  I am a Creative tech and am happy with my products but it was good to get out there and try a different product and application.  If I ever feel the need to change to a different system EZ Flow is one I’d definitely consider.

page 4 Nail Art Gallery

page 1 Introduction, Nail Art

page 2 Nail art step by step, Stencil of the month, Body art shining