TECH TALK: Michaela Phillips of Gelalicious
By Callie Iley | 01 January 2021 | Feature, Tech Talk
Scratch chats with Michaela Phillips of Gelalicious about the most exciting parts of the nail industry and how she sources her inspiration for her nail work.
I’ve always had a passion for nails since a young age. I would buy the Boots 17 range nail art pens and practise designs. That passion I had has grown consistently over the years, and in 2014, I finally decided to do my training and qualified. I love creating nails for my clients, and having them leave happy with their new nails.
At the moment, I love creating flame designs. They were a trend back at the beginning of lockdown in 2020, and I love adapting them using different techniques and patterns.
I’m always experimenting and changing my nails every other day, so I have different shapes and designs on each hand. This is normal for a nail tech, right?
I’ve also converted to The Gel Bottle Builder in a Bottle this year after using acrylics for so long. I find it to be such a game changer for me and my clients, and I love that you can grow your natural nails to be so strong with this product.
I’m always on Instagram and Pinterest browsing for my inspiration. I spend hours upon hours admiring other techs work, and adapting some of their work to add my own flare in order to make it my own.
Lockdown has been a blessing in some ways as it has given me time to up-skill myself. I love how everyone has pulled together and offered workshops through insta and shared their techniques and advice.
In my opinion, the most exciting thing about the nail industry is that it’s so diverse! I love how you can be so creative and imaginative with your nail designs and your work.
I keep myself awake at night thinking about a new nail design I want to create! I also love how many amazing techs there are, and how much support there is in the industry.
Everyone has their own niche, I think that’s really important.
If I could change anything about the industry it would be the perception that nails is just a “side hustle” and “not a real job”. We have seen this year through the pandemic that this is people’s business and their livelihood.
The support I’ve seen on Instagram from the nail community is so amazing. I wholeheartedly believe in ‘Nail Techs supporting Nail Techs’.
If I wasn’t doing nails, my other passion in life has been dancing. I’ve loved dancing ever since I was young, so my other dream job would definitely be to work at Disneyland Paris as a performer!