TECH TALK: Lucy Allen of SuperNatural Nails

Scratch chats with Lucy Allen of SuperNatural Nails about her love for the creative spontaneity that nails provides and her future goals…

Who do you admire in the industry?

Meeting and training with INK London educator, Simone Radley, has played a huge part in my nail journey; she is just so talented, and as a fellow creative perfectionist, she’s inspired and encouraged me to push myself to take my work to the next level.

Award-winning tech and fellow INK London educator, Agnes Dullo, creates hard gel work which is absolutely amazing too, and I also love The Gel Bottle Inc educator and nail artist, Ewa Krzos’, incredible nail work. Marian Newman, CND brand ambassador, more than deserves a special mention, especially for her hard work during the coronavirus lockdown, and post lockdown also, for her work in helping to get us nail techs get back to work safely and quickly.

What designs do you love to create?

I love creating detailed, hand-painted designs, but my favourite designs are usually done off-the-cuff on clients in my studio. I think my clients are now actively trying to ask me to create designs that they think I might say ‘no’ to, but I only ever say no if we genuinely don’t have enough time to create the design they’re after!

When clients bring in photos lifted from social media, I’ll take inspiration from the general feel of the set, but I don’t like to straight up recreate other nail tech’s work, because, to me, nail art is so personal – almost like an ephemeral version of a tattoo – and clients usually prefer to walk out of the studio wearing something totally unique, that they know nobody else will be wearing.

I actively encourage them to look further afield for inspiration, whether that may be from a favourite item in their wardrobe, or from a random item, such as the surface pattern on an Ikea storage box!

What is your all-time favourite nail product?

This is such a difficult question, just because I don’t think I could choose just one thing as my favourite nail product! I have so many products that are absolute staples in my kit that I’m constantly coming back to, but if I had to choose just one product, I think it has to be INK London’s Flubber bases in the number one place, because it’s such an amazing product for a number of reasons – it suits every single nail type, and clients get no lifting and no damage on removal. Although, with that being said, Bio Sculpture’s EVO bases, Flex and Contour, are quickly becoming favourites of mine, too, for the longevity of the product and how well it maintains the health of the natural nail.

If you weren’t doing nails, what would you be doing?

I have a degree in graphic design, and I’m also a qualified florist, so if I wasn’t doing nails I would probably be back up to my ankles in stems, leaves and thorns, creating bouquets and arrangements again. I absolutely loved being a florist and was very fortunate to work with some very talented floral designers, until I became too unwell to work at all at the end of 2012, and was forced to give up my floral career. Although I love 2D design, I was tired of working in front of a screen and I hugely preferred the hands-on environment and spontaneous nature of floristry. I think I get the same buzz from nails – nothing beats seeing the look on a client’s face when you finish their set and they get to have a proper look at them!

What are your next career steps?

I opened my new private studio in the Kelham Island area of Sheffield, which I absolutely love, but I’d love to grow SuperNatural Nails and get one or maybe two other talented nail artists in to work alongside me. I’d love to get into session work or possibly even nail education, but I can’t see myself ever stepping back completely from working with clients in the studio – I just love it too much!

Do you have any funny or eventful career stories?

During lockdown, my other half ended up being my nail model on more than one occasion. Normally, I’ll just pop some nail art on him (which he really likes having done!), but I decided to sculpt him some long stilettos and shoot a photo to enter into a ‘for fun’ online competition. He’s such a fidget – honestly, he’s the worst client ever, so this hand of nails and the nail art ended up taking about four hours in total to do because he wouldn’t sit still.

We took the photos and then he tried to make himself a cup of tea, but because I’d done his dominant hand, he couldn’t do anything properly and was getting very frustrated! It resulted in me having to remove the nails 15 minutes after finishing them. Sad times!

Post-lockdown, one of my regular clients came and had her nails done, and a couple of weeks later managed to trip while on a run, and dislocate her finger. When she sent me a picture of her x-ray, she’d dislocated her little finger from the first joint (rather than from her knuckle), and also split her lip open, but amazingly, her nails had remained absolutely perfect – not even a tiny chip! She told me that the nurses were getting each other to come and have a look at her injury and then asking her where she’d had her nails done because they couldn’t believe they were still perfect. Two weeks after the dislocation, she was back for her next set with just a tiny scar on her slightly swollen finger to show for her traumatic event – and her nails were beautifully healthy under the gel thanks to Evo Flex base. And yes, she’s still running regularly!

What is it about nails that has you hooked?

I love the creative spontaneity involved in doing nails and nail art in a studio/salon environment! Giving a client a great set of nails can be a completely transformative experience for them; I have very anxious or self-conscious clients come into my studio, because they don’t feel comfortable going into a standard salon for one reason or another, and leave feeling absolutely amazing about themselves.

I like my clients to know they’re in a non-judgemental ‘safe space’, where they can talk to me in confidence about anything they may want to and I make a point of taking my time to make them comfortable, address any reservations they may have about getting their nails done and discuss what they want to achieve with regards to their nails, whether that’s a one-off set for a special occasion or helping them with specific nail concerns or problems. Taking this more holistic approach enables me to give clients more than just a banging set of nails for a few weeks – it can be a total confidence boost for them, too. I’ve made some great friends in clients along the way and I think it’s these relationships that ultimately have me hooked on a career in nails.

Follow Lucy’s nail journey on Facebook and Instagram.